GENERAL PART

Chapter I
THE CRIMINAL CODE AND THE PRINCIPLES OF ITS APPLICATION

Article 13. Extradition

(1) Citizens of the Republic of Moldova and persons who have been granted political asylum in the Republic of Moldova who commit a crime abroad may not be extradited and shall be subject to criminal liability hereunder.

(2) Foreign citizens and stateless persons who commit crimes outside the territory of the Republic of Moldova but who are in the territory of the country may be extradited based only on an international treaty to which the Republic of Moldova is a party or in conditions of reciprocity based on a court decision.

Article 533. Volume of Legal Assistance

International legal assistance may be requested or provided in the performance of certain procedural activities provided in the criminal procedural legislation of the Republic of Moldova and of the respective foreign state in particular:
6) searching for and extraditing persons who committed crimes or to serve a punishment depriving them of liberty;

Article 541. General Conditions for Extradition

(1) The Republic of Moldova may address a foreign state with a request for extradition of a person in whose regard a criminal investigation was conducted in connection with crimes for which criminal law provides for the maximum punishment of at least one year of imprisonment or any other more severe punishment or in whose regard a sentence was issued convicting him/her to imprisonment for at least six months in case of extradition for execution, unless international treaties provide otherwise.

(2) A request for extradition shall be made based on any international treaty to which the Republic of Moldova and the requested state are parties or based on written obligations under conditions of reciprocity.

(3) If the person whose extradition is requested is under criminal investigation, the General Prosecutor’s Office shall be the authority competent to examine all the necessary materials and to file the request for extradition. If the person whose extradition is requested has been convicted, the Ministry of Justice shall be the competent authority. The request for extradition shall be transmitted directly to the competent body of the requested state or via diplomatic channels if so provided in an international treaty.

(4) Extradition shall be allowed only if as a result of the commission of a crime an arrest warrant or any other document of similar legal force is presented or on the decision of the competent authority of the requesting state which is executable and which orders the apprehension of the person whose extradition is requested and describes the applicable laws.

Article 544. Executing a Request for the Extradition of Persons who are on the Territory of the Republic of Moldova
(7) The motion for extradition shall be resolved by the investigative judge from the court located in the territorial jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice with the participation of the prosecutor, a representative of the Ministry of Justice (if convicts are to be extradited), the person whose extradition is requested and his/her defense counsel selected or appointed in line with the Law on the Legal Assistance Guaranteed by the State. The motion for the extradition of an arrestee shall be resolved urgently. A motion for extradition shall be resolved in the manner provided by law. The court is not competent to pronounce on the propriety of the investigation or conviction for which the foreign authority requests extradition.

(8) Should the court find that all the conditions for extradition are met, it shall admit in a judgment the request for extradition and shall decide to keep the person under preventive arrest until extradition. Should the court find that the conditions for extradition are not met, it shall reject the request and shall order the release of the person whose extradition is requested. The judgment shall be edited within not more than 24 hours from pronouncement and shall be transmitted to the General Prosecutor’s Office or to the Ministry of Justice.

(9) The court judgment on extradition may be subject to cassation by the prosecutor and by the extradited person or his/her attorney within 10 days from pronouncement to the Chisinau Court of Appeals. Cassation shall be heard in line with the provisions of Section 2, Chapter IV, Title II of the Special Part of this Code. The final judgment of the investigative judge shall be sent to the General Prosecutor’s Office and to the Ministry of Justice for execution or for the information of the requesting state.

Article 545. Simplified Procedure for Extradition

(1) Upon the request of the competent authority of a foreign state to extradite a person, to provisionally arrest him/her in view of extradition or to extradite a foreign citizen or stateless person in whose regard an arrest warrant for extradition was issued may be granted without following the formal extradition procedures if the person consents to simplified extradition and his/her consent is confirmed by the court. If an arrestee consents to his/her extradition under the simplified procedure, submission of the official request for extradition and the documents specified in art. 542 of this Code shall not be necessary.