Law No. 249 of 10.07.2025 on the national security of the Republic of Moldova

Published: 04-09-2025 in the Official Gazette No. 463-466, art. 627

Taking into account the evolution of the security environment, the strategic objective of the Republic of Moldova to consolidate national resilience and the need to protect the national interests of the state and its citizens,

Considering the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, as well as the international treaties and commitments of the Republic of Moldova regarding national security,

The Parliament adopts this organic law.

Article 1. Subject matter and purpose of the law

(1) This law regulates the national security of the Republic of Moldova (hereinafter - national security) and establishes:

a) the normative and institutional framework on the organisation and functioning of the national security system, as well as its coordination;

b) the principles and general functions of the national security system;

c) the structure and functioning of the national security system, as well as the competences of public authorities with leadership, coordination and control powers in ensuring national security;

d) national security policy and strategic planning, including the identification, prevention and management of threats, risks, dangers and vulnerabilities;

e) the exercise of democratic civilian control over the functioning of the national security system and the use of force;

f) the measures necessary to ensure the respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, as well as compliance of actions and measures taken with the principles of the rule of law and the international commitments of the Republic of Moldova.

(2) The purpose of the law is to establish a normative and institutional framework that ensures a balance between national security requirements and the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms, in accordance with international norms and standards.

Article 2. Scope of application

(1) This law applies to all public authorities and institutions, regardless of their legal form of organisation, which, according to the competences established by normative acts, ensure or contribute to ensuring national security by exercising functions of the national security system in the fields and sub-fields under their responsibility.

(2) This law applies to:

a) central specialised public administration authorities, as mentioned in Article 2 of Law No. 98/2012 on central specialised public administration;

b) autonomous public authorities carrying out activities in fields relevant to national security;

c) local public administration authorities, to the extent that the provisions of this law do not contravene the special normative acts regulating the activity of the respective authorities;

d) public and private entities, to the extent that they exercise powers, hold strategic resources or provide essential services for ensuring national security;

e) citizens, in cases where they participate in actions to ensure national security, in accordance with the provisions of this law and other relevant normative acts.

Article 3. Definitions

For the purposes of this law, the following terms mean:

1. threat – any action, event or factor which, through the capacity and intention manifested, directly or indirectly, affects national security by harming national interests;

2. risk – level of exposure to certain threats, dangers, incidents, emergencies or crises, determined according to the combination of the probability of their materialisation and the impact of their consequences;

3. danger – uncertain situation, characterised by the existence of a potential to harm national security and national interests, determined by certain capacities or factors, whose intention to manifest is not known or evident, but which, through the consequences generated, requires preventive and institutional preparedness actions and measures;

4. vulnerability – weakness, deficiency and/or dysfunction of a system, infrastructure, resources or services or processes, which can be exploited by certain internal or external factors and which can contribute to the emergence/materialisation of a threat or danger;

5. national interests – needs of citizens, society and the state, freely expressed, based on national values, national unity or the will of the majority of the population expressed in an electoral exercise, which form the strategic directions of the national security policy and whose realisation ensures the existence, stability and sustainable development of the Republic of Moldova;

6. national security policy – the set of coordinated decisions of public authorities and institutions, which produce changes or influence the national security system, contributing to solving problems and achieving specific objectives, with respect for the principles of the rule of law and the international commitments of the Republic of Moldova;

7. national security planning – process within which the state, through public authorities and institutions, establishes the basic framework guiding the determination and definition of priorities in national security policy, including strategic analysis, identification of resources and development of action plans for protecting national interests;

8. national security – all actions and measures taken to ensure the existence, stability and sustainable development of the Republic of Moldova by protecting the sovereignty, independence and unity of the state, the territorial integrity of the country, national values and interests, as well as fundamental rights and freedoms from internal or external threats and dangers of any nature;

9. national security system – the ensemble comprising the security sector and other public and private legal persons exercising powers, holding strategic resources or providing essential services for ensuring national security, all strategic planning documents, policy documents, normative acts, as well as all resources, services and infrastructures intended to ensure national security;

10. security sector – component of the national security system, formed by public authorities and institutions that contribute directly to the identification, prevention, management and countering of threats, risks, dangers and vulnerabilities to national security by exercising the competences established by legislation in the fields of state security, national defence and public order and security;

11. crisis – internal or external emergency whose consequences on the territory of the Republic of Moldova are of such high magnitude and intensity that it cannot be managed or remedied using the resources available to the public authority responsible for managing the respective emergency, requiring decisions and institutional coordination at national level;

12. resilience – capacity of the state, society and person to anticipate, resist, adapt and recover from threats, dangers, incidents, emergencies or crises, while maintaining institutional functionality and returning to normality;

13. democratic civilian control – the set of policies and legal and administrative mechanisms ensuring the subordination of the force components of the security sector to public authorities with civilian status in order to guarantee the balance between the use of special means, the application of force and other measures with an impact on fundamental rights and freedoms, intended to ensure state security, national defence and public order and security.

Article 4. Normative framework on national security

Activities concerning national security are regulated by the Constitution, this law, decrees of the President of the Republic of Moldova and other normative acts regulating relations with regard to ensuring national security, as well as international treaties in the field to which the Republic of Moldova is a party.

Article 5. Principles of the national security system

(1) The national security system is based on the following principles:

a) legality – all actions and measures taken to ensure national security must comply with the Constitution, organic laws and other normative acts, as well as international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a party;

b) respect for fundamental rights and freedoms – national security measures must respect fundamental human rights and freedoms, limitations being permitted only under the conditions provided by the Constitution and international standards;

c) proportionality – measures taken to ensure national security must be adequate and proportionate to the nature and severity of the threat, risk, danger or vulnerability identified;

d) democratic civilian control – the security sector is subject to control by democratically elected civilian authorities;

e) transparency and accountability – public authorities and institutions with competences in the field of national security act transparently and are accountable for their activities;

f) inter-institutional cooperation – public authorities and institutions cooperate effectively to ensure national security;

g) international cooperation – the Republic of Moldova cooperates with international organisations and partner states in the field of national security.

Note: This is an abbreviated translation covering the main provisions. For the complete text, please refer to the original Romanian version published in the Official Gazette.