GENERAL PROVISIONS ON CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
Notion and Purpose of Criminal Proceedings
Criminal proceedings consist of the activities of criminal investigative bodies and the courts,
in which parties in criminal cases and other individuals participate and that are conducted in
line with the provisions of this Code.
The purpose of a criminal proceeding is to protect individuals, society and the state from
crime and to protect individuals and society from illegal acts of officials in the course of
investigating crimes either alleged or committed so that any person who has committed a
crime is punished to the extent of his/her guilt and no innocent person is subject to criminal
liability and convicted.
In the course of proceedings, criminal investigative bodies and the courts shall act in a manner
such that no one is unjustifiably suspected, accused or convicted and no one is arbitrarily or
unnecessarily subjected to coercive procedural measures.
Criminal Procedural Law
Criminal proceedings are regulated by the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of
Moldova, international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a party and this Code.
The general principles and norms of international law and the international treaties to which
the Republic of Moldova is a party constitute integral elements of criminal procedural law and
directly generate human rights and freedoms during criminal proceedings.
The Constitution of the Republic of Moldova is the supreme law and prevails over national
criminal procedural legislation. No law regulating criminal proceedings has legal force if it
conflicts with the Constitution.
Legal norms of a procedural nature contained in other national laws may be applied only if
they are included in this Code.
In the course of criminal proceedings, laws and other regulations that cancel or limit human
rights and freedoms, that violate the independence of justice or the principle of the adversarial
nature of criminal proceedings or that contradict unanimously recognized norms of
international law or the provisions of the international treaties to which the Republic of
Moldova is a party shall not have legal force.
Should there be a disagreement between the provisions of this Code and the international
treaties on human rights and fundamental freedoms to which the Republic of Moldova is a
party, the provisions of the international regulations shall prevail.
If during the hearing of a case the court ascertains that the legal norm to be applied contradicts
the provisions of the Constitution and is part of a legal act that may be subject to a ruling on
its constitutionality, the hearing shall be suspended and the Supreme Court of Justice shall be
notified and shall further inform the Constitutional Court.
If during the hearing of a case, the court ascertains that the legal norm to be applied
contradicts legal provisions but is part of a legal act that may not be subject to a ruling on its
constitutionality, the court shall apply the law directly.
If during the hearing of a case the court ascertains that the national legal norm to be applied
contradicts the provisions of the international treaties on human rights and fundamental
freedoms to which the Republic of Moldova is a party, the court shall apply the international
regulations directly justifying its judgment and notifying the authority that issued the
respective national norm and the Supreme Court of Justice that it has done so.
Decisions of the Constitutional Court interpreting the Constitution or the unconstitutionality
of legal provisions shall be mandatory for criminal investigative bodies, courts and persons
participating in criminal proceedings.
Explanatory decisions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Justice on the application of
legal provisions in judicial practice shall have the status of recommendations to criminal
investigative bodies and to the courts.
Presumption of Innocence
A person charged with the commission of a crime shall be presumed innocent until his/her
guilt is proved in the manner set out in this Code in a public judicial proceeding during which
all the guarantees necessary to his/her defense shall be secured and is confirmed by a final
conviction sentence of the court. No one has to prove his or her innocence.
Conclusions on a person’s guilt in the commission of a crime may not be based on
suppositions. By proving guilt, all doubts that cannot be eliminated under this Code shall be
interpreted in favor of the suspect/accused/defendant.
Equal Protection of the Law
Everyone shall benefit from the equal protection of the law irrespective of sex, race, color,
language, religion, political opinion or any other opinion, national or social origin, affiliation
to a national minority, wealth, birth or any other situation.
Special conditions for criminal investigations and hearings applied to certain categories of
persons benefiting, in line with the law, from a certain degree of immunity shall be secured
based on the provisions of the Constitution, international treaties, this Code and other laws.
Observance of Human Rights, Freedoms, and Dignity
All agencies and persons participating in criminal proceedings shall respect human rights,
freedoms and dignity.
The temporary limitation of the rights and freedoms of a person and the application of
constraints by competent bodies shall be allowed only in cases and in manners strictly
provided by this Code.
During criminal proceedings, no one may be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumane or
degrading treatment; no one may be detained in humiliating conditions; no one may be forced
to participate in actions that undermine human dignity.
(31) The burden of providing evidence that torture or other cruel, inhumane or degrading
treatment was not administered shall be born by the authority detaining the person deprived of
liberty or that placed there upon the order or instruction of a state agency or upon its tacit
agreement or consent.
Any person has the right by any means not forbidden by law to defend his/her rights,
freedoms, and human dignity illegally violated or limited during a criminal proceeding.
Damage caused to the rights, freedoms, and human dignity during a criminal proceeding
shall be repaired in the manner set forth in the law. When a juvenile is a victim or a witness in
court, actions shall be undertaken to respect his/her interests.
