'Small steps' urged in implementation of probation

Deputy Justice Minister Gheorghe Susarenco suggests the reform concerning the institute of probation should be followed with “small and sound steps”, saying that the adoption of the Probation Law in 2008 was done with “unreasonable haste”, Info-Prim Neo reports. An alternative to detention, probation is generally recognized as a solution that offers an individual, more human approach to the persons in conflict with the law. “After the declaration of independence, we were proud with ourselves for being champions in the ex-soviet space in matters of judicial reform, but now we see that those who hurried less had fewer troubles”, said Deputy Minister Susarenco, once a Constitutional Justice, at the international conference “Probation in Moldova. Challenges and New Approaches”, held in Chisinau on Friday. Susarenco believes that a step further in the implementation of probation will be taken early next year, when Parliament is to adopt a law introducing private court bailiffs, who will share the burden of the state in enforcing court decisions. Igor Dolea, the director of the Institute for Penal Reform (IRP), said the goal of the conference was to address the challenges facing the institute of probation and find solutions. Together with the revision of the Criminal Code, the probation reform is one of the key steps in humanizing the penal system modernizing the laws, by aligning them with European standards. The Conference was organized by the IRP and the Norwegian Mission of Rule of Law Advisers to Moldova (NORLAM), in cooperation with the Justice Ministry's Probation Department.