Right to fair trial – most frequently reported problem by Moldovan citizens in 2025: Ombudsman’s report presented in parliament

The right to a fair trial stays the most frequently invoked problem by citizens of Moldova, according to the Report on the Respect for Human Rights and Freedoms for 2025, presented in parliament by Ombudsman Ceslav Panico. Over the past year, 225 complaints on this subject were registered.

The next issues in the ranking of reported problems are the right to private property (78 complaints), the right to work (71), the right to life and physical and mental integrity (61), the right to health protection (54) and the right to information (41).

In total, the Ombudsman’s Office and the Ombudsman for Children’s Rights received 1,204 applications in 2025, up by over 20 per cent compared to the previous year, indicating a higher level of recourse to the institution.

The report also highlights a set of developments considered positive in the field of human rights, including the digitalization of public services, the expansion of social services, as well as certain reforms in the areas of justice and judicial transparency.

During the presentation in parliament, Ombudsman Ceslav Panico stressed that progress in the field of human rights was constant, but still fragile, given the persistence of more structural vulnerabilities:

“The Report on the Respect for Human Rights and Freedoms for 2025 shows that, although significant progress has been made in the digitalization of public services, in expanding social protection and in strengthening certain mechanisms in the justice system, citizens continue to face systemic problems that affect equal access to fundamental rights. The most frequent complaints continue to concern the right to a fair trial, private property, the right to work and the right to health. These areas remain priorities for state institutions’ interventions, as they directly reflect citizens’ trust in the work of justice and public administration,” Panico said.

The report further shows that the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Children’s Rights submitted 1,092 recommendations to public authorities, formulated following monitoring activities, legislative analyses and investigated cases.

Additionally, 210 monitoring visits were carried out, including for the prevention of torture, the protection of children and asylum seekers, as well as for documenting individual situations.

Among the persistent problems identified, there are unequal access to public services between urban and rural areas, excessive length of judicial proceedings, undeclared work and difficulties in accessing mental health services and protecting rights in the Transnistrian region.

The report also includes a separate analysis on children’s rights, presented by  Ombudsman for Children’s Rights Vasile Coroi, who highlighted measures to prevent risk situations, improve access to medical and educational services and strengthen the protection of vulnerable children.