Amnesty of mothers with children up to eight years of age constitutional in Moldova

Chisinau, 9 April /MOLDPRES/ - The Constitutional Court (CCM) on 8 April confirmed the constitutionality of the amnesty of women with children up to eight years of age.  

CCM said that the provision cannot be extended also to fathers, given that statistics data shows that the inmates males are by about 95 per cent more than females. The giving of right to amnesty to all fathers with children up to eight years of age, including to those who committed serious offences, would imply the release from prisons of a quite large number of inmates, which could create among citizens a feeling of unrest as to the public order.     

In these circumstances, the Court found out that it would be quite difficult for the parliament to release fathers based on the same reasons invoked as in the case of mothers. Thus, the release from the punishment with imprisonment only of women who had children up to eight years of age, not also of men, has at the basis an objective and reasonable justification.  

The Constitutional Court concluded that the word “woman” from the second argument of the Article 5 of the Law No 188 from 10 July 2008 on amnesty in connection of the declaration of the 2008 year as Youth Year was in compliance with the Article 16, corroborated with the Article 28 of the Constitution.  

The CCM ruling is final, cannot be subjected to any appeal, enters into force on the date of adoption and is published in Moldova’s Official Journal (Monitorul Oficial).