O Estado Contratante em cujo território a presente Convenção é assinada submete-a para registo junto do Secretariado das Nações Unidas, nos termos do artigo 102.º da Carta das Nações Unidas, devendo, igualmente, notificar o outro Estado Contratante da conclusão deste procedimento e indicar-lhe o número de registo atribuído.
Em fé do que os abaixo assinados, devidamente autorizados para este efeito, assinam a presente Convenção.
Feita em Lisboa em 11 de Fevereiro de 2009, em dois exemplares, nas línguas portuguesa, moldava e inglesa, fazendo todos os textos igualmente fé. Em caso de divergência de interpretação, prevalece o texto em língua inglesa.
Pela República Portuguesa:
José António Fonseca Vieira da Silva, Ministro do Trabalho e da Solidariedade Social.
Pela República da Moldova:
Galina (ver documento original), Ministra da Protecção Social, da Família e da Criança.
(ver documento original)
AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF PORTUGAL AND THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
The Republic of Portugal and the Republic of Moldova hereinafter «the Contracting States»;
Desirous to develop their relations in matters of social security;
Enshrining the principles of equality of treatment and of determination of the legislation applicable with a view to guaranteeing to the respective nationals their acquired rights and the rights in course of acquisition;
have agreed as follows:
TITLE I
General provisions
Article 1
Definitions
- 1 -For the purposes of this Agreement:
- a)«Territory» means:
- i)In relation to the Republic of Portugal, the territory in the European continent and the archipelagos of Azores and Madeira;
- ii)In relation to the Republic of Moldova, the territory within the existing boundaries where its legislation applies;
- b)«National» means a person treated as such under the legislation of the Contracting States;
- c)«Refugee» has the meaning assigned to it in article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, signed in Geneva on 28 July 1951 and in article 1, paragraph 2, of the Additional Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, adopted in New York on the 31st January 1967;
- d)«Stateless person» has the meaning assigned to it in article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, signed in New York on 28 September 1954;
- e)«Worker» means a worker who is covered by the social security schemes referred to in article 4 of this Agreement;
- f)«Member of the family» means any person defined or recognised as a member of the household by the legislation under which benefits are provided:
- i)However, if that legislation only considers as a member of the family a person who lives in the worker's household, for the purposes of applying his Agreement, such condition is deemed to be fulfilled when such a person lives mainly at the charge of the worker;
- g)«Survivor» means any person defined as such by the legislation under which the benefits are provided;
- h)«Residence» means the place where a person habitually resides;
- i)«Stay» means the place of temporary residence;
- j)«Legislation» means the legal provisions in force relating to the schemes or systems referred to in article 4 of this Agreement;
- l)«Competent authority» means, in relation to either Contracting State, the member or the members of the government responsible for the matters referred to in article 4 of this Agreement in all or any part of the territory of the State concerned;
- m)«Competent institution» means:
- i)The institution with which the person concerned is insured at the time of the application for the benefits; or
- ii)The institution from which the person concerned is or would be entitled to benefits if he resided in the Contracting State in which the institution is situated; or
- iii)The institution designated by the competent authority of the Contracting State concerned;
- n)«Institution of the place of residence» means the institution which is competent to provide benefits in the place where the person concerned resides in accordance with the legislation applicable or, where no such institution exists, the institution designated by the competent authority of the Contracting State concerned;
- o)«Institution of the place of stay» means the institution which is competent to provide benefits in the place where the person concerned is staying in accordance with the legislation applicable or, where no such institution exists, the institution designated by the competent authority of the Contracting State concerned;
- p)«Competent State» means the Contracting State in which the competent institution is situated;
- q)«Periods of insurance» mean periods of contribution or periods of employment or self-employment as defined or recognized as periods of insurance by the legislation under which they were completed, as well as all periods treated as such, provided that they are regarded by the said legislation as equivalent to periods of insurance;
- r)«Benefits» and «pensions» mean any benefits, including all elements thereof, as well as increases, revaluation allowances or supplementary allowances and lump-sum benefits paid in lieu thereof;
- s)«Death grant» means any benefit or one-off payment in the event of death of the worker, excluding the lump-sum benefits referred to in subparagraph r).
- a)«Territory» means:
- 2 -Other terms and expressions, which are used in this Agreement, shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the legislation applicable.
Article 2
Personal scope
This Agreement shall apply to workers who are or have been subject to the legislation mentioned in article 4 and who are nationals of one of the Contracting States, stateless persons or refugees residing in the territory of one of those States, as well as to the members of their family and their survivors.
