Aggravated-offense maximum applies under new law despite damage below threshold; preliminary ruling admitted.
Romania (RO)
Legislator summary
AI generatedThe High Court of Cassation and Justice admitted the referral and issued a preliminary ruling, establishing that when applying art. 6(1) of the Criminal Code to final sentences for offenses that produced particularly grave consequences under the former Criminal Code, the special maximum under the new law must be determined by reference to the aggravated variant of the offenses exhaustively listed in art. 309 of the Criminal Code, even if the damage caused does not exceed the threshold set by art. 183 of the Criminal Code. This ruling, binding from publication in the Official Gazette, resolved a question of law in a criminal case where the issue was whether the sentence increase mechanism under art. 309 should apply for comparing old versus new law, despite the prejudice falling below the statutory value threshold. The decisive basis was the interpretation of art. 6(1) Criminal Code, holding that the aggravated offense variant applies regardless of the actual damage amount, as the particularly grave consequences had been established under the prior law.
Legislator headnote
AI generatedart. 6 alin. (1) din Codul penal, art. 309 din Codul penal, art. 183 din Codul penal, art. 477 alin. (3) din Codul de procedură penală; Aggravated-offense maximum applies under new law despite damage below threshold; preliminary ruling admitted: 6(1) of the Criminal Code to final sentences for offenses that produced particularly grave consequences under the former Criminal Code, the special maximum under the new law must be determined by reference to the aggravated variant of the offenses exhaustively listed in art. 309 of the Criminal Code, even if the damage caused does not exceed the threshold set by art. 183 of the Criminal Code. This ruling, binding from publication in the Official Gazette, resolved a question of law in a criminal case where the issue was whether the sentence increase mechanism under art. 309 should apply for comparing old versus new law, despite the prejudice falling below the statutory value threshold. The decisive basis was the interpretation of art. 6(1) Criminal Code, holding that the aggravated offense variant applies regardless of the actual damage amount, as the particularly grave consequences had been established under the prior law.
Keywords
AI generatedRelated Decisions
AI generatedKey legal questions extracted by Legislator
AI generatedMain ground for the decision, interpreting the application of the new criminal code to final sentences for offenses with particularly grave consequences.
Applied in the interpretation to determine the aggravated offense variant to be referenced when establishing the new maximum penalty.
Applied in the interpretation to establish that the value threshold for prejudice need not be exceeded for the aggravated variant to apply.
Procedural provision cited in the dispositive to establish the binding effect of the decision from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.
Full text
ROMÂNIA
ÎNALTA CURTE DE CASAŢIE ŞI JUSTIŢIE
Completul pentru dezlegarea unor chestiuni de drept
Minuta deciziei nr.12 Dosar nr. 857/1/2015
Şedinţa din data de 6 mai 2015
ÎN NUMELE LEGII
DECIDE:
Admite sesizarea formulată de Curtea de Apel București, Secţia a II-a penală prin încheierea din data de 10 februarie 2015, în dosarul nr. 2635/93/2014 (4246/2014), în vederea pronunţării unei hotărâri prealabile pentru dezlegarea chestiunii de drept: ”dacă, în aplicarea art. 6 alin. (1) din Codul penal, cu privire la o pedeapsă definitivă pentru o infracţiune care a produs consecinţe deosebit de grave potrivit Codului penal anterior, pentru determinarea maximului special prevăzut de legea nouă urmează să se reţină cauza de majorare a pedepsei prevăzută de art. 309 din Codul penal, chiar dacă prejudiciul produs prin respectiva infracţiune nu depăşeşte pragul prevăzut de art. 183 din Codul penal” şi stabileşte:
În interpretarea dispoziţiilor art. 6 alin. (1) din Codul penal, în cazul pedepselor definitive pentru infracţiuni care au produs consecinţe deosebit de grave potrivit Codului penal anterior, determinarea maximului special prevăzut de legea nouă se realizează, chiar dacă valoarea prejudiciului este inferioară pragului valoric prevăzut de art. 183 din Codul penal, prin raportare la varianta agravată a infracţiunilor limitativ enumerate în art. 309 din Codul penal.
Obligatorie de la data publicării în Monitorul Oficial al României, Partea I, potrivit dispoziţiilor art. 477 alin. (3) din Codul de procedură penală.
Pronunţată în şedinţă publică, astăzi 6 mai 2015.