ThePenal Code of Romania (Codul penal al României) is a document providing the legal basis regardingcriminal law inRomania. The Code contains 446 articles. The articles mention aspects such as thenational boundaries of law and the crimes that fall under the incidence of penal law.[1]Judicial discretion is granted by the Code through the use of minimum and maximum sentences. The most recent version of the Romanian Penal Code has come into effect on 1 February 2014.
In the modern history of Romania, there have been four criminal codes, the first three codes being associated with the rulings ofAlexandru Ioan Cuza,Carol II andNicolae Ceaușescu respectively, and the current code being based on a modernized understanding of the law, within the European context, in the 21st century. Each of these codes had been modified several times after their enactment, including in connection with a change of political regime, such as the installation of the communist regime after World War II, and the fall of the communist regime after theRomanian Revolution of 1989.
The Romanian Penal Code was first issued in 1865, under the leadership ofA.I. Cuza. The Code (also known as theCuza Code) standardized the laws of thePrincipality of Wallachia andPrincipality of Moldova, which since 1859 were united under a singlePrincipality. The Code has been developed using several notions from thePenal Code of France and thePenal Code of Prussia. TheCuza Code included the principle oflegal equality. Instead of thecapital punishment, the most extreme punishment that could be legally enforced waspenal labor.Cruel and unusual punishments were prohibited.
Based on the Code, crimes were classified under three headings:delicts,misdemeanors andcontraventions. The concept ofattempted crimes was not mentioned throughout the code; attempting to commit a crime was punished just as harshly as if the crime happened. Theaccomplice was to receive the same punishment as the author of the crime.[2]
The Code did not criminalize prostitution.[3] Cannabis consumption was not a punishable offense.[4]
The Penal Code of 1865 marked the beginning of unitary penal law in Romania.
The Penal Code of 1936[5] (also known asThe Penal Code ofCarol II) was introduced in order to standardize the many changes in the legal system that have arisen as a result of theUnion of 1918. The new Code was heavily updated; thepresumption of innocence was expressly mentioned. Thesentence was defined as being given in order to punish the crime, not the person committing it. The concept of individual punishments (as opposed tocollective punishment) has been introduced in the Code.
The Penal Code of 1936 remained unchanged in terms of complicity to crime.[6]
The 1936 penal code applied nationwide, providing for the first time a unitary legislation on the territory of Romania, replacing the Hungarian Penal Code (known asThe Csemegi Code) which had been in force inTransylvania since 1880, and the Austrian Penal Code (promulgated underEmperor Franz Josef I) which had been in force inBukovina since 1852.[7]
After the communists came into power, they made several changes to the Code, in accordance with communist ideology, but the Code remained in force until January 1, 1969, when the new Ceaușescu Penal Code replaced it.
The Penal Code of 1969 has been developed underNicolae Ceaușescu and in accordance toMarxist ideals. Capital punishment was a lawful punishment.Parasitism has been introduced as a legal offense.Homosexual acts were classified as a criminal offense.
Nonetheless, the Code retained thepresumption of innocence. The Code was now expressly mentioning the concept of complicity to crime. It also included specific definitions ofinfraction,attempt,perjury,rape,bribe,prostitution,war propaganda andtheft.
The Penal Code after theRomanian Revolution of 1989 has been updated 29 times as of December 2008.Capital punishment was replaced withlife imprisonment, as the post-CommunistConstitution of Romania outlaws the death penalty. Many changes were made to the Ceauşescu Code in the 1990 - 2014 period, in order to rid it of communist ideology and modernize it, including with regard todomestic violence and the framework of the sexual offenses chapter, with changes including the decriminalization ofparasitism,adultery andhomosexual relationships[8][9]
The Code was also republished in 1997. In post-communist Romania, reforms to the 1969 criminal code have gone in several directions. On one hand, several offenses were decriminalized, as they were seen as outdated, or otherwise inappropriate for a democratic society. On the other hand, the punishments for several violentoffences against the person have become more severe, due to societal concern about violence during the difficult transition period.
A new Penal Code (Law no. 286/2009) came into force on 1 February 2014, together with a newPenal Procedure Code.[10] According to official explanatory notes released prior to its implementation, the new legislation aimed to simplify and accelerate criminal proceedings, eliminate overlaps between Penal Code provisions and those contained in special laws, transposeEuropean regulations into national law and ensure the observance of human rights provisions contained by theConstitution and various international treaties signed by Romania. In this context, the code redefined the concept of criminal offences, adjusted prison sentences, amended the mechanisms by which criminal fines are calculated, eliminated prison sentences for juvenile offenders (replacing them with educational measures) and introduced new offences against persons, property, justice and professional conduct.[11]Prostitution was decriminalized.[12]
The code is divided into a General Part and a Special Part. The former contains general provisions on offences, penalties, criminal liability, the status of minors, security measures, and prescription, while the latter regulates individual offences, which are grouped into twelve titles, plus an additional title comprising final provisions. Compared to the Code of 1969, the new code is longer, comprising 446 articles versus its predecessor's 363.
