Moldovan parliament passes in first reading draft law on threats against judges to be punished with up to eight years in prison

Threatening or assaulting judges might become a criminal offense punishable by up to eight years in prison. The parliament has passed a draft law providing for harsher penalties in the first reading.

The legislative initiative was developed by a group of MPs on behalf of the Action and Solidarity Party’s (PAS) faction and aims to strengthen the security of judges, after in recent years more magistrates have been assaulted, followed and subjected to threats.

According to the draft, the Criminal Code will be supplemented with a new article that criminalizes threatening a judge or their relatives with bodily harm, death, or destruction of property. Such acts will be punishable by a fine of up to 70,000 lei, unpaid community service of up to 190 hours, or imprisonment for up to three years.

If the actions are accompanied by violence or cause material damage on a large scale, the sanctions become more severe, with imprisonment from five to eight years being provided.

The draft also provides for amendments to the Contravention Code. Insulting (outraging) a judge will be punishable by a fine of up to 5,000 lei or unpaid community service. Violating order in the courtroom will be punishable by a fine of up to 4,000 lei, while hooligan behavior or disturbing court hearings may result in fines of up to 6,000 lei or contravention arrest for up to 10 days. At the same time, video recording in the courtroom without consent will be punishable by a fine of up to 5,000 lei.

In the past year, more magistrates from the courts of Chisinau, Causeni and Balti have been targeted in such cases.

The Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) welcomed the passing of the draft law, stressing that the document represents “a natural evolution” of efforts to strengthen the security of judges. The institution recalled that it had previously notified the parliament’s legal commission about the systemic risks of aggression against magistrates and requested urgent legislative interventions for the explicit sanctioning of outrage, threats and harassment.

The Council expressed its support for the priority adoption of the draft and reiterated that the independence, impartiality and security of judges are essential for the proper work of justice and for maintaining public confidence in the judicial system.

The draft law is to be subjected to public consultations and then considered in the second reading. After adoption, the amendments will enter into force on the date of their publication in the Official Journal (Monitorul Oficial).