Reformation of penal procedure generates debates among experts

The legal provisions concerning data that are not accepted as proofs and the nullities in the penal process caused heated discussions among experts in the third round of public debates on the reform of the legal system, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to Ruslan Popov, head of the Prosecution Control and Methodical Assistance Division of the Prosecutor General’s Office, currently all the violations attract the absolute nullity of proofs, but this thing is considered abnormal by specialists. Gheorghe Malic, who heads the Ministry of the Interior’s Prosecution Department, said the law does not say when a decision about the relative or absolute nullity of proofs can be taken. “Who and how decides? We experience provocations at every phase, but the Prosecutor’s Office does not pronounce on them,” said Gheorghe Malic. Another matter discussed was the principle of transparency in the prosecution process and the provision of information on legal cases. According to first deputy prosecutor general Andrei Pantea, the related decision is now taken by the prosecution bodies and there are identified multiple violations of the law, methodical and tactical irregularities. As the decision is closely connected with the respect for the human rights, including the presumption of innocence, it is the involved prosecutor who should decide. The regulation of the rules of protecting the personal data in the prosecution process is another point of the strategy devised by the working group. The regulations limit the access to the personal data of the trial participants and ban the collection and scoring of personal data and documents. The public debates are organized by the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Norwegian Mission of Rule of Law Advisers to Moldova. The strategy for reforming the penal procedure and the Prosecutor’s Office contains 26 proposals. Ten proposals were discussed in the previous debate. The debates will continue until a consensus is reached.