Law in Romania: Detainees will be able to “buy” free days

The Romanian Chamber of Deputies’ Legal Committee adopted yesterday the final report on the Penalty Execution Act, adding an amendment through which detainees who give up their remuneration for the work done while they are in prison will be able to benefit from additional free days, reports local News.ro. The amendments discussed yesterday mainly concern the labor rights of detainees. Thus, detainees who carry out work in prison are provided extra benefits, especially if the work is unpaid and carried out at night. The detainees who carry out unpaid work will get three days off from their sentence for every two days of work whereas those who work during night will get two days off for one day of labor. Another amendment provides the possibility to “buy” extra free days, by giving up their remuneration. According to the current law, if a detainee gets remuneration for his work while in prison, he will get 40% of the amount, whereas 60% will go to the prison. The new amendment states that if the detainee gives up his part, the work can be classified as unpaid work, and the detainee gets more free days than for paid work. The Penalty Execution Act also provides the possibility of early release for inhumane detention conditions. There are several draft bills currently under discussion in the Parliament aimed at reducing the overcrowding in local prisons. The one that has stirred the most debate is the proposal to grant pardoning for sentences under a certain level. Romanian Senate’s committee votes pardon for jail sentences of up to 3 years editor@romania-insider.com