The lawmakers Friday abrogated the legal provisions by which pedophiles sentenced to imprisonment were to be castrated chemically. The issue was put to the vote in Parliament after the Constitutional Court in July ruled that the given bill is unconstitutional, IPN reports.

Until the law was declared unconstitutional, five pedophiles were sentenced to chemical castration. The measure was to be applied during the last three months of their jail term. Deputy Minister of Justice Nicolae Esanu said the measure for these convicts will be annulled.

The law on the chemical castration of pedophiles was passed in Parliament on March 6, 2012. Bill author, Liberal MP Valeriu Munteanu said then that the number of sexual offences against minors rises every year, while the punishments stipulated in the Criminal Code are too mild and most of the cases are closed.

In the December 20 sitting of the legislature, Valeriu Munteanu said given that the Ministry of Justice proposed abrogating the given legal provisions, it should have suggested other measures to combat pedophilia.