Inviolability of a Person
The individual freedom and security of a person are inviolable.
No one may be detained or arrested except in the cases and manners set forth in this Code.
The deprivation of liberty, arrest, forced placement of a person in a medical institution or
his/her assignment to a special educational institution shall be allowed based only on an arrest
warrant or on a reasoned court judgment.
The detention of a person prior to issuing an arrest warrant may not exceed 72 hours.
Persons detained or arrested shall be immediately informed about their rights and the reasons
for their detention or arrest, the circumstances and the legal qualification of the action the
person is suspected or accused of in a language they understand and in the presence of a
chosen defense counsel or an attorney providing the legal assistance guaranteed by the state.
The criminal investigative body or the court must immediately release any person illegally
detained or if the reason for his/her detention or arrest is found to be groundless. Searches,
bodily searches and other actions that breach the inviolability of a person may be performed
without the consent of the person or his/her legal representative only under the provisions in
this Code.
Any person detained or arrested shall be treated with respect for human dignity.
In the course of a criminal proceeding, no one may be physically or mentally abused, and any
actions or methods that jeopardize the life or health of a person, even with his/her consent and
that endanger the environment shall be prohibited. A detainee or a person subject to
preventive arrest may not be subject to violence, threats or methods that would affect his/her
ability to make decisions or to express his/her views.
Inviolability of a Domicile
The inviolability of a domicile is guaranteed by the law. During a criminal proceeding no one
shall be entitled to enter anyone else’s domicile against the will of the person or persons
living or located there except in cases and in the manner provided for in this Code.
Searches, domicile searches and other actions in a criminal investigation of a domicile must
be ordered and conducted with a legal warrant except in cases and in manners provided for in
this Code. When performing procedural actions without a legal warrant, the body authorized
to conduct such actions shall immediately, however, not later than within 24 hours of the
termination of the action submit to the court necessary documentation so that the legality of
these actions is controlled.
Inviolability of Property
Individuals or legal entities may not be arbitrarily deprived of their property rights. No one
may be deprived of his/her property except for reasons of public utility provided under this
Code and in line with the general principles of international law.
Goods may be sequestered only with a court judgment.
Any goods seized during an action relevant to a criminal procedure shall be described in the
transcript of the respective action, and the person whose goods were seized shall be handed a
copy of this transcript.
Every person has the right to the inviolability of his/her private life, to the confidentiality of
his/her intimate and family life and to the protection of his/her personal honor and dignity. No
one shall be entitled to arbitrarily or illegally interfere in the intimate life of a person during a
criminal proceeding.
In the course of criminal procedures, information on the private and intimate life of a person
may not be collected unless necessary. Upon the request of a criminal investigative body and
the court, participants in criminal procedural actions may not disclose such information and a
written commitment in this regard shall be made.
Persons requested by a criminal investigative body to provide information on their private
and intimate lives shall be entitled to make sure that this information is part of a specific
criminal case. Such persons shall not be entitled to refuse to provide information on their
private and intimate lives under the pretext of the inviolability of private life; however, such
persons shall be entitled to request from the criminal investigative body explanations for the
need for such information, and those explanations shall be included into the transcript of the
respective procedural action.
Evidence confirming information on the private and intimate life of a person upon her/his
request shall be examined during a secret court hearing.
Damage caused to a person by breaching the inviolability of his/her private and intimate life
in the course of a criminal proceeding shall be repaired in the manner set forth in the
legislation currently in force.
Language of a Criminal Proceeding and the Right to an Interpreter
The state language shall be spoken during a criminal proceeding.
A person who does not speak the state language has the right to examine all the
documentation on the case and to speak before the criminal investigative body and the court
through an interpreter.
Criminal proceedings may also be conducted in a language accepted by the majority of
persons participating in the proceeding. In such a case, judgments shall be mandatorily
prepared in the state language as well.
The procedural acts of the criminal investigative body and the court shall be handed over
to the suspect/accused/defendant translated into the native or other language he/she speaks in
the manner provided for in this Code. The criminal investigative body and the court must
ensure the full exercise of the procedural rights of the participants in a criminal proceeding in
line with this Code.
The criminal investigative body and the court must ensure the right of the
suspect/accused/defendant to qualified legal assistance provided by a defense counsel of their
choosing or by an attorney providing the legal assistance guaranteed by the state and
independent of the investigative body.
While examining the injured party and the witnesses, the criminal investigative body shall not
be entitled to prohibit the presence of the attorney invited by the person examined to represent
him/her.
If the suspect/accused/defendant cannot afford a defense counsel, he/she shall be assisted free
of charge by a court-appointed attorney providing the legal assistance guaranteed by the state.
Public Nature of Court Hearings
Hearings are public in all courts except in cases provided by this article.
