Assurance mechanisms of human rights and freedoms in the contravention process

The contravention process represents the activity carried out by the competent authority, with the participation of the parties and other persons holding rights and obligations, with the aim of establishing the contravention, examining and solving the contravention cause, ascertaining the causes and conditions that contributed to the commission of the contravention. Even if the Code of Contravention in art. 374 establishes that the contravention process is carried out on general principles of contravention law, it also mentions the Constitution, the Code of Criminal Procedure in the cases expressly provided for by this code, as well as the norms of international law and international treaties regarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of to the human to which the Republic of Moldova is a dedicated party, the European Convention on Human Rights. The regulations provided by the European Convention, as well as the judgments issued by the European Court have a legal force superior to the internal norms that make up the national legal systems. The judgments of the European court do not only have the authority of a res judicata, but also the authority of an interpreted matter, at the same time, the Court examines referrals regarding contraventions through the lens of the rules regarding criminal acts. During the contravention process, the perpetrator, as well as other participants, have certain rights and freedoms that are guaranteed by the legislation and ensured by the authorities with powers to ascertain and examine the contravention cases, respectively, the finding agent, the prosecutor, the court. On the other hand, the participants in the contravention process, in particular, the perpetrator, must be aware that their rights may be limited, as well as the fact that they also have certain obligations. For their part, the competent authorities should ensure that their employees with the status of finding agents understand and know the mechanism for ensuring human rights and freedoms in the contravention process.