GENERAL PROVISIONS

CHAPTER VIII
IMPOSITION OF A PENALTY

Article 63. Imposition of a Penalty for the Commission of Several Criminal Acts

1. Where several criminal acts have been committed, a court shall impose a penalty for each criminal act separately and subsequently impose a final combined sentence. When imposing a final combined sentence, the court may impose either a consolidated sentence or a fully or partially cumulative sentence.

2. Where a consolidated sentence is imposed, a more severe penalty shall cover a more lenient penalty and the final combined sentence shall be equal to the most severe penalty imposed for all the separate criminal acts.

3. Where a fully cumulative sentence is imposed, all more lenient sentences which have been imposed shall be added to the most severe penalty imposed for one of the committed criminal acts.

4. Where a partially cumulative sentence is imposed, more lenient penalties shall be added in part to the most severe penalty imposed for one of the committed criminal acts.

5. A court shall impose a consolidated sentence where :

1) there is a full concurrence of criminal acts ;
2) where the committed criminal acts differ markedly in their degree of dangerousness and are assigned to different types or categories of criminal acts according to Articles 10 or 11 of this Code ;
3) where a custodial sentence for a period of twenty years or life imprisonment has been imposed for the commission of one of the criminal acts.

6. Where imposing a final sentence a part of the imposed sentences may be consolidated, whereas others may only be fully or partially accumulated, a court shall combine sentences by way of consolidation and accumulation of sentences. A court shall make a choice of the procedure for combining sentences upon assessing the nature and dangerousness of the committed criminal acts.

7. When a penalty is imposed on the grounds provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, a final combined sentence may not exceed twenty years of imprisonment, whereas in the cases when a penalty of another type is imposed, the penalty may not exceed the maximum penalty established for this kind of penalty in this Code.

8. A court may not impose a combined sentence of a type which has not been imposed for the individual criminal acts.

9. A penalty shall be imposed according to the rules stipulated in this Article also in the cases when following the passing of a judgement it is established that a person had committed one more crime or misdemeanour prior to the passing of the judgement in the first case. In this case, the fully or partially served sentence imposed by the previous judgement shall be included in the term of the sentence.

10. A person shall not be considered to have committed several criminal acts where he has committed a continuous criminal act.