During the year 2023, the Romanian Criminal Code has been marked by several amendments, both in its general and special sections. We present below certain of the most important changes that the Criminal Code has undergone during the previous year:
a. The general section of the Criminal Code
- The unity of the continued / complex offence. By Law no. 200/2023, following the declaration as unconstitutional of the phrase and against the same offender, this wording was eliminated, and the current form of Article 35 para. (1) of the Criminal Code is, thus, as follows: The offence is continuous when a person commits at different times, but with the same resolution, actions or inactions that have, each in part, the content of the same offence.;
- Article 121 para. (1) of the Criminal Code, which sets out the obligations that may be imposed on the minor during the execution of non-custodial educational measures, was supplemented with a new obligation under Law no. 291/2023, namely the obligation of the minor to participate, alone or, where appropriate, together with parents or another legal representative, in special psychological counselling programmes organised by the general directorate for social assistance and child protection or by other specialised public or private institutions.
b. The special section of the Criminal Code
- Rape of a minor, an offence introduced into the Criminal Code by Law no. 424/2023 – Article 2811 of the Criminal Code (e., a provision which entered into force on 1 January 2024), which provides that, in the standard version of the offence, sexual intercourse or sexual acts or other acts assimilated by law, committed by an adult with a minor under the age of 16, shall be punishable by 7 to 12 years of imprisonment and by disqualification from exercising certain rights.
It is important to note that the offence is punishable only as long as the age difference between the perpetrator and the victim is of at least 5 years.
It is also incriminated and punished the situation where the perpetrator is a minor, as long as the victim is under 14 years old and if there is an age difference of at least 5 years between the perpetrator and the victim. - Sexual assault committed against a minor, an offence introduced into the Criminal Code by Law no. 424/2023 – Article 2191 of the Criminal Code (e., a provision which entered into force on 1 January 2024), according to which, in the standard version of the offence, an act of a sexual nature, distinct from that provided for in Article 2181 of the Criminal Code, committed by a major against a minor under the age of 16, is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 2 to 9 years and by a ban on the exercise of certain rights.
The situation where the perpetrator is a minor is also provided for and punished.
It is important to note that in both cases the offence is punishable only as long as the age difference between the perpetrator and the victim is of at least 5 years. - Causing or facilitating the commission of sexual acts or of acts of a sexual nature between minors, an offence introduced into the Criminal Code by Law no. 217/2023 – Article 2192 of the Criminal Code (e., the provisions of this article entered into force on 1 January 2024), which incriminates, in the standard version of the offence, the act of an adult who causes a minor to engage in sexual intercourse, in a sexual act, or in any other act assimilated by law, which is happening between minors who have not reached the age of 16, as well as causing a minor to endure or perform such an act.
- Hitting or other violence and bodily harm. The articles criminalising these two offences, Articles 193 and 194 of the Criminal Code, were supplemented by Law no. 248/2023 with a new paragraph providing for a one-third increase in the special penalty limits in the following situations:
- if the victim is in the care, custody, education, or under the protection or under the treatment provided by the offender;
- when the victim is a minor;
- when the offence is committed in public; or
- if the perpetrator is carrying a firearm, an object, device or animal that may endanger the life, health or physical integrity of persons.
The new amendment also stipulates that, in the case of the offence of hitting or other violence, if the offence was committed under one of the above conditions, criminal proceedings may also be initiated ex officio, unlike the original version where, for this offence, criminal proceedings could be initiated only upon the prior complaint of the injured party.
- Outrage. Law no. 248/2023 also amended para. (4) of Article 257 of the Criminal Code: thus, the offence of outrage committed against a police or military officer, as well as against forestry personnel vested with the exercise of public authority, in the exercise of their duties or in connection with the exercise of these duties, is punishable by a specific custodial sentence, the limits of which are increased by half.
It is worth noting that the term “gendarme” has been removed from the textual incrimination and that it was replaced by the broader term “military”. - Judicial outrage. According to Law no. 248/2023, the offence provided for and punishable under Article 279 of the Criminal Code will be punishable by custodial sentences.
