City Day and Wine Day – legal aspects. Investigation by Info-Prim Neo

It seems that we will witness one of the few cases when the divergences between the central and local authorities of Chisinau are solved amicably and in a civilized way. After a tough exchange of replies over the holding of the City Day and of the National Wine Day on the same day, October 14, the sides seem to have reached a compromise. Several days ago, Chisinau Mayor General Dorin Chirtoaca told Info-Prim Neo that there was reached a preliminary agreement under which the Wine Day will take place on October 13 and on October 14 the Chisinau administration will give several hours to the organisers to hand prizes to the wine producers in the Great National Assembly Square, in a festive atmosphere. As there was a danger that this situation could turn into a serious conflict with great social implications, Info-Prim Neo asked the analyst Igor Gutan to examine the case from legal viewpoint. Besides, the danger has not been definitively removed yet as the compromise decision has not been made public and accepted officially by the two sides... [Shifting to another day] According to Igor Gutan, the National Wine Day was instituted by the Moldovan Parliament’s Decision No.1005-XV of 19.04.2002. Under the decision, the holiday is celebrated on the second Sunday of October. This year, it is the sixth edition of the holiday and the fact that it will be celebrated on the same day as the City Day is a simple coincidence and there are no political reasons involved. The expert considers the Government’s decision to organise the holiday on October 13 and award the prizes the next day as opportune. The agreement with the Chisinau City Hall, though preliminary, was absolutely necessary as the Government is obliged to observe the principle of local autonomy. Anyway, the second Sunday of October remains the official date of the holiday. The Government could not shift the Wine Day to another day as only the Parliament has the power to make such a decision. In such a situation, the law is on the side of the City Hall, which has enough rights to use to block the holding of the Wine Day or at least certain activities organised on this day, if necessary. [Sale of alcoholic drinks] It is very important whether the sale of wine products during the holiday and their consumption in public places will be allowed or not. According to the expert, the ban on the sale of wine during the festivities is welcome as it would contribute to a better accomplishment of the declared aims: [to promote Moldova’s image and to create an advanced culture of wine consumption]. The fact that some of the previous editions of the holiday turned into a general booze-up after the festive part, discredits the aims and the idea of the holiday. The national legislation is univocal as regards the consumption of alcoholic drinks. Both the consumption and the appearance in public places under the influence of alcohol are banned. According to article 167 of the Code on Administrative Contraventions, these facts are administrative offences and are punished correspondingly. The legislation regarding the sale of alcoholic drinks during this holiday is more complicated. At first sight, it seems that the sale is allowed, if taking into account the Law No. 323-XV of October 7, 2004 regarding the regulation of the retail of wine products during the National Wine Day, which derogates from article 29, paragraph (1) letter (a) of the Law No. 1100-XIV of June 30, 2000 regarding the manufacture and circulation of ethyl alcohol and alcoholic products. By this derogation, the legislator allowed the economic entities participating in the National Wine Day (according to the list approved by the Agro-industrial Agency Moldova-Vin) to exhibit their wine products and sell them without holding license for the retail of alcoholic drinks. In reality yet, the Chisinau City Hall can ban the sale of wine products, because article 7, paragraph (2) of the law No.749-XIII of 23.02.1996 regarding the domestic trade forbids the carrying out of commercial activities in the absence of an authorisation issued by the local public administration, and there is no derogation from this law.