The new penal code european union requirement or necessity for romania?

• Author: William Gabriel Brînza
• Position: Faculty of Law, Law Department University, Bucharest - Romania
• Pages: 14-18

AGORA International Journal of Juridical Sciences, www.juridicalj ournal.univagora.ro

ISSN 1843-570X, E-ISSN 2067-7677

No. 3 (2013), pp. 14-18

14

THE NEW PENAL CODE.

EUROPEAN UNION REQUIREMENT OR NECESSITY FOR

ROMANIA?

W. G. Brînz

William-Gabriel Brînz

Faculty of Law, Law Department

“Dimitrie Cantemir” University, Bucharest, Romania

*Correspondence: William Gabriel Brînz, Palace of Parliament, 2-4 Izvor St., Bucharest,

Romania

E-mail: william@williameuropa.eu

Abstract

Preparation and adoption of a new Penal Code represent a crucial moment in the

legislative evolution of any state. The decision to proceed in preparing a new Penal Code is

not a simple manifestation of political will, but is, in equal measure, a corollary of the

economic and social evolution and of doctrine and case law as well.

Keywords: Romanian Penal Code, requirement, necessity, European Union.

Introduction

Preparation and adoption of a new Penal Code represent a crucial moment in the

legislative evolution of any state. The decision to proceed in preparing a new Penal Code is

not a simple manifestation of political will, but is, in equal measure, a corollary of the

economic and social evolution and of doctrine and case law as well.

The deep transformations in political, social and economic plan that took place in the

Romanian society in the nearly four decades that passed since the adoption of the Penal Code

in force, especially in the period after 1989, do not leave place for any doubts that the

adoption of a new Penal Code is necessary.

Starting from these premises, for the preparation of the new Penal Code, within the

Ministry of Justice a Committee has been established, constituted from university teaching

staff, judges and prosecutors, with the participation of the Legislative Council representatives.

The decision to elaborate a new Penal Code is based on a number of shortcomings

within the current regulations, shortcomings highlighted in practice as well as in doctrine.

Thus, the present sanctioning criminal regime regulated by the Penal Code in force,

subject to frequent legislative interventions on the various institutions, led to a non-unitary

application and interpretation, with no coherence, of the criminal law, with repercussions on

the efficiency and the finality of the justice act.

Also, the decision to elaborate a new Penal Code was grounded on the shortcomings of

Law 301/2004

1

, raised by the doctrine in the period that followed its publication, out of

which, the most important are the following:

 in terms of the models that constituted the basis of the regulation, our legislative body has

limited to two main models - the Penal Code in force and the French Penal Code, diverting

thus from the inspiration of the Italian-Austrian tradition, developed under the former Penal

Code

1

;

1

Published in the Official Gazette of Romania no. 575 o f June 29th, 2004, this law on the new Penal Code has

never entered into force, another draft of the Penal Code being elab orated, resulting in the publication of Law

286/2019 concerning the Penal Code, published in the Official Gazette o f Romania no. 510 of July 24th, 2009.