In such cases the police officer must take care that his/her infringement of those rights and freedoms is kept to a minimum.

III. The functions of the police

1. To maintain law and order.

2. To detect and investigate crime.

3. To reduce and prevent crime.

4. To assist and provide services to the community in accordance with the legislation in force.

IV. The legal basis of the police

5. The police of the Republic of Moldova is a public entity established by the Police Act.

6. Police personnel are in general subject to the same laws as ordinary citizens, with a few exceptions where the proper performance of police functions in a democratic society so requires.

V. The police and the criminal justice system

7. The work of the police is clearly demarcated from that of the judiciary, the prosecution service and the prison system: the police has no supervisory powers over those organs.

8. The police must scrupulously respect judges’ independence and impartiality. In particular it must not object to lawful judicial decisions or obstruct their execution.

9. To attain the basic objectives of its work, the police is vested with a limited number of judicial powers laid down in the legislation in force. If they disagree with judicial decisions of the police, individuals and entities may contest them in legal proceedings.

10. The police plays no part in the execution of prison measures except in emergencies.

VI. Organisation of the police

Fundamental principles

11. In performing its specific duties the police has appropriate operational independence vis-à-vis other organs of the State.

12. In case of need, the police must provide close co-operation with other bodies such as organs of the State, non-governmental organisations and the voluntary sector generally.

13. Every police officer must conduct him/herself in a way that commands the respect of the population. Similarly, he/she must promote good relations between the police and society to the extent and in the manner appropriate to his/her place in the police hierarchy.

14. To ensure the integrity of every police officer and that police action is in strict accordance with the rules and objectives established in the present Code, the police must make and implement special arrangements of appropriate effectiveness, including internal controls. In particular such arrangements will seek to prevent and deal with corruption at all levels of the police and breaches of fundamental rights and freedoms as laid down in international standard-setting instruments.

15. The police must be prepared to provide the public with objective information about their work, but without divulging confidential information. To avoid divulging such information in their relations with the public, including the mass media, police officers will take care not to exceed their responsibilities. If a police officer is not sure whether a piece of information is confidential, he/she must not disclose the information without the consent of his/her superior officer.

VII. Qualifications, recruitment and loyalty.

16. All police officers must be supervised in their work according to their professional ability and experience in terms of the objectives and specific functions of the police.

17. For service in the police, only persons worthy of public respect will be selected. Selection is by competition, the criteria being patriotism, a sense of duty and responsibility, courage and interest in working to attain the specific objectives of the police, professionalism, intelligence, meeting the physical requirements and having other human qualities necessary for police work.

18. Police officers must show sufficient ability to communicate with the public to perform the duties of their post and rank, and if necessary must display aptitude to lead and organise. In addition they must have a good understanding of social and cultural issues in the Republic of Moldova, as well as of community problems in their local area.

19. Persons who have committed serious offences are disqualified from serving in the police. The same applies to lesser offences if committed repeatedly or in a manner such as to discredit the police.

20. The procedure for recruitment must be based on objective and non-discriminatory criteria and provide thorough scrutiny of applicants.

VIII. Training of police personnel

21. Training must match the police’s functions and objectives. It must be based on fundamental principles such as democratic pluralism, the rule of law and protection of human rights.

22. General training will proceed as openly as possible vis-à-vis the community.

23. Initial training must be followed by regular periods of in-service training and specialist training.

24. In principle police officers have the same civil and political rights as other citizens. In particular, they have the right to organise, to receive adequate remuneration and to have social cover. In addition they are entitled to specific health and security protection, regard being had to the special nature of the police’s work.

25. Any disciplinary penalties imposed on a police officer may, at his/her request or even in the absence of a request from him/her, be reviewed by the competent judicial authority or other authorised independent organ.

26. Police staff have the same rights as other citizens before the courts or if convicted of an offence.

27. In view of many criminals’ hostility to the police, serving or former police officers sentenced to prison should be held separately from other categories of convicted prisoner.