Article 3
Equality of treatment
Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, the workers mentioned in article 2, as well as the members of their family and their survivors, who reside in the territory of one Contracting State, shall enjoy the benefits and be subject to the obligations provided for in the respective legislation under the same conditions as the nationals of that State.
Article 4
Material scope
- 1 -This Agreement shall apply:
- a)In Portugal:
- i)As to the social security system, to the legislation concerning the social security schemes applicable to most employed and self-employed persons and the optional affiliation schemes of the insurance system, as it regards benefits granted in the contingencies of sickness, maternity, paternity, adoption, occupational diseases, unemployment, invalidity, old-age and death;
- ii)To the legislation concerning the compensation scheme for the damages resulting from accidents at work;
- b)For the Republic of Moldova, to the legislation concerning the social insurance schemes related to:
- i)Indemnities for temporary incapacity for work and maternity benefits;
- ii)Old age pensions;
- iii)Invalidity pensions as a consequence of common diseases;
- iv)Pensions and invalidity indemnities as a consequence of work injuries and occupational diseases;
- v)Survivor pensions;
- vi)Unemployment benefits;
- vii)Birth grants and chid care indemnities up to 3 years of age;
- viii)Death grant.
- a)In Portugal:
- 2 -This Agreement shall also apply to all legal provisions that amend the legal schemes referred to in paragraph 1.
- 3 -This Agreement shall not apply to:
- a)The social assistance;
- b)The special schemes for civil servants and persons treated as such, subject to the provisions of article 9, paragraph 7.
Article 5
Admission to voluntary insurance
- 1 -For the purposes of admission to voluntary insurance according to the legislation of either Contracting State, the periods of insurance completed under the legislation of the other Contracting State shall be taken into account, if necessary, insofar as they do not overlap.
- 2 -Paragraph 1 shall only apply to a person who cannot be covered by the compulsory insurance under the legislation applicable in either Contracting State.
Article 6
Waiving of residence clauses
- 1 -Cash benefits in the contingencies of sickness, maternity, paternity and adoption, invalidity, old-age or death, accidents at work or occupational diseases and death grants acquired under the legislation of either Contracting State shall be directly paid to the persons concerned even if they reside in the territory of the other State.
- 2 -The benefits mentioned in paragraph 1 shall not be subject to any reduction, suspension or withdrawal because of the fact that the person concerned resides in the territory of the other State.
- 3 -The benefits provided for in the legislation of either Contracting State shall be paid to the nationals of the other Contracting State who reside in the territory of a third State under the same conditions as if they were nationals of the first Contracting State residing in the territory of that third State.
Article 7
Prevention of overlapping of benefits
- 1 -This Agreement shall neither confer nor maintain the right under the legislation of the Contracting States to several benefits of the same kind for the same period of compulsory insurance.
- 2 -Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the benefits awarded in accordance with articles 15 and 16 of this Agreement.
- 3 -The provisions of the legislation of either Contracting State governing the reduction, suspension or withdrawal of benefits in cases of overlapping with other social security benefits or other income, including that resulting from an occupational activity, may be invoked against the beneficiary even in the case of benefits acquired under the legislation of the other Contracting State or of income received in the territory of the latter State.
- 4 -If a simultaneous reduction, suspension or withdrawal of benefits under the legislation of the Contracting States results from the provisions of paragraph 3, the reduction, suspension or withdrawal of each benefit cannot exceed half the amount corresponding to the one it should be reduced, suspended or withdrawn.
TITLE II
Provisions on the legislation applicable
Article 8
General rule
Subject to the provisions of articles 9 and 10, persons covered by this Agreement shall be exclusively subject to the legislation of the Contracting State in whose territory they pursue an occupational activity, even if they permanently reside in the territory of the other State or if their employer or undertaking has the registered office or domicile in that other State.
Article 9
Special rules
- 1 -A worker employed in the territory of one Contracting State by an undertaking to which he is normally attached who is posted by that undertaking to the territory of the other Contracting State to perform work there for that undertaking shall continue to be subject to the legislation of the former Contracting State, provided that the anticipated duration of that work does not exceed a twenty four month period, which may be exceptionally extended for an equal period after the previous consent of the competent authority of that Contracting State, and that he is not sent to replace another person who has completed his term of posting.
- 2 -The provision of paragraph 1 shall also apply to workers who usually perform an activity as self-employed workers in the territory of either Contracting State who move to the territory of the other State to perform the same activity there for equal periods.
