Moldova's Prosecutor General refers Constitutional Court regarding amendments to Amnesty Law

Prosecutor General of Moldova Ion Munteanu has notified the Constitutional Court to examine the constitutionality of Article II of Law no. 247/2022 and Article VII of Law no. 316/2022, which involves significant changes to Law no. 243/2021 concerning amnesty, in the context of the 30the anniversary of the Independence, reports MOLDPRES.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG), the referral addresses, in particular, the removal of the condition concerning the absence of a risk of recidivism for those sentenced to life imprisonment, aiming to commute the sentence to 30 years in prison.

The Prosecutor General highlights that this amendment may endanger public safety and contradict the constitutional principles of the rule of law, protection of life and personal integrity.

Also, the referral reveals procedural flaws in the legislative process: the contested amendments were introduced into draft laws with completely different object during the second reading, without public debates and necessary approvals, which affects the principles of transparency, legality and legal security.

Thus, the Prosecutor General asks the Constitutional Court to suspend the enforcement of the contested provisions until the examination of the case on its merits and to determine the unconstitutionality of the aforementioned provisions for the infringement of the constitutional and procedural principles.

On April 4, the parliament voted, in two readings, the draft law for the interpretation of Article 7 of the Amnesty Law concerning the 30th anniversary of the proclamation of Moldova’s Independence, adopted in 2021.

According to the draft, persons sentenced to life imprisonment will not be able to simultaneously benefit from the commutation of the sentence on amnesty and conditional release.

Thus, a convicted person whose sentence has been reduced or commuted will not be eligible for conditional release before the term. These provisions will apply also to individuals whose sentences have been reduced or commuted based on the Amnesty Law, in connection with the 30th anniversary of the proclamation of Moldova’s Independence and were subsequently released before the term. More specifically, the effects of the draft law for interpretation will also apply to those who have already benefited from the erroneous preemption of the norms under interpretation.