The Constitutional Court (CC) examined the constitutionality of the reasons for an annulment appeal and declared the text “inclusive” in paragraph 1 of Article 453 of the Penal Procedure Code unconstitutional. The decision refers to the guaranteeing of the right of free access to justice in the penal procedure and is aimed at avoiding convictions by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

The procedure concerns cases in which the ECHR informs the Government about the submission of applications against the state and the existence of essential bad practices within the national court procedures can be deduced from this information, IPN reports.

The CC was notified by MP Anghel Agache. The Court held that the use of the term “inclusive” by lawmakers in paragraph 1 of Article 453 of the Penal Procedure Code generates questions as to the quality of the law and leaves room for interpretation according to which, when an annulment appeal is filed and there is an essential bad practice within the previous procedure that affected the appealed decision, a separate appeal cannot be formulated when the ECHR informs the Government of the Republic of Moldova about the submission of the application,” CC president Domnica Manole explained in a press briefing.

The Court noted that such annulment appeals should be examined separately so as to ascertain the existence or absence of essential bad practices within the previous procedure or the annulment appeal based on the informing by the ECHR of the Government of the Republic of Moldova becomes theoretical and illusory.