JUSTIFICATION, IMPUTATION AND PUNISHMENT (original) (raw)

The Exercise of a Right or the Carying Out of an Obligation – Justified Causes Reintroduced Into the New Romanian Criminal Code

Agora International Journal of Juridical Sciences, 2014

This study aims to analyze an old concept, namely, the exercise of a right or the performance of an obligation as one of the justified causes, reintroduced into the new Romanian Criminal Code after more than 40 years. Even having a long history of existence within the Romanian criminal codes adopted in 1864 and 1936, during the communist era, once adopted the Romanian Criminal Code in 1968, in force until 1-st of February, 2014, this justified cause had been removed. At the time, the communist legislator considered as being useless to mention it among the other causes which can remove the criminal liability. The doctrine of the time argued that a criminal fact committed when carrying out an order given by the law or the competent authority didn't meet the criteria of being a crime, because it lacks the mental element, mens rea. The practice of nowadays demonstrated, the question under discussion is not so easy, the lack of mens rea cannot be always raised as a defense and therefore, the legislator realized the necessity of reintroducing the exercise of a right or the performance of an obligation as one of the justified causes. Keywords: justified causes, the exercise of a right or the performance of an obligation, the order of the law, legitimate authority, the fact imposed by the law.

IMPUTABILITY AS A SPECIAL FEATURE OF THE OFFENCE, ACCORDING WITH THE NEW PENAL CODE (LAW NO. 286/2009). CONCEPT. CONTROVERSIES

Lex et Scientia Journal, 2011

The issue of imputation in penal law generated, through out the history, many controversies. The principal aim of this study is to clarify this concept, both in relation with the Romanian and foreign doctrine, and with the new provisions of the new Penal code, enforced by the Law nr. 286/2009. The new Penal code introduces, a new definition of the offence, containing the concept of "imputability". Our study is based both on the opinions of some foreign authors regarding the concept of imputability, imputation and Romanian authors.According to the Initiator (Ministry of Justice) the main justification for introducing this concept into the offence definition was that "a deed, in order to bring upon criminal responsibility, must not only to correspond with the legal description, to be unjustified, but also, the deed, must be able to be imputable to the offender; that means, the deed could be reproached to the offender. In order to discuss this concept of imputation, there are necessary some premises: the offender must have had the representation of his/her actions or inactions and the lack of any duress (the offender should not have been irresponsible, intoxicated or an under aged). In addition, the offender must have known the illicit character of the deed when committing the offence (the lack of error). Also, the study is structured in tree parts, fist beginning with the need for a definition of the offence, second part refers to the concept of offence in Romanian law; third part (the extended one) is dedicated to the essential features of the offence, with a special view on imputation/imputability.

The Admission of Guilt and its Consequences in the Romanian Legislation

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013

The admission of guilt has always had an attenuation effect on the punishment, meant to encourage the persons which have committed a crime to admit their deeds and to cooperate with the authorities in order to find out the truth of the case. In the last years, the legislator has used the admission of guilt to obtain a diminution of the duration of the trials and a relief of the courts of law. The Law no 202/2010 known as Small Reform Law has brought a simplified procedure for judgment the cases regarding the defendants which admit their deeds. The new settlement was a success, the procedure being used quite often. The new Criminal Procedure Code comes with a new regulation also known in other legislations as Plea bargaining. The simplified procedure for judgment is also stipulated. That is why we have to ask if admission guilt agreement has a change to succeed in our legislation and to be used in the legal practice or is meant to fall into disuse ab initio. The main aim of this paper is to examine how the conception of the legislator has evolved over the time and which legal stipulations are the most suitable for our legislation.

The Romanian Criminal Law Enforcement in Time in the Light of the Changes Introduced by the New Romanian Criminal Code

Agora International Journal of Juridical Sciences

The article aims to analyze the changes introduced by the new Criminal Code inrelation to the criminal law enforcement in time, mainly in order to harmonize the criminalprovisions with some constitutional principles and also, for the reason of their easilyapplication in practice.From this perspective we can observe that the new Criminal Code has taken over thegreatest part of the provisions nowadays into force and also, has eliminated those provisionsin contradiction with the constitutional principles. Among the latter we can mention thoseprovisions which provide the retroactivity of the additional punishment, education and safetymeasures for reasons of public interest or the provisions relating to the optional applicationof the most favorable criminal law in the closed cases. We may see, also, the introduction ofthe laws declared unconstitutional and the Ordinances of the Government among the lawswhich are subjects for the application of the principle of the most favorable criminal...

