Moldova's New Naming Law: Unity or Division?
The Parliament of Moldova has approved in the first reading a legislative initiative that would regulate the assignment and renaming of geographic objects located within the administrative-territorial boundaries of the Republic of Moldova.
According to the Parliament, the law on geographic names aims to regulate the manner of assigning geographic names, their identification, standardisation, registration, use, protection, and control.
Geographic names on the territory of the country, such as toponyms, natural elements, historical and cultural zones, will be written in the Romanian language. In areas traditionally inhabited by a substantial number of persons belonging to national minorities, and if there is sufficient demand, geographic names will also be displayed in the minority languages spoken by the inhabitants of these localities.
According to the document, the National Commission for Geographic Names will be created, a consultative body established under the Agency for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre. The Commission will be responsible for examining requests for the establishment of geographic names; issuing an opinion to the initiator/public authorities responsible for geographic names on the file for the assignment of geographic names; and including them in the Register of Geographic Names.
The draft law on geographic names was developed by the Agency for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre in collaboration with Norway's Mapping Authority, within the framework of the project "Maps for Sustainable Development", with technical support provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway. The Republic of Moldova has not had, until now, a regulatory framework to regulate the field of geographic names. This was done, starting with 1990, by the Academy of Sciences of Moldova.
The draft law will be further examined by the Parliament in the second reading.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
