CAPC signals shortcomings in key investigation bill

The Center for Analysis and Corruption Prevention (CAPC) is calling Parliament's attention to the fact that the Justice Ministry's bill on investigation, while necessary, needs serious editing, Info-Prim Neo reports. “This bill is justified and opportune. The main shortcomings that it has are related to a choice of words and a language style that are not quite appropriate for lawmaking. The bill uses different terms for the same notions, the same facts or phenomena”, Marina Kalughin, a CAPC expert, told a press conference on Monday. According to CAPC, the law is necessary to prevent and fight crime, introducing improved investigation techniques to ensure state security. Marina Kalughin says a crucial introduction is that the bill makes it very clear which measures or with the permission of which authority these measures may be undertaken. “Thus, exclusively with the authorization of the investigation judge, investigators may perform home searches, home surveillance with special equipment, wiretapping or monitoring of financial transactions. These special investigation measures may be taken only as part of a already initiated set of criminal proceedings, only with the consent of the investigation judge, and at the request of the prosecutor”, said Marina Kalughin. There are seven agencies with investigation functions – the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the Anticorruption Center, the State Protection Service, the Customs Service, the Department of Penitentiary Institutions, and the Security and Intelligence Service. CAPC head Galina Bostan noted that it was a very welcome fact that investigation would be permitted only as part of an initiated set of criminal proceedings. “Otherwise, outside of criminal proceedings, anyone who is interested in someone's private life could act through an investigation body to collect such information”, said Galina Bostan. Galina Bostan also remarked that the bill didn't have an information note to explain its economic and financial aspects. However she thinks that it wasn't done out of bad will, but rather because of a lack of capacities to present such a note. “This is a threat, because when a bill doesn't provide the financial sources for its effective implementation, we risk having a dead-letter law”, said Galina Bostan. CAPC examined the bill as part of the Corruptibility Expert Review of Normative and Legislative Documents – Fifth Stage Project that is financially supported by the Civil Rights Defenders of Sweden and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.