Moldovan law considers the situation to be an administrative offence where the offense is less serious than a crime. Hate crimes may also take the form of an administrative offence.
Aggravating circumstances
In Moldova, the Contraventions Code establishes that any administrative offence committed with a biased motive towards an individual or a group due to the victim’s race, nationality, religion or other clearly determinable characteristics is considered to have aggravating circumstances. This means that due to the committed hate crime, the person is charged with an administrative offense, but during the trial the court should take into account the aggravating circumstances, namely, the bias motive, when adopting the decision. In general, aggravating circumstances can be applied to all administrative offences, established in the Contraventions Code.
Read more about the right to a fair trial in administrative offences proceedings.
Request for compensation during trial
You can request compensation from the perpetrator of the hate crime by lodging a civil claim, as set out in the Civil Procedure Code.
Read more about civil claim and civil liability.