Moldova continues to be convicted by the European Court of Human Rights for violating the principle of reasonable timeframe in hearings. In a news conference held at Info-Prim Neo on September 16, lawyer Roman Zadoinov said it happens because the Moldovan judges often do not know the legislation and because the legal system is corrupt. “Both the Constitution and the international legislation clearly say that the cases must be examined within 30 days. Depending on the complexity of the cases, this term may be increased to a year. There are cases that must be dealt with within a restricted period of time, when damage is caused to a person’s health. But the prosecutors often cannot clearly formulate the accusations during several years and the arrested persons remain in custody for 3-5 years,” said the lawyer. Roman Zadoinov related the case of Valeriu Goremykin, who has been held in Balti for about three years in the absence of a sentence. “In Moldova, the rule of a fair trial held within a reasonable time is broken by the courts of law. It is true that several hearings are needed in some of the cases, but it is inadmissible for the person to be held under arrest for over five years when there is no conviction. These persons lose their families and jobs,” said the lawyer. He also said that the Balti Court of Appeals has not yet passed sentence in the case of Stefan Chiose, which has been examined for several years. Teodor Vasilica, chairman of the Botanica Condominium Owners Association, said he faces a similar situation. During almost two years, the Botanica court has examined the case involving a dweller who has not paid the bills for three years because he considers the area of his apartment was calculated incorrectly. “Though it was determined that the calculations are correct, the case is still examined by the lower court,” said Teodor Vasilica, adding the delay is due to the relations existing in the legal system, between the judges, lawyers and the accused. Roman Zadoinov said there is no internal remedy for such a phenomenon in Moldova. “There are many cases. The hearings are postponed either because the judges want to be offered money or because they don’t now the legal provisions, especially the Constitution. Maybe we should dismiss all the judges as in Georgia and employ other judges with new conceptions and with integrity,” said the lawyer. In 2006 – 2009, the European Court of Human Rights convicted Moldova in nine cases for violating the reasonable time for examining a legal case. The Government of Moldova was obliged to pay €42,000 in damages.