How do you challenge the lawfulness of arrest and ask for compensation?
Right to complain
The grounds and procedures for arrest in cases of criminal suspicion are explained in this Guide. There could be situations where the police did not follow these grounds and procedures. In such situations you have the right to complain about the police behaviour.
What can you claim?
In principle, according to the Moldovan law, you may complain against the refusal of the criminal investigation body to release you when arrested in breach of the grounds and procedures provided by the law or to release the person detained in violation of the 72 hours arrest period. If you are arrested by police, you may complain to the prosecutor in charge of your case. You may complain about the prosecutor’s breach of the law to the hierarchically superior prosecutor. The hierarchically superior prosecutor’s ordinance is subject to complaint to the investigative judge. But in practice, since the period of arrest can only be a maximum of 72 hours, it is not feasible to complain about the unlawfulness of the arrest in order to get released. However, you may request compensation for being arrested unlawfully.
You would also be able to complain about the unlawfulness of the arrest before the investigative judge that must decide on the prosecutor’s request for detention on remand. Read more about the procedure before the investigative judge deciding the detention on remand issue.
Lastly, when you consider that your detention was unlawful or arbitrary, you may also file a criminal complaint to the Prosecution Office so they would assess whether there had been committed an offence provided by the Criminal Code.
Situations
The following two situations may also occur:
- You have been arrested but you are later acquitted or the criminal case is terminated against you because of exonerating circumstances. In such cases you can ask for compensation for damages according to a special law.
- You believe that you have been arrested unlawfully, but you were later sentenced, the criminal case against you was terminated on non-rehabilitation grounds or you don’t know the outcome of your case. In such a situation, you can complain about the unlawfulness of your arrest to the international and European Human rights institutions after you exhausted the complaint procedures before the investigative judge described above.