National frameworks to address hate crime in Moldova
This page provides information on the national frameworks to address hate crime in Moldova. The information provided here should be viewed alongside data presented on Moldova's hate crime report page.
Hate crime recording and data collection
The Information Centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for collecting data on all crimes committed in Moldova, including hate crimes. The Register of criminalistic and criminological information of the Republic of Moldova collects and records information on all crimes committed in the country, including those investigated by the police, prosecutors, the National Anticorruption Centre, the State Tax Service, and the Customs Service.
All information of a criminal nature is stored within the Automated Integrated Information System for Crime Recording, including information on criminal cases and perpetrators, through recording forms on the crimes, the conduct of the criminal investigation, and the results of the criminal prosecution. With regards to hate crimes, the following bias motivations are tracked: "race"; skin colour; ethnic, national or social origin; citizenship; sex; gender; language; religion or religious beliefs; political opinions; disability; sexual orientation; gender identity; state of health; age; and marital status.
In 2022, changes to the Automated Integrated Information System for Crime Recording were introduced, allowing for the bias motivation of crimes to be recorded. In parallel, amendments were made to the guidelines concerning the single register of offences, criminal cases and offenders, adopted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the General Prosecutor's Office, the National Anticorruption Centre, the Customs Service and the State Tax Service (Guidelines on Completing The New Information Fields On Bias-Motivated Crimes).
The prosecutor's office does not keep separate records of hate crimes. If a prosecutor encounters a hate crime, they fill in the relevant statistical form in the Register of criminalistic and criminological information and, after investigating the case, send it to the appropriate territorial police body. In 2019, the "Guidelines on the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes" were adopted to make prosecution of hate crimes more effective.
The Court Administration Agency administrates the Judicial Information System. One of the components of the Judicial Information System is the Integrated Case Management Programme (PIGD), which is an application for automated documentation, record keeping and control of the electronic management of case files and other procedural materials issued by or submitted to the courts. The Courts register all applications, requests and files submitted to the Courts through this programme.
The Court Administration Agency through the Statistical Reporting Module application within the Integrated Case Management Program (PIGD) generates general statistical data regarding the number of files received, examined, and pending, etc. Data is shared with the Ministry of Justice, which sends a consolidated account of cases considered by the courts to the national statistics body.
The statistical data are published online on the government portal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as on the National Bureau of Statistics website. All court decisions are anonymised and published on the National Courts Portal.
Hate crime victim support
There is no developed victim support system in Moldova. Victims of hate crime have the same legal status and are entitled to the same support services as other crime victims.
General victim support services are mostly delivered by social services and include shelters run by the state or civil society organizations (CSOs), although these are mostly intended for use by domestic violence victims. CSOs also provide some specialized support to victims of hate crime, including legal and psychological assistance. There is a Council for Preventing and Eliminating Discrimination and Ensuring Equality, which can inform the prosecution in case it learns of a hate crime.
On first contact with a victim, police officers are required to inform them of their rights, including the right to information, right to psychological assistance guaranteed by the state, legal aid, financial compensation and the right to privacy, which is provided under certain conditions. At the victim's request, psychological assistance may be offered by local offices providing social help, but is limited to three months for adult victims and six months for minors. The police may also refer victims to CSOs providing specialized support.
Victims of crime are entitled to state-funded legal aid in cases where the victim is unable to pay a lawyer's fees or is a minor. State-funded legal aid is also provided to the family members of a victim who died as a result of a crime. Some crime victims also have the right to obtain compensation.
Hate crime capacity building
Hate crime training for police is offered as part of a continuous training programme offered by the Stefan cel Mare Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Hate crimes are also covered within the police managerial training programme.
Prosecutors and judiciaries are trained within the National Justice Institute, which covers hate crimes as part of both initial and continuous training programmes. Hate crimes are included in the initial training plan of the UN Human Rights System e-course.