The basic problems in Moldova’s justice system for which the state is convicted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) remained the same. It goes to ill-treatment, illegal and abusive arrests made by the prosecutor’s offices and judges of inquiry and to shortcomings related to the right to a fair trial, access to justice, private life, right of ownership, etc., programs director of Promo-LEX Association, lawyer Vadim Vieru stated in an interview for IPN News Agency.
Vadim Vieru said that a number of stages need to be covered before reaching the ECHR. It is mandatory for the right that was violated to be stipulated in the European Convention of Human Rights. Also, all the national remedies should be used up at national level. Only after an irrevocable decision is made, a complaint can be submitted to the European Court. “Another, as important criterion that recently suffered particular changes is related to the period during which a complaint is submitted to the ECHR. Until now a complaint was submitted during a period of six months, while now the period is four months since a definitive and irrevocable court decision is made. The period is shorter, but is sufficient,” explained the lawyer.
The number of complaints filed by Moldovans differs from year to year. In 2021, about 600 complaints were submitted from the Republic of Moldova. The figure is lower than in 2019-2020, when the number stood at 1,000. The expert said that this decline is due to a number of factors, also because more remedies appeared at national level. “For example, earlier the detainees could complain to the ECHR for the simple placing in Penitentiary No. 13. Now there are preventive and compensatory remedies that should be used up. If they do not get an efficient remedy, they can go to the European Court,” stated Vadim Vieru.
According to the lawyer, the complaints filed to the ECHR that are admitted and are examined represent about 5-6%. The ECHR is not a solution “for all diseases”,” he stated.
As to the number of decisions passed against the Republic of Moldova, the lawyer said 20-30 such decisions are pronounced annually. “Apparently, the number is not large, but actually it is if we compare it with the figures for other states. Important cases with important problems related to rights that have an impact on the justice system of Moldova area examined. Evidently, the state pays from taxpayers’ money later. But this is not the most important thing. What is more important is that the state should implement measures for these violations not to repeat in the future. Regrettably, we experience problems here,” said Vadim Vieru.
The interview “Respect for the human rights in the Republic of Moldova – between perception and reality” was conducted as part of IPN Agency’s project “Support for the justice sector reform by covering high-profile cases of alleged injustice in multimedia format”.
