INTERINSTITUTIONAL COOPERATION AND THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL BODIES IN ENSURING THE ADMINISTRATIVE-LEGAL STATUS OF REFUGEES IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

Abstract

The effective realization of the administrative-legal status of refugees in the Republic of Moldova depends directly on the quality of domestic interinstitutional cooperation and on the degree of formalization of partnerships with the international bodies competent in asylum matters. The article examines, on three complementary levels – universal international law (the 1951 Geneva Convention), European law (the Moldova–EU Association Agreement, the Readmission Agreement, the Mobility Partnership) and domestic law (Law No. 270/2008, the Administrative Code) –, the normative and institutional framework of cooperation in the field of asylum. It examines the domestic coordination mechanisms (the Coordination Commission for Migration and Asylum Activities, the Refugee Coordination Forum), as well as the role of the main international actors: UNHCR (supervisory, operational and advocacy functions), the International Organization for Migration (technical assistance and reintegration), the European Union Agency for Asylum and Frontex (specialized European partnerships), and the Council of Europe and the ECHR (conventional standards). The research starts from the hypothesis that gaps in the formalization and strategic coordination between domestic and international actors limit the practical effectiveness of refugees' administrative-legal status, even where an adequate normative framework exists. The analysis identifies five structural gaps – the absence of a formal strategic coordination mechanism, the lack of a Working Arrangement between the Bureau for Migration and Asylum and EUAA, dependence on external funding, insufficient administrative capacity of local public authorities, and deficient interinstitutional information exchange – and formulates, for each, de lege ferenda proposals and administrative best practices, aimed at strengthening the operational autonomy of the national asylum system, given Moldova's status as an EU candidate country.