The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will rejudge the case of Paladi vs. Moldova (Ion Paladi is a former deputy mayor of Chisinau city – editor’s note), following a request for referral from the Moldovan Government, Info-Prim Neo learned from the Organisation “Lawyers for Human Rights”. A Grand Chamber panel of five judges accepted the Government’s request for the case to be referred to the Grand Chamber under Article 43 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This is the first instance of referral of a case against Moldova being accepted by the Grand Chamber. Public hearings are due to start on 14 May 2008. Under Article 43 of the European Convention, within three months from the date of a Chamber judgment, any party to the case may, in exceptional cases, request that the case be referred to the 17-member Grand Chamber of the Court. In that event, a panel of five judges considers whether the case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation or application of the Convention or its protocols, or a serious issue of general importance, in which case the Grand Chamber will deliver a final judgment. In September 2004, the then Chisinau Deputy Mayor Ion Paladi, together with other City Hall officials, was remanded on custody in the Centre for Fighting Economic Crime and Corruption (CFECC) on suspicion of abuse of position and power. He complained that during his detention, which was allegedly unlawful, he was not given appropriate medical assistance, he was not transferred to a neurological institution despite the recommendations of a doctor and his neurological treatment was interrupted. In a judgment of 10 July 2007, the ECHR held that there had been violations of three articles of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court ordered then the Moldovan Government to pay the plaintiff more than 21,000 euros for damages, costs and expenses.