Network Exchange: Sharing Implementation Success on Pre-Trial Detention

Sharing implementation success stories in one country can aid in developing strategies in another. EIN seeks to establish possible connections through our network of members across Europe, to facilitate exchanges between organizations in different countries who work towards implementing the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments.

An example of this exchange was a roundtable discussion between organisations in Moldova and Hungary concerning pre-trial detention, held on Friday 16th October 2020. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has had positive results in their advocacy for reducing unwarranted pre-trial detention in Hungary, following a series of ECtHR judgments under the X.Y. v. Hungary group. This implementation success was a result of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee contributing to legislation and working to ensure its implementation through a wide variety of activities. Some of their most notable impacts were achieved through the creation of easy to use resources on the relevant ECHR standards, which they disseminated widely to lawyers, prosecutors and judges. These have been used routinely by these actors, helping to ensure that the relevant standards are being raised and discussed in Hungarian courts.

In Moldova, a similar problem regarding pre-trial detention has been highlighted through the ECtHR judgments in the Sarban group – particularly regarding the Courts’ failure to give relevant and sufficient reasons when approving the applicants' pre-trial detention and/or refusing the applicants’ habeas corpus requests. A series of Moldovan NGOs take an interest on this issue, including:

Legal Resources Centre from Moldova

Promo-LEX

Lawyers for Human Rights

RCTV Memoria

These groups all participated in the exchange organised on 16th October 2020. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee shared their best practices and lessons learnt during the implementation process on unwarranted pre-trial detention. Positive feedback from the session indicates that this will have an impact on the strategies used in Moldova on the same issue.