- 3 -The flying personnel of an airline company who perform their activity in the territory of the two States shall be subject to the legislation of the Contracting State in whose territory the registered office of the company is situated.
- 4 -The crew of a vessel flying the flag of one of the Contracting States shall be subject to the legislation of that State. However, if the vessel is flying the flag of a third State such workers shall be subject to the legislation of the Contracting State in whose territory the undertaking has its registered office.
- 5 -The workers who are employed for the purpose of loading, unloading, carrying out repair work or performing guard duty at a port, shall be subject to the legislation of the Contracting State in whose territory the port is situated.
- 6 -Unless otherwise provided in the corresponding co-operation agreements, persons who are sent by one of the Contracting States to the territory of the other State in co-operation official missions continue to be subject to the legislation of the sending State.
- 7 -Civil servants and persons working in public enterprises, local authorities or other institutions with a public nature of one of the Contracting States, who are sent to the territory of the other Contracting State to perform their work there, as well as the members of their families, continue to be subject to the legislation of the Contracting State hiring them, as the case may be.
Article 10
Special provisions applicable to the staff of diplomatic missions and consular posts
- 1 -Subject to paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, the members of diplomatic missions and consular posts and the members of their family shall be subject to the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 18 April 1961 and of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 24 April 1963.
- 2 -The technical and administrative staff and the auxiliary staff of the diplomatic missions and consular posts who are engaged as civil servants in the sending State continue to be subject to the legislation of that State.
- 3 -The staff of diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Contracting States who are locally engaged, as well as the private staff of the members of such diplomatic missions and consular posts may opt to be subject to the legislation of the State where they are employed or to the legislation of the other Contracting State, provided that they are nationals of the former State.
- 4 -The option may be exercised within three months as from the date of the entry into force of this Agreement, or from the beginning of the work in the territory of the Contracting State where such an activity is pursued, as the case may be.
Article 11
Exceptions
The competent authorities of either Contracting State, or the bodies designated by them, may by common agreement provide for exceptions to the provisions of articles 8 and 9 and 10 in the interest of certain workers or of certain categories of workers, at their request or at the request of their employers.
TITLE III
Special provisions relating to the different kinds of benefits
CHAPTER I
Sickness and maternity, paternity and adoption
SECTION I
General rule
Article 12
Aggregation of periods of insurance
Where a worker has been continuously or non continuously subject to the legislation of the Contracting States, the periods of insurance completed under the legislation of each Contracting State shall be taken into account, where necessary, by the other State for the acquisition, retention or recovery of the right to the benefits provided for in this chapter as if they have been completed under its legislation, insofar as they do not overlap.
SECTION II
Cash benefits
Article 13
Residence in the State other than the competent one
A worker residing in the territory of the Contracting State other than the competent one who satisfies the conditions required under the legislation of the competent State, taking account where appropriate of the provisions of article 12, shall receive benefits in the State of residence granted by the competent State.
Article 14
Overlapping of the right to cash benefits
Where a worker is entitled to sickness or maternity, paternity and adoption cash benefits under the legislation of the Contracting States, by application of this chapter, the legislation of the Contracting State where the contingency materialised shall apply.
CHAPTER II
Invalidity, old age and death
SECTION I
Invalidity, old age and survivors' pensions
Article 15
Aggregation of periods of insurance
- 1 -Where a worker has been continuously or non continuously subject to the legislation of the Contracting States, the periods of insurance completed under the legislation of either Contracting State shall be taken into account, where necessary, by the other Contracting State for the acquisition, retention or recovery of the right to the benefits as if they have been completed under its legislation, insofar as they do not overlap.
- 2 -Where the legislation of one Contracting State makes the granting of certain benefits conditional upon the periods of insurance having been completed in an occupation subject to a special social insurance scheme, periods completed in the other Contracting State shall be taken into account only if completed under a corresponding special scheme or, failing that, in the same occupation.
- 3 -Where, account having been taken of the periods completed in accordance with paragraph 2, the person concerned does not satisfy the necessary eligibility conditions of such benefits, those periods shall be taken into account for the granting of benefits under the general scheme.
- 4 -For the purposes of paragraph 1, account shall be taken of the periods of insurance completed under the legislation of one Contracting State other than one of those mentioned in article 4, provided that they have been considered as periods of insurance under a legislation covered by this Agreement.
