Poor offenders can ask for money from state budget for mediation

Offenders on low incomes can ask for money from the state budget for mediation. The only condition is they should not be recidivists. An offender's income in such a case should be smaller than the price of the mediation services, Info-Prim Neo reports. Either the offender, or the victim can ask for money from the state for the mediation. Regardless of their incomes, the people with communication problems can also benefit from money from the state budget for mediation, such as the blind, the deaf and people with other physical or mental deficiencies and the minors. The applicants shall submit the Justice Ministry a request to refund the mediation services, 15 workdays before submitting the case for mediation. A mediator will get about 640 lei for a case and by 40 lei for each session, and he/she will get a 10 per-cent bonus if more than two sides participate in the mediation, or one of them is a minor. From 2005 through 2008, the Penal Reforms Institute ran a pilot project offering mediation services. Court and law-enforcement bodies gave it 254 penal cases for mediation, of which the Institute accepted 232. The expenditures incurred amount to 178,100 lei. The mediation consists in seeking for a solution to a litigation, without resorting to a court.