Some Considerations Regarding the Trial of Admitting Guilt

• Author: Constantin Tanase
• Position: Senior Lecturer, PhD, 'Danubius' University of Galati, Faculty of Law, Romania
• Pages: 118-121

European Integration - Realities and Perspectives

2012

118

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Some Considerations Regarding the Trial of Admitting Guilt

Constantin Tnase

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Abstract: The r esearch regarding the trial in case of admitting guilt was to attract attention to the limitation

of the courts to r ule other decisions than condemnation in such cases. It is mainly about people who admit

their guilt, but cannot benefit from a rt. 18

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Criminal Code. The procedure is relat ively new (it was introduced

in the Code of Criminal Procedure Law no 202/2010) there have not conducted research in this area. In

addressing the problem there were used the methods of examination and obser vation, the results leading to

the conclusion that the legal text should be improved. The implications of the work conc ern the practitioners’

activity. It reveals a loophole which is reflected on the quality of justice.

Keywords: new institutions of the criminal trial; Code of Criminal Procedure; guilt

By the article XVII, section 43 of law no. 202/2010 regarding some measurements taken to accelerate

the settlement of processes was introduced in the Criminal Procedure Code, article 3201, entitled

“Judgment in the case of admitting guilt”. The main objective of the new institution is, of course, the

prompt settlement of criminal cases to be decided. Indeed, under this regulation, if the application of

the defendant, personally or by declaring that it recognized the authentic act retained the perpetration

of summons, the trial should be made based on the evidence brought in the prosecution phase, and so

the judicial investigation is waived. The judgment can take place at the first hearing only based on the

evidence brought in the prosecution phase and if the conditions laid down by the law are fulfilled,

namely: the defendant fully admits to all the facts established in the document instituting the

proceedings, he will not ask for further evidences except for documents in criminal proceedings and

that the criminal action is not justified and aimed at an offense punishable by life imprisonment.

In such cases, the court gives the word to the prosecutor and to the other parties, convicting the

defendant but reducing his sentence by one third in case of imprisonment or by reducing his sentence

by a quarter in case of a fine.

Therefore, the advantages are on both sides: t he act of justice is rendered with maximum celerity, thus

giving efficiency to the fundamental principle of promptness, and the defendant benefits of a reduction

of the sentence that will be applied to him.

Since the law expressly provides that in the trial of admitting guilt, the court is sentencing the

conviction, therefore the defendant that fully admitted committing an act that lacks importance and

that doesn’t represent any degree of social danger of a crime, can’t be judged by the procedure

provided by article number 320 of the Criminal Procedure Code if he requests payment under the

provisions of article number 11, point 2 a) the reference to article 10 paragraph (1), b) Criminal

Procedure Code and to article 18 of the Penal Code. An argument in support of the reason of these

provisions would be that in case we refer to a payment, the court must carefully examine all real and

personal circumstances of the criminal case, which would not be achieved by passing over the judicial

inquiry. The explanation seems superfluous, whereas the sentencing of a person i mplies, for instance,

a thorough examination of the case, in all its aspects. However, the provision of article number 3201

of the Criminal Procedure Code, gives the judge the opportunity to pronounce a sentence, for the ones

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Senior Lecturer, PhD, “Danubius” University of Galati, Faculty of Law, Romania, Address: 3 Galati Blvd, Galati, Romania,

tel: +40372 361 102, fax: +40372 361 290, Corresponding author: constantintanase@univ-danubius.ro.