- 5 -Where, account having been taken of the aggregated periods of insurance completed under the legislation of the Contracting States, as provided for in this Article, no right to benefit is acquired, account shall be taken of periods of insurance completed under the legislation of a third State to which both Contracting States are bound by a social security instrument that provides for the aggregation of periods.
Article 16
Calculation and award of benefits
- 1 -The competent institution of either Contracting State shall determine, under the legislation applicable, whether the person concerned satisfies the eligibility conditions for the benefits, account being taken, where necessary, of the provisions of article 15.
- 2 -Where the person concerned satisfies the conditions mentioned in paragraph 1, the competent institution shall calculate the amount of the benefit solely and directly on the basis of the periods of insurance completed under the legislation it administers.
- 3 -Where the total duration of the periods of insurance completed under the legislation of either Contracting State is less than a year and where no right to benefits was acquired under that legislation on the basis solely of those periods, the competent institution of that Contracting State shall not be bound to grant benefits in respect to those periods.
- 4 -Subject to paragraph 3, the said periods of insurance shall be taken into account by the competent institution of the other Contracting State as if they had been completed under its own legislation.
- 5 -Where the total of the benefits payable by the competent institutions of the Contracting States is less than the minimum amount established by the legislation of the Contracting State in whose territory the person concerned resides, that person is entitled to receive from the competent institution of that State a supplement up to that minimum amount for the period he resides there.
SECTION II
Death Grants
Article 17
Aggregation of periods of insurance and provision of death grants
- 1 -Where a deceased worker has been continuously or non continuously subject to the legislation of the Contracting States, the periods of insurance completed under the legislation of either Contracting State shall be taken into account by the other Contracting State for the acquisition, retention or recovery of the right to the death grants as if they have been completed under its legislation, where necessary and insofar as they do not overlap.
- 2 -If the legislation of either Contracting State makes the provision of death grant conditional upon death has occurred in its territory, this condition is deemed to be satisfied where death has occurred in the territory of the other Contracting State or of a third State to which both Contracting States are bound by an international social security instrument, subject to more favourable provisions of the applicable legislation.
CHAPTER III
Unemployment
Article 18
Aggregation of periods of insurance and provision of benefits
- 1 -A worker who moves from the territory of either Contracting State to the territory of the other Contracting State shall be entitled, during his stay in the territory of the latter State, and after having been occupied there, to unemployment benefits, as provided for in the legislation of that Contracting State, if the eligibility conditions are met, account having to be taken, where necessary and insofar as they do not overlap of the periods of insurance completed under the legislation of the former Contracting State.
- 2 -The competent institution of the Contracting State that provides the unemployment benefits under paragraph 1 shall take solely into account the relevant salary according to the legislation it administers, received by the person concerned during his last employment in the territory of that Contracting State.
CHAPTER IV
Accidents at work and occupational diseases
Article 19
Residence in the State other than the competent one
The provisions of article 13 shall also apply to a worker who sustains an accident at work or contracts an occupational disease, and resides in the territory of the Contracting State other than the competent State.
Article 20
Equal treatment of facts occurred in the territory of the State other than the competent one
- 1 -Where, in order to assess the degree of incapacity in cases of accidents at work or occupational diseases, the legislation of either Contracting State takes into account the accidents at work and occupational diseases previously occurred, the accidents at work and occupational diseases occurred under the legislation of the other Contracting State shall be taken into account as if they have occurred under the legislation of the former Contracting State.
- 2 -Where the granting of benefits in respect of an occupational disease under the legislation of either Contracting State is subject to the condition that the disease in question was first diagnosed within its territory, such condition shall be deemed to be satisfied if the disease was first diagnosed in the territory of the other Contracting State.
- 3 -Where the granting of benefits in respect of an occupational disease under the legislation of either Contracting State is subject to the condition that an activity liable to cause the disease in question was pursued for a certain length of time, periods during which the worker pursued an activity of the same kind in the territory of the other Contracting State shall be taken into account as if such an activity had been pursued under the legislation of the former Contracting State.
Article 21
Cash benefits for an occupational disease where the person concerned has been exposed to the same risk in both Contracting States
Where a worker who has contracted an occupational disease has pursued an activity liable to cause that disease in the territory of both Contracting States, under the respective legislations, the benefits shall be granted exclusively under the legislation of the Contracting State where the activity was last pursued, insofar as the conditions provided for in that legislation are satisfied, taking into account, where necessary, the provisions of article 20 of this Agreement.
