Justice Ministry Proposal: Damages Paid For Inmates Who Did Not Receive Sentence Compensation

Romania’s Justice Ministry is considering the option of paying damages for inmates who did not benefit from sentence compensation for convictions served in below-par prisons, calculated per number of reduced sentence days which were not granted, according to a draft bill obtained by MEDIAFAX.

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According to the initiative, all inmates incarcerated below EU standards after July 2012, and who did not benefit from sentence compensation, would be eligible to receive 5 RON for every sentence reduction day which was not granted.

It would also allow any current or former inmates to file for the damages, if they consider that they spent a sentence in sub-par conditions. However, inmates who make the requests for sentences served before July 2012 will only be eligible if they prove that they filed ECHR complaints in this regard.

In the current version of the document, the damages would be paid by the National Penitentiary Administration and/or the Interior Ministry, but one of the considered options is to shift the expenses to the Finance Ministry.

The sentence compensation bill was passed in 2017 and gives all inmates incarcerated below EU standards six days off their sentences, for every 30 days served.

However, the bill was subject to public scrutiny at the beginning of 2019, after the Justice Ministry announced that a high number of inmates who benefitted from the measures were re-incarcerated shortly due to repeat offences.

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