TITLE II
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, FREEDOMS AND DUTIES

CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 20. Free access to justice

(1) Any individual person shall be entitled to obtain effective reparation from the part of competent courts of law against actions infringing upon his/her legitimate rights, freedoms and interests.

(2) No law may restrict the access to justice.

TITLE II
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, FREEDOMS AND DUTIES

CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 21. Presumption of innocence

Any individual person indicted for having committed an offence shall be presumed innocent, until found guilty on legal grounds during a public trial in which all guarantees necessary for his/her defence have been brought forward.

TITLE II
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, FREEDOMS AND DUTIES

CHAPTER II
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

Article 24. Right to life, to physical and mental integrity

(2) No one shall be subject to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments or treatments.

TITLE II
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, FREEDOMS AND DUTIES

CHAPTER II
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

Article 25. Individual freedom and security of person

(1) Individual freedom and security of person shall be inviolable.

(2) Search, detainment in custody or arrest of a person shall be allowed only in cases and pursuant to the procedure foreseen by the law.

(3) The period of detention in custody may not exceed 72 hours.

(4) Arrest shall be made under a warrant issued by a judge for a period of 30 days at the most. The arrested person may lodge a complaint with a hierarchically superior court of law on the legality of the warrant, under the terms of law. The term of detention may be extended, under the law, only by the judge or court of law to 12 months at the most.

(5) The detained in custody or arrested person shall be informed without delay on the reasons of his/her detention or arrest, and notified of the charges against him/her, as soon as possible ; the notification of the charges shall be made only in the presence of a lawyer, either chosen by the defendant or appointed ex officio.

(6) The release of the detained or arrested person shall be mandatory, if the reasons of his/ her detention or arrest have been eliminated.

TITLE II
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, FREEDOMS AND DUTIES

CHAPTER II
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

Article 26. Right to defence

(1) The right to defence shall be guaranteed.

(2) Everyone shall be entitled to respond independently by appropriate legitimate means to an infringement of his/her rights and freedoms.

(3) Throughout the trial the parties shall have the right to be assisted by a lawyer, either chosen or appointed ex officio.

(4) Any interference with the activity of the persons carrying out the defence within legally established limits shall be punishable by law.

TITLE III
PUBLIC AUTHORITIES

CHAPTER IX
JUDICIARY

FIRST SECTION
Courts of law

Article 118. Language used in legal proceedings and the right to have an interpreter

(1) Legal proceedings shall be held in the Moldavian language.

(2) The persons who cannot understand and speak Moldavian shall be entitled to take cognisance of all documents and items of the case-file and to speak during the trial through an interpreter.

(3) Legal proceedings may also be conducted, under the law, in a language acceptable by the majority of persons attending the trial.

Article 55
Rights of persons during an investigation
1. In respect of an investigation under this Statute, a person:
(a) Shall not be compelled to incriminate himself or herself or to confess guilt;
(b) Shall not be subjected to any form of coercion, duress or threat, to torture or to any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
(c) Shall, if questioned in a language other than a language the person fully understands and speaks, have, free of any cost, the assistance of a competent interpreter and such translations as are necessary to meet the requirements of fairness; and
(d) Shall not be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention, and shall not be deprived of his or her liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are established in this Statute.
2. Where there are grounds to believe that a person has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court and that person is about to be questioned either by the Prosecutor, or by national authorities pursuant to a request made under Part 9, that person shall also have the following rights of which he or she shall be informed prior to being questioned:
(a) To be informed, prior to being questioned, that there are grounds to believe that he or she has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;
(b) To remain silent, without such silence being a consideration in the determination of guilt or innocence;
(c) To have legal assistance of the person's choosing, or, if the person does not have legal assistance, to have legal assistance assigned to him or her, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment by the person in any such case if the person does not have sufficient means to pay for it; and
(d) To be questioned in the presence of counsel unless the person has voluntarily waived his or her right to counsel.

Article 63
Trial in the presence of the accused
1. The accused shall be present during the trial.
2. If the accused, being present before the Court, continues to disrupt the trial, the Trial Chamber may remove the accused and shall make provision for him or her to observe the trial and instruct counsel from outside the courtroom, through the use of communications technology, if required. Such measures shall be taken only in exceptional circumstances after other reasonable alternatives have proved inadequate, and only for such duration as is strictly required.

Article 66
Presumption of innocence
1. Everyone shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty before the Court in accordance with the applicable law.
2. The onus is on the Prosecutor to prove the guilt of the accused.
3. In order to convict the accused, the Court must be convinced of the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

Article 67
Rights of the accused
1. In the determination of any charge, the accused shall be entitled to a public hearing, having regard to the provisions of this Statute, to a fair hearing conducted impartially, and to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality:
(a) To be informed promptly and in detail of the nature, cause and content of the charge, in a language which the accused fully understands and speaks;
(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defence and to communicate freely with counsel of the accused's choosing in confidence;
(c) To be tried without undue delay;
(d) Subject to article 63, paragraph 2, to be present at the trial, to conduct the defence in person or through legal assistance of the accused's choosing, to be informed, if the accused does not have legal assistance, of this right and to have legal assistance assigned by the Court in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment if the accused lacks sufficient means to pay for it;
(e) To examine, or have examined, the witnesses against him or her and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his or her behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him or her. The accused shall also be entitled to raise defences and to present other evidence admissible under this Statute;
(f) To have, free of any cost, the assistance of a competent interpreter and such translations as are necessary to meet the requirements of fairness, if any of the proceedings of or documents presented to the Court are not in a language which the accused fully understands and speaks;
(g) Not to be compelled to testify or to confess guilt and to remain silent, without such silence being a consideration in the determination of guilt or innocence;
(h) To make an unsworn oral or written statement in his or her defence; and
(i) Not to have imposed on him or her any reversal of the burden of proof or any onus of rebuttal.
2. In addition to any other disclosure provided for in this Statute, the Prosecutor shall, as soon as practicable, disclose to the defence evidence in the Prosecutor's possession or control which he or she believes shows or tends to show the innocence of the accused, or to mitigate the guilt of the accused, or which may affect the credibility of prosecution evidence. In case of doubt as to the application of this paragraph, the Court shall decide.