Government To Take Responsibility Before Parliament for Sentence Compensation Repeal

According to the deputy prime minister, the package of bills for which the Government will take responsibility will include the sentence compensation mechanism, the earlier retirement age for magistrates, as well as switching two-judge panels to three-judge panels.

“As for sentence compensation, the main reason is the increased repeat offence rate of beneficiaries. It is important to prioritize the safety of the people in the future,” Turcan wrote in a Facebook post announcing the measure.

Turcan added that Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu will present the situation of Romania’s justice system before the ECHR.

Later on Monday, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban also specified that any current prisoners, or individuals who are on trial or have committed offences for which they could be sentenced to prison up until the mechanism is repealed will still benefit from reduced sentences, according to the principle of the most favorable penal law.

Romania’s sentence compensation mechanism saw one day out of every six deducted for inmates who are imprisoned in conditions below EU standards. The law was heavily criticized due to a high rate of repeat offences among its beneficiaries, especially for individuals who had imprisoned for violent offences.

According to the Romanian Constitution, a bill for which the Government takes responsibility before the Parliament will be enacted if the executive is not dismissed with a no-confidence motion filed within three days after the act is assumed.