The European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been no violation of Article 6 § 2 (presumption of innocence) of the European Convention on Human Rights. It noted that no violation of the presumption of innocence in respect of the former MP during proceedings on the lifting of his parliamentary immunity was committed.

In a post on his Facebook page, Vlad Filat said the judgment passed today does not refer to the trial that led to his conviction. “The illegalities committed during the trial are the object of a separate complaint that passed the stage of formulation of opinions by the parties and a new judgment is to be delivered,” stated the ex-Premier, being quoted by IPN.

The case concerned criminal proceedings which had led, in 2016, to Vlad Filat being sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment for passive bribery and influence peddling.  The Court held that neither the statements made by the State Prosecutor during the parliamentary sitting on 15 October 2015 nor the reasoning set out in the latter’s written request, which had been read out during the sitting by the Speaker of Parliament, had infringed the applicant’s right to be presumed innocent until proved otherwise. There had therefore been no violation of Article 6 § 2 of the Convention.

The ECHR judgments can be appealed to the Grand Chamber within three months of their publication.

Vlad Filat was released before the expected time in December 2019 based on the national mechanism for shortening the sentence due to inhuman and degrading conditions in jail.