Moldovan courts now more humane towards child offenders, UNICEF says

Due to last August’s Parliamentary amendments to penal codes, the Moldovan justice system is now more youth-friendly and closer to international standards, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Under these changes, the maximum length of time that children under 18 can be detained was reduced from 15 years to 12.5, and the length of time these children can be held before being formally charged with a crime was slashed from 72 to 24 hours. Moreover, jurisdiction over criminal investigations of children has passed from the police to the Prosecutor’s office, and detained children are now permitted to have their case files, which sent them to prison, reviewed.

“These are initiatives that need to be continued whenever possible, especially alternatives to detention and the provision of specialized rehabilitation services for children who make mistakes,” said Ray Virgilio Torres, UNICEF Representative in Moldova. “Children belong in school, not in prison.”

Since the new amendments came into force last year, 600 children have been criminally charged. Of these children, 380 cases were tried and 130 tried at the investigation stage. Substitutes to detention were recommended in the majority of the cases that went to court.

“The accomplishments of the joint efforts of national authorities, [non-governmental organizations] specializing in criminal law reform and UNICEF are a good example to follow,” Raisa Botezatu, Vice Chairman of the Supreme Court of Justice in Moldova, said. “Professionals now try to have a more human attitude towards children.”