Promoting a human rights compliant criminal justice system in the Republic of Moldova

The Programme ”Promoting a human rights compliant criminal justice system in the Republic of Moldova” is in line with the strategic priorities for cooperation as formulated in the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova for 2017-2020, and is funded by the Norwegian government.

It is aimed to ensure a higher respect for human rights and the rule of law by assisting the national authorities in building up an efficiently functioning criminal justice system, in line with European human rights standards, and based on the principles of humanisation, resocialisation and restorative justice.

Main intervention areas will cover policy/legal framework, institutional and practical implementation levels, with the focus on:

Consolidation of criminal justice policy, legislation and judiciary practice in line with international standards with respect to the liberalization of criminal proceedings, including strengthening the application of non-custodial pre-trial preventive measures and sanctions, alternative sanctions in criminal cases, improvement of probation services and release on parole mechanisms
Better treatment and resocialisation of inmates by improving the regulatory and policy framework as well as prison staff capacities relevant to regime arrangements and management of prisons, implementation of treatment programmes and provision of health care services for inmates;
Support towards the development of the capacities of criminal justice stakeholders in the light of the implementation of the on-going reforms, including judiciary, prosecution service, as well as Ombudsperson’s institution and National Prevention Mechanism (NPM).

The Programme is expected to be implemented in 36 months (as of 1 March 2018).

Useful information

PROJECT NEWS

Back The Governors of the Prison System of the Republic of Moldova Enhanced their Skills in Leadership and Management

The governors of all prison institutions of the Republic of Moldova and representatives of the National Administration of Penitentiaries enhanced their knowledge and skills in Leadership and Management over a 3-day training session held in Chisinau, on 20-22 March 2023.

The Minister of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, Veronica Mihailov-Moraru, attended the opening part and reiterated the commitment and full support of the institution to the project.

“Prison governors have the key role in the institutional transformation process within a larger Europeanisation process, for transposing into practice of European standards and priorities set by the Ministry of Justice at policy level, altogether with daily management of risk and crisis situations with prisoners, conflicts with the personnel and other responsibilities. For accumulating this knowledge and developing the necessary skills we have the support of our partners in the Council of Europe, and today's workshop is an example of a series of activities designed to help reform prisons in the Republic of Moldova” said the Minister.

The training allowed the 26 participants to explore practical ways in which they can effectively implement international standards and ensure safe, secure and humane custody in their respective prison institution. They actively participated in discussions on strategic planning, on skills necessary to achieve results in the workplace, identifying their strengths in leadership and management and areas in which they wish to improve. They further practiced the new skills in group activities, by simulating the delegation of tasks, managing crisis situations, and devising intervention plans to resolve prison incidents.

The training was carried out on the basis of the Prison Management Manual developed by the Council of Europe for the senior management of the prison system of the Republic of Moldova, while targeting the leadership and management competencies of prison governors, aiming to increase the efficiency of the prison system and the observance of human rights in places of detention.

The training was facilitated by the Council of Europe consultants and was organized under the auspices of the Project “Strengthening the prison and probation reforms, provision of health care and the treatment of patients in closed institutions in the Republic of Moldova”, financed through the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova (2021-2024) and implemented by the Council of Europe.

Republic of Moldova 27 March 2023