Document #1242289
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Please consult ROM9109 (7 Aug. 1991) for
information on Decree 153 which deals with "parasitism."
None of the detention regulations in the
Constitution of Romania applies to Decree 153, a much-cited legal
holdover from the Ceausescu era. Decree 153, which is not
considered a criminal statute, provides for a maximum jail term of
six months and involves "an expedited civil procedure" to detain
those who have committed offences against public order (Helsinki
Watch Mar. 1991, 44-5; Lawyers' Committee May 1992, 126; Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1991 1992, 1219).
International observers are critical of Decree 153, stating that it
"violates the basic concepts of a fair trial," that its wording is
"extremely vague", and that it has been used against those who have
criticized government policies (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1991, 44-5;
Lawyers' Committee May 1992, 126; United Nations 3 Jan. 1992,
15).
Although a January 1992 report states that
Decree 153 has "hardly been applied in recent times," there is at
least one documented case of its application in Bacau in October
1991 (Lawyers' Committee May 1992, 126; United Nations 3 Jan. 1992,
15).
Helsinki Watch. March 1991. Since the
Revolution: Human Rights in Romania. New York: Human Rights
Watch.
Immigration and Refugee Board
Documentation Centre (IRBDC), Ottawa. 7 August 1991. ROM9109.
Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights. May
1992. In Defence of Rights: Attacks on Lawyers and Judges in
1991. New York: Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights.
United Nations. 3 January 1992. "Report
on the Situation of Human Rights in Romania." Economic and
Social Council. E/CN.4/1992/28.
Helsinki Watch. March 1991. Since the
Revolution: Human Rights in Romania. New York: Human Rights
Watch, pp. 44-45.
Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights. May
1992. In Defence of Rights: Attacks on Lawyers and Judges in
1991. New York: Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights, p.
126.
United Nations. 3 January 1992. "Report
on the Situation of Human Rights in Romania." Economic and
Social Council. E/CN.4/1992/2, p. 15.