Article 22
Aggravation of an occupational disease
In the event of aggravation of an occupational disease for which cash benefits have been granted under the legislation of either Contracting State to a worker residing in the territory of the other Contracting State, the following rules shall apply:
- a)Where the worker has not pursued in the territory of the Contracting State where he resides an occupation liable to cause or aggravate the disease in question, the competent institution of the former Contracting State shall bear the cost corresponding to the aggravation of the disease under the provisions of the legislation that it administers;
- b)Where the worker has pursued in the territory of the Contracting State where he resides an occupation liable to cause or aggravate the disease in question, the competent institution of the former Contracting State shall bear the cost of benefits previously assumed and the competent institution of the latter Contracting State shall bear the cost corresponding to the aggravation of the disease.
TITLE IV
Miscellaneous provisions
Article 23
Cooperation between competent authorities and institutions
- 1 -The competent authorities of the Contracting States:
- a)Shall conclude the administrative arrangements that are necessary for the implementation of this Agreement;
- b)Shall communicate to each other all measures taken for the implementation of this Agreement;
- c)Shall communicate to each other all information concerning the amendments to the respective legislation liable to affect the implementation of this Agreement;
- d)Shall designate the respective liaison bodies and establish their tasks.
- 2 -For the purposes of implementing this Agreement, the competent authorities and the competent institutions of the Contracting States shall lend to each other the necessary technical and administrative assistance.
- 3 -For the purposes of granting benefits exclusively due by either Contracting State to nationals of third States under other international instruments binding that State, the other Contracting State shall also lend technical and administrative assistance, by providing the necessary information on the affiliation to the system and on the insurance record of the persons concerned that are or have been subject to its legislation, according to the provisions to be established in the administrative arrangement mentioned in paragraph 1, subparagraph a).
- 4 -For the purposes of implementing this Agreement, the competent authorities or institutions of the Contracting States, may communicate directly with one another and with the persons concerned or their representatives.
- 5 -For the purposes of implementing this Agreement, the competent authorities or the competent institutions of the Contracting States shall communicate in english with one another.
Article 24
Protection of personal data
- 1 -The communication of personal data between the competent authorities or institutions of the Contracting States according to this Agreement or to the administrative arrangements mentioned in article 23, paragraph 1, subparagraph a), shall be subject to the data protection legislation of the Contracting State transmitting them.
- 2 -Any communication, storage, alteration and destruction of the data by the competent authority or competent institution of the receiving Contracting State shall be subject to the data protection legislation of that Contracting State.
- 3 -Subject to paragraphs 1 and 2, the cooperation between the authorities or the institutions of the Contracting States shall also be subject to the rules in force under the international law, and the personal data to be communicated shall be adequate, pertinent and not excessive in relation to the respective purposes.
Article 25
Exemptions from or reduction of taxes and exemption from authentication
- 1 -Any exemption from or reduction of taxes, stamp duty, notarial or registration fees provided for in the legislation of either Contracting State in respect of certificates or documents required to be produced in application of the legislation of that Contracting State, shall apply to similar certificates or documents required to be produced in application of the legislation of the other Contracting State or of the provisions of this Agreement.
- 2 -All documents and certificates required to be produced for the purposes of this Agreement shall be exempt from authentication by diplomatic or consular authorities of the Contracting States.
Article 26
Submission of claims, declarations or appeals
- 1 -Any claim, declaration or appeal that should be submitted, under the legislation of either Contracting State, within a specific period to an authority, institution or jurisdictional body of that Contracting State shall be admissible if they are submitted within the same period to a corresponding authority, institution or jurisdictional body of the other Contracting State.
- 2 -In the cases mentioned in paragraph 1, the authority, institution or jurisdictional body receiving the claim, declaration or appeal shall forward it without delay to the competent authority, institution or jurisdictional body of the former Contracting State.
Article 27
Transfer of amounts due in application of the Agreement
- 1 -The institutions of either Contracting State, that are responsible for the payment of cash benefits under this Agreement directly to beneficiaries in the territory of the other Contracting State, shall validly discharge their liability in the legal currency of the former Contracting State.
- 2 -Amounts due to institutions situated in the territory of either Contracting State shall be paid in the legal currency of the former Contracting State.
Article 28
Rights of institutions responsible for benefits against liable third parties
Where a person receives benefits under the legislation of either Contracting State due to an injury sustained in result of facts occurred in the territory of the other Contracting State, any rights of the institution responsible for providing benefits against the third party liable to provide compensation for the injury shall be governed by the following rules:
- a)Where the institution responsible for providing benefits is, under the legislation it applies, subrogated to the rights which the beneficiary has against the third party, such subrogation shall be recognised by the Contracting States;
- b)Where the institution responsible for providing benefits has a direct right against the third party, the Contracting States shall recognise such right.