Criminal Liability of a Legal Entity According to Romanian Law NO.46/2008

Challenges of the Knowledge Society, 2017

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the main practical issues concerning the enforcement of Law no.46/2008, in regard to the protection granted under the regulations of title VI, in the particular case when the perpetrator is a legal entity. In order to establish a frame for the content of this article, alongside the introduction, its structure shall be divided in three parts. The first part will point out the terminology used in Romanian Law no.46/2008, which shall prove to be necessary for the analysis proposed. The second part will refer to specific provisions found in Law no.46/2008, mainly articles 106-110, with a brief reference to the Decision of the Romanian Constitutional Court no.670/2008, alongside the Decision given in an appeal in the interest of the Law, by the High Court of Cassation and Justice, no. XII/12.02.2008, and will also consist of a critical approach, from a practical point of view, of the provisions earlier mentioned, holding into account the manner o...

PRESCRIPTION OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY IN NATIONAL LAW IN LIGHT OF CJEU DECISION C-107/23PPU/LIN OF JULY 24, 2023

Studii și Cercetări Juridice, 2024

The study starts from the idea of an apparent collision between a decision of the Romanian court of constitutional control in the matter of the prescription of criminal liability and the C.J.U.E Decision C-107/23PPU / Lin of July 24, 2023 which justifies an at least tangential approach to the effects it can produce at the level of national court jurisprudence. From the point of view of the approach in specialized literature, the prescription of criminal liability appears as a legal institution having effects both on the level of substantive criminal law, failure to meet the deadline being a condition of no punishment, and on the level of criminal procedural law, being a condition of procedure, fulfillment of the limitation period preventing the exercise of the criminal action. If a national regulation, specific to another legal system, considers that the prescription of criminal liability belongs to procedural law, not to substantive law, it will be possible to modify that rule in order to extend the limitation period in respect of crimes for which it has not already been fulfilled, this term at the time of modification. From the perspective of stability, predictability and legislative coherence, of the effectiveness of combating criminality of all types in a logical and coherent structured way, from the perspective of criminological phenomena in contemporary Romanian society and the legal security needs of citizens and society as a whole, as well as the need the protection of democratic values in a context in which democracies are subjected to a test of resistance both within each democratic country and in a regional and global context, a rethinking of criminal policy and a "reset" of legislative measures regarding the Criminal Code is required and the Code of Criminal Procedure, but only on the basis of an in-depth analysis of the legislative developments described above, as well as with the consultation of all relevant actors within the judiciary, legal academia, the legal professions and civil society.

The Crime of Unjustified Absence in the Romanian Criminal Code

Challenges of the Knowledge Society, 2015

The new Criminal Code of Romania regulates in Title XI of its Special Part the crimes against the combat capability of the military forces. Under this title, Chapter I is dedicated to the crimes committed by the military and defines the crime of unjustified absence. In this study, the author analysed the specific elements of this crime, including: the specific legal object - military discipline, the field of the active subject and the essential requirements imposed by its objective side.

The Role of the Prosecutor in the Investigations and Prosecution Phases of the Criminal Process in the Light of the New Romanian Code of Criminal Procedure

Agora International Journal of Juridical Sciences

Among the other important changes the new Romanian Code of Criminal Procedurehave introduced in the criminal proceedings, those concerning the activity of investigatingand prosecuting entail some clarifications of the attributions, a renaming of certaindocuments and acts issued by the Prosecutor, as well as expand the possibility for theinvestigators or the Prosecutor for gathering any kind of evidence during the investigationphases. In the same time, the legislator created guaranties of respecting the legal rights andfreedoms for the suspected person in as manner as for the prosecuted person.

THE CONCEPT OF MATERIAL OBJECT OF THE CRIME IN THE ROMANIAN CRIMINAL DOCTRINE

2010

The notion of material object of the crime belongs in the first place to the doctrine and in the second place to the legislator since the adoption and entry into force of the criminal legal procedures have been preceded by many controversies and debates in theory, which led to the crystallization of this concept in the criminal law.