Anyone who wants to work with children — at a school, a kindergarten, a sports club or a camp — may soon be required, at hiring, to bring a detailed criminal record certificate, a sworn declaration and a certificate from a psychiatrist. And anyone convicted of an offence against a child will no longer be able to hold such positions. The measures are part of a bill from the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, whose report was approved by the Committee for Social Protection, Health and Family and which is to be examined in first reading by Parliament, according to the legislature’s statement.
What it provides, concretely
The bill adds a new chapter to the Labour Code — “Work involving regular contact with children” — and sets out who cannot be hired into such positions, whether in the public or the private sector:
- persons finally convicted of offences committed against a child;
- persons who, in a criminal case for such acts, have the status of suspect, accused or defendant — that is, not only those convicted;
- persons in respect of whom judicial protection (guardianship) measures have been established or who are declared mentally unfit for activities carrying heightened responsibility.
At hiring, three documents would become mandatory: a detailed criminal record certificate (attesting, among other things, the absence of a conviction for sexual offences against a child, regardless of whether the record has expired), a sworn declaration that the person is not a suspect, accused or defendant, and a certificate from a psychiatrist or psychiatrist-narcologist. Without them, hiring into such positions is prohibited. The rules also apply to volunteering with children. In addition, if a criminal case is opened for offences against children, the employer suspends the employee from duty, and the prosecution authorities are obliged to inform them; upon final conviction, dismissal follows. The law would enter into force three months after publication in the Official Gazette.
Through this bill we are strengthening the mechanisms for preventing violence and abuse against children and introducing higher safety standards for the specialists who work with children.
Natalia Plugaru, Minister of Labour and Social Protection
What is new compared with now
Part of these requirements already exists, but piecemeal. The Education Code requires, at competitions for teaching posts, a criminal record certificate and an integrity certificate and keeps out those convicted of serious offences. The bill’s novelty is that it universalises the check: not just teachers, but everyone who has regular contact with children — from sport, culture, health, camps, NGOs, including volunteers —, in the public and private sectors. To this it adds the psychiatric certificate, coverage of persons under criminal proceedings, automatic suspension and the obligation to inform, as well as maintaining the ban for sexual offences even if the criminal record has expired.
Where it comes from
The bill did not appear out of nowhere. It transposes the Council of Europe’s Lanzarote Convention — which Moldova ratified as far back as 2011 —, whose recommendations require that checks at hiring cover all professions with regular contact with children, not just some. The framework for action was set out in a Government order from 2024. The concrete impulse, however, also came from a case that outraged public opinion: a press investigation showed that a doctor convicted of acts of a sexual nature against a minor continued to work at a children’s hospital — a breach of exactly the kind the bill seeks to close. The case is national; we mention it as an illustration of the gap, without any connection to institutions in the Ungheni district.
Two serious objections
The bill has a firm supporter: the Ombudsman for children’s rights, Vasile Coroi, who calls it “a significant advance” and recalls that he flagged the gap as far back as 2020. But it also has critics, and their objections are not to be dismissed.
The first concerns the presumption of innocence. The measure targets not only those finally convicted, but also those under criminal proceedings — suspects, accused or defendants —, and suspension from duty takes place as soon as prosecution begins, before any court ruling. The idea of protecting children from a possible abuser for the duration of the investigation is easy to understand; but it comes into tension with the principle that a person is innocent until final conviction. The exact scope — from which procedural status each restriction applies — will be clarified in the final text of the bill.
The second objection comes from the field of civil rights. The activist Ecaterina Luțișina protested, on 24 June, against the provisions on mental health, arguing that the bill “discriminates against people with mental disorders and risks limiting their right to work”. Her concern: the phrase “mentally unfit” and the mandatory psychiatric certificate could hit people who once consulted a psychiatrist, even if they pose no danger. Between the duty to protect children and the risk of stigmatising an entire category of people, the balance will be struck precisely in the amendments in Parliament.
The facts about the bill come from the statement of Parliament and from that of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (the bill approved by the Government, unique no. 337-MMPS-2026). The position in favour of the bill belongs to the Ombudsman for children’s rights; the objections regarding mental health were publicly expressed by the activist Ecaterina Luțișina and reported by NewsMaker. The figures on pupils, children and teachers are those of the National Bureau of Statistics (2025 and 2025/26). The exact scope by procedural category and the manner of re-checking staff already hired will be clarified in the final text of the bill; for now, it is a first reading.