When you are detained on remand, you have the right to regular review of the need to continue the detention.
Who?
In Moldova, the need for your detention on remand is subject to regular review every time the issue of its extension is decided by the investigative judge or the court. Also, you or your lawyer can ask the investigative judge, or the court if the trial has started, to re-evaluate whether it is still necessary to continue your detention. The Criminal Procedure Code explains who can initiate and conduct the review of your detention, when and how.
Participation
You have the right to be present at the hearing in front of the investigative judge or the court and to explain your arguments as to why you should be released. Your lawyer must also be allowed to participate and help you at the hearing. If you do not understand and/or speak Romanian, the investigative judge or the court has a duty to arrange a State paid translator during the hearing. The Criminal Procedure Code also outlines when the investigative judge or the court may consider your application without your presence.
Reasoned decision
The investigative judge or the court has to examine all the facts for and against your continued detention on remand. The judges must be very diligent in doing this. The investigative judge must issue a well-reasoned decision, especially if he or she has decided to continue to keep you on remand. This means that the decision must very clearly explain the grounds on which you will be kept detained and why that is still necessary at this stage of the proceedings. The reasons cannot be superficial, generic or repeat the same reasoning as in the previous detention reviews.
The longer you have been detained, the more thorough and well-founded the reasons for prolonging your detention should be.
If you do not understand Romanian, the court must provide you with a translation of the decision without delay in a language that you understand.
Timely decision
Human rights require that the lawfulness of your detention must be decided speedily. It means that the investigative judge or the court has to consider your application carefully and without unjustified delay. When making a decision on your detention, the investigative judge and the court has to follow the time limits prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code.
Appeals
Moldovan law provides a 3 days’ time-limit for appealing this decision.
What human rights violation may there be?
If the review process was not made available to you or did not correspond to the given requirements, it may result in a violation of the right to liberty and security of a person.