Gogu: Council of Europe Recommendations on Pre-Trial Detention Feeding Directly Into Criminal Procedure Code Overhaul

Justice Minister Toni Gogu announced today that the Council of Europe’s recommendations on pre-trial detention are directly feeding the work launched on revising the Criminal Procedure Code, with a focus on strengthening guarantees for personal liberty and the real functioning of alternatives to imprisonment.

Speaking at the roundtable dedicated to security measures, the unifying decision of the Supreme Court and the case law of the ECHR, Gogu emphasized that work with the Council of Europe is moving from recommendations to the reform process.

“Our work with the Council of Europe does not end with the document we are discussing today. Its recommendations are directly feeding the work we have launched on revising the Criminal Procedure Code,” the minister declared.

According to Gogu, this process is reviewing issues related to criteria for pre-trial detention, the individualized reasoning of the measure, the real consideration of less restrictive measures, access to the materials on which the request for a security measure is based, and the strengthening of alternatives.

The minister emphasized that the direction of the reform must simultaneously preserve the effectiveness of the criminal justice system and the guarantees of due process and personal liberty.

“The state’s capacity to investigate and prosecute must remain strong. But just as strong must be the guarantees of due process and the protection of personal liberty. One is not gained by weakening the other,” said Gogu.

Alongside the legal changes, the Ministry of Justice is working on restoring electronic monitoring to function, as one of the instruments that gives courts a real opportunity to implement alternative measures.

Gogu said the necessary funding has been secured for 2027 and the objective is for the electronic monitoring system to be operational in March 2027.

“An alternative that the state does not really offer is not an alternative. This is the responsibility of the executive, not the court,” the minister declared.

The system is foreseen to be supported by trained personnel, clear reaction protocols and reporting to the court and prosecution, as well as by strengthening the capacities of the Probation Service.

The minister also underlined the institutional boundary between the executive and the judiciary, emphasizing that the Ministry of Justice has no role in deciding what security measure should be set in a concrete case.

“The Supreme Court has clarified the standard. We are working so that the legal framework supports it too, and we are building electronic monitoring and strengthening the Probation Service so that alternatives are real and credible. A clearer law. Real alternatives. Institutions that function. This is the part that falls to us,” Gogu concluded.