The Criminal and Criminal Procedural Codes Amendments
By the Law no. 184 – XVI from 29th of July 2006 there has been introduced some amendments in the Criminal and Criminal Procedural Codes.
The amendments reflect a new vision regarding the size of the punishment for certain crimes stipulated by the criminal law. Thus, the major sanction stipulated by some articles of the Criminal Code has been diminished, and from others it has been excluded, giving to lawyer the possibility to individualize the criminal punishments more efficiently.
The arrest as a criminal punishment is excluded, being replaced with the imprisonment.
It has been diminished the term the minor can be detained – at the most 24 hours. This will ensure the protection of juveniles being in conflict with the law. According to the new stipulations the investigation in the juveniles’ cases is the exclusive province of the prosecutor.
By the Law no. 184 – XVI from 29th of July 2006 (Official Gazette, Issue no.126-130) there has been changed some articles in the Criminal and Criminal Procedural Codes.
The amendments reflect a new vision regarding the size of the punishment for certain crimes stipulated by the criminal law. Thus, the major sanction stipulated by some articles of the Criminal Code has been diminished, and from others it has been excluded. For example, the sanction in the art. 150 para. 1, art.158 para.1, art.192 para.2, art.196 para.3, art. 224 para.2, art.227 para.2, art.228, art.229, art.230, art. 234, art.248 para.2, art.250 para.2, art. 257 para.3 etc., has been stipulated from 2 to 5 years, at present it is mentioned only “till 5 years”, giving to lawyer the possibility to individualize the criminal punishments more efficiently.
The arrest as a criminal punishment is excluded, being replaced with the imprisonment. This has been determined by the inexistence of the arrest houses and as a result the impossibility to apply this punishment. For example, the sanction in the art. 152 para. 1 of the Criminal Code was stipulating arrest till 6 months or imprisonment till 4 years. According to changes this sanction stipulates unpaid work to the community advantage from 140 to 240 hours or imprisonment till 4 years. Also here, we can mention the art. 154 para.1, para.2; art. 155, art.156, art.177 para.2, art.281, art. 310 para.1, art. 355 para.2, etc. of the Criminal Code. According to the new stipulations, the unpaid work to the community advantage can be applied as the main punishment, or in case of conviction, by suspended prison sentence – as an obligation for the pre-trial period (art. 62 para. 3 CP). In case the unpaid work to the community advantage is not executed, this sanction can be transformed in punishment with imprisonment.
A special attention is paid to minors being in conflict with the criminal law. Thus, the content of the art. 70 para. 3 and 4 of the CC has been changed. The para. 3 of the above-mentioned article has the following content: “at determining the punishment of imprisonment for the person, who, at the time of committing the crime, has not reached the age of 18, the term of imprisonment is determined according to the maximum of the punishment, stipulated by the criminal law for committing a crime, reduced at half”. Respectively, the para. 4 of the same article sets that at determining the final punishment in case of concourse of crimes, the punishment with imprisonment can not exceed 30 years for adults and 12,6 years for minors, but in case of plurality of sentences – 35 years for adults and 15 years for minors.
An important amendment regarding the punishment applied to minors is stipulated by the art. 75 para. 3 of the Criminal Code, having the following content: „for committing an easy or a less serious crime, the punishment is applied to minor only if it is considered that undertaking the measure of educational character is not sufficient for the minor’s correction”. Consequently, the criminal law offers one more chance to minor who has committed an easy or a less serious crime, through using different ways of correction other than deprivation of freedom.
For the same purpose it has been changed the art. 109 para. 1, which at present allows the reconciliation, in cases in which the minors are involved, and for serious crimes.
It has been diminished the term the minor can be detained, at the most 24 hours (art. 166 para. 4 CPC). This will ensure the performing of urgent procedural actions as soon as possible. It’s important that investigating the cases regarding the minors is the exclusive province of the prosecutor (art. 270, para. 1 p. 1 CPC).
Art. 369 para. 1 CPC was completed with the following text: „the victim, or if need be, the injured side at his/her request, or at the prosecutor’s approach, can be interrogated in the absent of the indicted person, ensuring the last, the possibility to take notice of the declarations and to put questions to the interrogated person”.
Olesea Codru
Master in Law
