Goal: the main aim is to ensure a higher respect for human rights and the rule of law by assisting the national authorities in building up an efficiently functioning criminal justice system, in line with European human rights standards, and based on the principles of humanisation, resocialisation and restorative justice.

Main intervention areas will cover policy/legal framework, institutional and practical implementation levels, with the focus on:

-          consolidation of criminal justice policy, legislation and judiciary practice in line with international standards with respect to the liberalisation of criminal proceedings, including strengthening the application of non-custodial pre-trial preventive measures and sanctions, alternative sanctions in criminal cases, improvement of probation services and release on parole mechanisms;

-          a better treatment and resocialisation of inmates by improving the regulatory and policy framework as well as prison staff capacities relevant to regime arrangements and management of prisons, implementation of treatment programmes and provision of health care services for inmates;

support towards the development of the capacities of criminal justice stakeholders in the light of the implementation of the on-going reforms, including judiciary, prosecution service, as well as Ombudsperson’s institution and National Prevention Mechanism (NPM).

In 2011, the Government of the Republic of Moldova initiated negotiations with the Development Bank of the Council of Europe in order to finance the construction project of a penitentiary with the status of a criminal prosecution isolator that will replace Penitentiary no. 13 - Chisinau. Following the negotiations, on 13 June 2013, the Board of Directors of the Development Bank of the Council of Europe approved the project.

Subsequently, by Law no. 295 of December 12, 2013 was ratified the Framework Loan Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the Development Bank of the Council of Europe for the construction of the Chisinau Penitentiary Construction Project in the amount of 39.0 million euros, signed on October 10, 2013.

Goal: The main objective is to build a penitentiary center in Chisinau for 1536 detainees that will replace the current Penitentiary no. 13 - Chisinau. The new penitentiary will ensure compliance with the European Prison Regulations and the recommendations of international institutions. The construction project of the future penitentiary will contribute to achieve the Government's objectives in reforming the organization and management of penitentiary institutions in order to establish new standards in safety, security and discipline, without affecting the dignity of detainees. The following objectives are established:

-improving the conditions of detention in accordance with the European Standards in the field of detention;

-improving the conditions for providing medical services - providing primary health care and treatment of Tuberculosis;

- the security system in the penitentiary institution will meet the European standards and the provisions of the European Regulation for Penitentiaries;

-improved working conditions in accordance with international standards and training of all employees of the future penitentiary by international experts;

-implementation of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture recommendations in the field of detention space, education, provision of quality medical services and protection of detainees.

The goal of the Open Justice project is to foster a more efficient justice system, accessible to all members of society. By promoting cutting edge web-based technological solutions, the Open Justice project will improve the administration of the courts to enhance the quality of and access to justice. Open Justice is currently undertaking the following:

-          upgrading the Case Management System as part of the court reorganization and optimization process to increase the efficiency of the judicial system and make it more publicly accessible and transparent,

-          developing a modern Integrated Case Management System (ICMS) that will be integrated with Moldova's e-governance systems and compatible with court reorganization and optimization; through this, ICMS will become a standard of best court automation practices in the region,

-          institutionalizing oversight of judicial performance.

The project team will assist the government of Moldova in deepening the implementation of commercial mediation. Also, the aim is to help develop the necessary secondary legislation to strengthen the legal framework for alternative dispute resolution and at the same time it will promote mediation on a national scale.

The technical assistance will focus on training professional mediators, expanding the network of court-annexed mediation and expanding the capacity of the recently-established mediation centre at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Moldova.

Other activities will focus on raising awareness among the legal and business communities about the advantages of commercial mediation and introducing mediation courses into the curricula of the law departments at Moldovan universities.

Goal: The planned actions are focused to develop an effective management of cases of violence against minors and protection of vulnerable children by creating legal and psychosocial assistance services in 8 towns for children - victims of violence, accompanying children in legal proceedings, equipping a hearing room children in special conditions with specialized equipment according to international standards.

In addition, a series of training are planned for about 300 justice professionals (judges, prosecutors, and investigating officers) for criminal cases involving child victims or witnesses in crimes. Actions will take place in 5 district centers to prevent the violation of the law by children under 14 and the development of a mechanism for collecting data on cases of children in conflict with the law. At the same time, it is intended to raise awareness in society for the reintegration of child victims of crime.

Goal: ATRECO is an EU funded project, implemented over a period of 36 months by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC) and  Justice Coopération Internationale (JCI). The project aims at supporting the implementation of the sustainable reform of the justice sector in Moldova and increasing the efficiency of the judiciar, including:

1. To increase the efficiency, impartiality, accountability and transparency of the courts in  Moldova, particularly in the context of the reforms proposed in the Justice Sector Reform Strategy and Action Plan;

2. To help ensure that the judiciary is a real guarantor of the observance of human rights and security for every person in the course of litigation procedure;

3. To help in application of best practices to reduce the level of judicial corruption and increase public trust in the judiciary;

4. To improve efficiency in court’s budget, including by supporting the implementation of optimization of court’s displacement map and allocation of judges and court staff per courts;

5. To develop the capacity of the judicial institutions to take ownership of the information, IT, video and audio-recording systems, to further improve data management generated by the courts.

Goal: The main objective of this project is to accelerate the sustainable reform of the justice sector in Moldova by supporting the implementation of the legislation to prevent and combat corruption in the justice sector.

This will be achieved by supporting the implementation of best practices in order to reduce the level of corruption in the justice sector and increase public trust in the Beneficiaries; by supporting the implementation of an efficient disciplinary mechanism for each target group; and by developing the capacity of the Beneficiaries to take ownership of the information, with special emphasis on the National Institute of Justice.

Accomplishments:

-          the integrity of the Beneficiaries is enhanced;

-          zero tolerance is promoted and implemented with respect to the corrupt behavior of the Beneficiaries, which includes both prevention and criminal prosecution of large-scale corruption;

-          the internal and external communication of the Beneficiaries is improved;

-          consolidated position and capacities of the Beneficiaries.