'Individual criminal responsibility' in document 'Moldova - Criminal Code'

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RELEVANT SECTIONS OF THE IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION

GENERAL PART

Chapter I
THE CRIMINAL CODE AND THE PRINCIPLES OF ITS APPLICATION

Article 6. Principle of Criminal Liability Personal Character

(2) Only the person who commits by intention or imprudence an act set forth in criminal law shall be subject to criminal liability and criminal punishment.

GENERAL PART

Chapter IV
PARTICIPATION

Article 41. Participation

Participation shall be considered the intentional cooperation of two or more persons in the commission of an intentional crime.

Article 42. Participants

(1) Participants shall be considered the persons who contribute to the commission of a crime either as the authors, organizers, instigators, or as accomplices.

(2) An author shall be considered the person who directly commits an act set forth in criminal law as well as the person who commits a crime through persons not subject to criminal liability due to their age, irresponsibility, or other reasons set forth herein.

(3) An organizer shall be considered the person who organizes the commission of a crime or manages its commission as well as the person who creates an organized criminal group or a criminal organization or manages the criminal activity thereof.

(4) An instigator shall be considered a person who by any means makes another person commit a crime.

(5) An accomplice shall be considered a person who contributes to the commission of a crime by giving advice, indications, or information and by offering means or tools or eliminating obstacles as well as the person who promises in advance that he/she will favor the criminal, hide the means or tools used to commit the crime or traces thereof or the goods obtained through criminal means, or the person who promises in advance to purchase or sell such goods.

(6) Participants must have evidence of the subject of a crime.

Article 43. Forms of Participation

Depending on the degree of coordination of the participants' actions, there are the following forms of participation :

a) simple participation ;
b) complex participation ;
c) organized criminal group ;
d) criminal organization (association).

Article 44. Simple Participation

The crime shall be considered committed with simple participation if two or more persons jointly took part in it as co-authors, each of them achieving the objective side of the crime.

Article 45. Complex Participation

(1) The crime shall be considered committed with complex participation if the participants committed it as authors, organizers, instigators, or accomplices.

(2) The objective side of the crime committed with complex participation can be achieved :

a) by one author ;
b) by two or more authors.

Article 46. Organized Criminal Group

An organized criminal group shall be a stable union of persons that organized themselves in advance in order to commit one or more crimes.

Article 47. Criminal Organization (Association)

(1) A criminal organization (association) shall be considered a union of criminal groups organized into a stable community whose activity is based on a division of the administration functions among the members of the organization and its structures for ensuring and executing the criminal intentions of the organization to exert influence over or otherwise control the economic or other activity of individuals and legal entities to derive benefits and economic, financial, or political gains.

(2) A crime shall be considered committed by a criminal organization if it was committed by one of its members for the benefit of the organization or by a person who is not a member of the respective organization and who committed the crime on the order of the organization.

(3) The organizer or leader of a criminal organization shall be considered the person who created the criminal organization or the person who manages it.

(4) The organizer or leader of a criminal organization shall be liable for all the crimes committed by such an organization.

(5) A member of a criminal organization shall be criminally liable for only the crimes in which he/she participated in the preparation or commission thereof.

(6) A member of a criminal organization may be exempted from criminal liability when he/she voluntarily exposes the existence of the criminal organization and assists in solving the crimes committed by it or contributes to identifying the organizers, leaders, or members of the respective organization.

GENERAL PART

Chapter V
CRIMINAL LIABILITY

Article 51. Grounds for Criminal Liability

(2) Only the person guilty of a crime set forth in criminal law shall be subject to criminal liability.

GENERAL PART

Chapter VI
EXEMPTION FROM CRIMINAL LIABILITY

Article 54. Exemption from Criminal Liability of Juveniles

(1) A person under the age of 18 who commits for the first time a minor or a less serious crime may be exempted from criminal liability according to the provisions of criminal procedure law provided that it was stated that the juvenile's rehabilitation is possible without assigning criminal liability.

(2) According to par. (1), mandatory educational measures set forth in art. 104 may be required of persons exempted from criminal liability.

GENERAL PART

Chapter VI
EXEMPTION FROM CRIMINAL LIABILITY

Article 56. Exemption from Criminal Liability Due to Voluntary Abandonment of a Crime

(1) Voluntary abandonment of a crime shall be considered the cessation by the person of the preparation of a crime or the cessation of actions (inaction) directly aimed at committing a crime provided that the person was aware of the possibility of consummating the crime.

(2) A person may not be subject to criminal liability for a crime if he/she voluntarily and irreversibly abandons the completion of the crime.

(3) A person who voluntarily abandons the consummation of a crime shall be subject to criminal liability only if the act committed includes another consummated crime.

(4) The organizer and the instigator of a crime shall not be subject to criminal liability if they, through timely notification of law enforcement bodies or through other measures, prevent the completion of the crime by the author. An accomplice in a crime shall not be subject to criminal liability if he/she took all possible measures to prevent the crime.

RELEVANT ROME STATUTE PROVISIONS

Article 25
Individual criminal responsibility
1. The Court shall have jurisdiction over natural persons pursuant to this Statute.
2. A person who commits a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court shall be individually responsible and liable for punishment in accordance with this Statute.
3. In accordance with this Statute, a person shall be criminally responsible and liable for punishment for a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court if that person:
(a) Commits such a crime, whether as an individual, jointly with another or through another person, regardless of whether that other person is criminally responsible;
(b) Orders, solicits or induces the commission of such a crime which in fact occurs or is attempted;
(c) For the purpose of facilitating the commission of such a crime, aids, abets or otherwise assists in its commission or its attempted commission, including providing the means for its commission;
(d) In any other way contributes to the commission or attempted commission of such a crime by a group of persons acting with a common purpose. Such contribution shall be intentional and shall either:
(i) Be made with the aim of furthering the criminal activity or criminal purpose of the group, where such activity or purpose involves the commission of a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court; or
(ii) Be made in the knowledge of the intention of the group to commit the crime;
(e) In respect of the crime of genocide, directly and publicly incites others to commit genocide;
(f) Attempts to commit such a crime by taking action that commences its execution by means of a substantial step, but the crime does not occur because of circumstances independent of the person's intentions. However, a person who abandons the effort to commit the crime or otherwise prevents the completion of the crime shall not be liable for punishment under this Statute for the attempt to commit that crime if that person completely and voluntarily gave up the criminal purpose.
4. No provision in this Statute relating to individual criminal responsibility shall affect the responsibility of States under international law.