IX. Guiding principles regarding police action

Basic principles

28. The police must at all times make sure that its action has a legal basis.

29. Every police officer, whatever his/her place in the police hierarchy, is personally responsible for his/her actions or omissions and for any orders he/she gives to a subordinate.

30. In the police there must be a well-defined hierarchy of superior and subordinate officers. In each specific case it must be possible to identify the superior officer ultimately responsible for an officer’s action or failure to take action.

31. Each police officer must obey the orders given by his/her superior, but he/she has the right and duty not to carry out orders which he/she knows or should know to be plainly illegal.

32. The police must carry out its work fairly and impartially, without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, opinion, nationality or ethnic or social origin. Action by the police must in all circumstances be on objective, reasonable and demonstrable grounds.

33. In all its action the police must respect the absolute right to life. That rule may be set aside only in the special cases and the manner specified in the Police Act.

34. Whatever the circumstances, the police must not apply, encourage or tolerate any act of torture or any inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

35. The police must use force only if absolutely necessary and only to the extent appropriate to attain a legitimate objective.

36. Police officers must resist and oppose all forms of corruption, whether in their own case or in that of their colleagues. They are entitled to support in informing their superiors or other competent organs of any case of corruption in the police.

37. In carrying out their work, police officers must act with integrity and respect towards the population, bearing particularly in mind the needs of vulnerable sections of the community.

X. Specific cases

Police investigations

38. nvestigations by the police must be based at least on lawful charges that an offence has been committed or is about to be committed.

39. The police must respect the principle of presumption of innocence under which everyone accused of a criminal offence is to be considered innocent until found guilty by a court and is entitled to minimum rights, in particular the right to be promptly informed of the charges against him/her and the right to prepare his/her defence (either in person or through a legal representative of his/her choice).

40. Police investigations must be objective and impartial. The investigation process must take into account the characteristics of the persons being investigated (whether, for example, they are adolescents, members of minorities or persons classed as vulnerable) and be conducted accordingly.

41. Questioning must be impartial: those being questioned must be informed of the reasons for their interrogation, where the interrogation is taking place, how long it will last, who is present, etc.

42. A record of the interrogation must always be kept.

43. Police officers should be aware of witnesses’ specific needs and observe certain rules concerning the protection and assistance which witnesses may need and which must be given to them during the investigation, in particular if the investigation is concerned with organised crime, violence within the family or other situations in which there is a risk of witness intimidation.

44. The police will provide the necessary support, assistance and information to the victims of criminal offences.

45. The police must be able to provide the necessary translation and interpreting services at all stages of the inquiry.

Arrest/ deprivation of liberty by the police

46. Deprivation of liberty must as far as possible be limited and make allowance for the vulnerability and the needs of each person detained. A record of arrest must be drawn up in every case.

47. Each person arrested or detained must be promptly informed in a language which they understand of the legal grounds for the deprivation of liberty, the charges against them, their rights and the legal procedure which is to be applied.

48. The police must guarantee the safety of persons placed under preventive arrest, paying appropriate attention to their health, the cleanliness of their detention conditions and their dietary needs. The detention accommodation must be of reasonable size, have the necessary lighting and ventilation and provide the necessary overnight facilities.

49. The police must ensure that persons deprived of their liberty are allowed to inform third parties, exercise their right to a legal representative and consult a doctor.

50. It is recommended that persons who are detained in police stations on grounds other than suspicion of having committed an offence be held separately from persons so detained.

Respect for private life and other rights

51. The police must not infringe anyone’s rights to private and family life and to their home and correspondence except on specific lawful grounds. Even in such cases the infringement must be kept to a minimum.

52. The collection, storage and use of personal data by the police must be limited to what is necessary for the attainment of specific lawful objectives.

53. The police must at all times respect everyone’s right to freedom of opinion, conscience, expression, peaceful assembly, movement and peaceful enjoyment of property. These rights must not be interfered with except in specific legitimate circumstances laid down in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.

This code is used by:

• Moldova Police
  Archived 4/6/2005