Access to the courtroom may be prohibited to the press or public in a reasoned ruling for the
entire duration of the proceeding or for a part thereof in order to ensure the protection of
morality, public order or national security; when the interests of juveniles or the protection of
the private lives of the parties in the proceeding so require or to the extent the court considers
this measure strictly necessary due to special circumstances when publicity could damage the
interests of justice.
(21) In a proceeding involving a juvenile victim or witness, the court shall hear his/her
testimony in a closed hearing.
Trying a case in a closed court hearing must be justified, and all the rules relating to such a
judicial procedure shall be followed.
In all cases, court judgments shall be pronounced publicly.
Free Access to Justice
Any person has the right for his/her case to be examined and settled in an equitable manner
within a reasonable timeframe by an independent, impartial, legally set court that will act in
line with this Code.
The person conducting a criminal investigation and the judge may not participate in the
hearing of the case if they directly or indirectly are interested in the proceeding.
The criminal investigative body must take all measures provided for in the law to make a
comprehensive, complete and objective investigation of the circumstances of the case, to
identify the circumstances that prove the guilt of the suspect/accused/defendant or that
discharge that guilt and to identify any circumstances that mitigate or aggravate their liability.
Reasonable Timeframe for Criminal Proceedings
Criminal investigations and hearings of cases shall be performed within reasonable timeframes.
Criteria assessing a reasonable timeframe for settling a criminal case are:
the complexity of the case;
the conduct of the parties in the proceeding;
the conduct of the criminal investigative body and the court;
if the victim is under the age of 18.
Criminal investigations and hearings of criminal cases involving suspects/accused/defendants
under preventive arrest or juveniles, shall be performed in an urgent and preferential manner.
The observance of a reasonable timeframe during a criminal investigation shall be guaranteed by
the prosecutor and during a case hearing by the respective court.
The observance of a reasonable timeframe during the hearing of a specific case shall be verified
by a higher court in the course of a hearing of the respective case under ordinary and
extraordinary means of appeal.
Freedom from Testifying against Oneself
No one may be forced to testify against himself/herself or against his/her close relatives,
husband wife, fiancé or fiancée or to plead guilty.
A person to whom a criminal investigative body suggests making revealing statements against
himself/herself or against his/her close relatives, husband, wife, fiancé or fiancée shall be
entitled to refuse to make such statements and may not be held liable for this.
Inadmissibility of Repeated Prosecution, Trial or Punishment
No one may be prosecuted by criminal investigative bodies, tried or punished by the court
several times for the same crime.
A person must be discharged or a criminal investigation must be terminated to prevent pressing
repeated charges against the same person for the same act except in cases when new or recently
discovered facts come to light or if a fundamental breach of justice in the previous proceeding
affected the respective judgment.
The decision of the criminal investigative body to discharge a person or to terminate criminal
investigations, and the final court judgment shall prevent from resuming the criminal
investigation pressing more severe charges or setting a more severe punishment for the same
person and for the same act except for cases when new or recently discovered facts come to light
or a fundamental breach in the previous proceeding affected the judgment issued.
Securing the Rights of the Victims of Crimes, Abuses of Official Positions and Judicial
Errors
Criminal procedural law secures the rights of the victims of crimes or of abuses of official
positions as well as of persons illegally convicted or arrested or whose rights are otherwise
injured.
The victim of an act that is a component of a crime shall be entitled to request hereunder the
initiation of a criminal case, to participate in the criminal proceeding as an injured party and to
solicit recovery of moral, physical and material damage.
A person acquitted or discharged or for whom a criminal investigation was terminated for
purposes of rehabilitation shall be entitled to the reinstatement of personal rights lost as well as
to redress for damage caused.
Principle of the Adversarial Nature of a Criminal Proceeding
The criminal investigation, defense and hearing of a case are separate activities carried out by
different bodies and persons.
The court is not a criminal investigative body; it does not act in favor of the prosecution or of the
defense and expresses only the interests of the law.
The parties participating in the case hearing have equal rights under criminal procedural law with
equal opportunities to support their positions. The court bases its sentence on only the evidence
equally accessed by all parties for purposes of examination.
The parties in a criminal proceeding select their positions and the manner and means of their
unassisted support being independent from the court, other bodies or other persons. The court
provides support to any party upon request under this Code in the management of relevant
evidence.
Dispensing Justice: an Exclusive Prerogative of the Courts
In criminal cases, justice is dispensed in the name of the law only by courts. The establishment
of illegal courts shall be prohibited.
No one may be declared guilty of the commission of a crime and subjected to criminal
punishment except based on a final court judgment adopted in line with this Code.
The competence of the court and the limits of its jurisdiction and the manner in which the
criminal proceeding is carried out may not be arbitrarily changed for certain categories of cases
or persons and for a certain situation or a certain period of time.
No one may be deprived of the right to have his/her case tried by a court and a judge competent
to do so.
Only the courts hereunder may verify sentences and other court judgments in a criminal case.
Sentences and other judgments of illegal courts have no legal force and may not be enforced.