Article 29
Recovery of advance payments
- 1 -Where the institution of either Contracting State has made an advance payment of a benefit to the beneficiary, that institution may request, where necessary, the competent institution of the other Contracting State to deduct the amount of that advance payment from the benefits payable to him.
- 2 -The latter institution shall deduct the amount under the conditions and within the limits laid down by the legislation that it administers and shall transfer the amount so deducted to the creditor institution.
Article 30
Recovery of undue payments
- 1 -Where, in application of title iii, chapter ii, the competent institution of either Contracting State has paid to a beneficiary an amount in excess to that he should receive, that institution may, under the conditions and within the limits of the legislation that it administers, request the institution of the other Contracting State to deduct the amount overpaid from the payments to be made to the beneficiary by this institution.
- 2 -The latter institution shall deduct the amount under the conditions and within the limits laid down by the legislation that it administers, as if the overpayment had been made by it and shall transfer the amount so deducted to the creditor institution.
Article 31
Collection of contributions and of undue payments
- 1 -The collection of contributions due to an institution of either Contracting State and of amounts unduly paid, in cases where the provisions of article 30 do not apply, may be effected in the territory of the other State in accordance with the procedures and with the crediting guarantees and privileges applicable to the collection of contributions due to a corresponding institution of the latter Contracting State and of amounts unduly paid by an institution of the same Contracting State.
- 2 -The procedures for implementing this article may be established by an administrative arrangement.
Article 32
Implementation in the length of time
This Agreement shall confer no right to a benefit for a period prior to its entry into force, except in the following cases:
- a)A period of insurance completed under the legislation of either Contracting State before the entry in force of this Agreement shall be taken into account for determining the right to benefits under the provisions of this Agreement;
- b)Subject to the provisions of this Article, a benefit is due under this Agreement even though it relates to a contingency which materialized prior to the date of its entry into force;
- c)Any benefit which has not been awarded or which has been suspended by reasons of nationality or place of residence of the person concerned shall, upon application, be awarded or resumed with effect from the date of the entry into force of this Agreement;
- d)The provisions of the legislation of the Contracting States concerning the forfeiture or limitation of rights may not be invoked against the person concerned, in relation to the rights resulting from the application of subparagraph c), if the application is submitted within two years from the date of entry in force of this Agreement;
- e)If the application referred to in subparagraph d) is submitted after the expiry of that period, the right to the benefits, which has not been forfeited or time barred, shall have effect from the date on which the application was submitted, except where more favourable provisions of the legislation of either Contracting State apply.
TITLE V
Final provisions
Article 33
Settlement of disputes
- 1 -Any dispute that may arise from the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be settled through negotiation by diplomatic channels.
- 2 -If the dispute cannot be settled in accordance with paragraph 1 within six months, it shall be submitted to an arbitration tribunal, whose composition and rules of procedure shall be approved through mutual agreement by the Contracting States.
- 3 -The decisions of the arbitration tribunal shall be binding and definitive.
Article 34
Entry into force
This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month after the date of receipt of the last notification, made in writing and through diplomatic channels, informing that the internal legal proceedings required for that purpose in the Contracting States have been finalised.
Article 35
Duration and denouncement
- 1 -This Agreement shall remain in force for a period of one year and it shall be tacitly renewed every year for equal periods.
- 2 -Either Contracting State may denounce this Agreement, being the respective notice of denunciation given in writing through diplomatic channels up to six months before the expiry of the calendar year in course, whereupon the Agreement shall cease to be in force at the expiry of that calendar year.
- 3 -In the event of denouncement of this Agreement, the acquired rights and the rights in course of acquisition shall be maintained in accordance with its provisions.
Article 36
Registration
The Contracting State in the territory of which this Agreement is signed shall submit it for registration with the Secretariat of the United Nations, under article 102 of the United Nations Charter, and shall also notify the other Contracting State on the conclusion of this procedure and inform on the respective registration number.
In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed this Agreement.
Done in two copies at Lisbon, this 11 day of February 2009, in the portuguese, moldovan and english languages, all texts being equally authoritative. In the event of a divergent interpretation, the english text shall prevail.
For the Republic of Portugal:
José António Fonseca Vieira da Silva, Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity.
For the Republic of Moldova:
Galina (ver documento original), Minister of Social Protection, Family and Child.