Cape Verde Legislative Decree 4/2003 of 18 November 2003 - PENAL CODE

VOLUME I - GENERAL PROVISIONS

TITLE II - PUNISHABLE DEEDS

CHAPTER II - CHARACTERISTICS OF A PUNISHABLE DEED

Article 20
(Punishability of preparatory acts)

1.Unless otherwise provided by law, preparatory acts shall not be punishable.

2.In those exceptional cases where they are punishable, the applicable penalty shall be of a duration of not less than the minimum legal period and not more than three years; and accordingly no penalty may be imposed that exceeds one third of the maximum legal penalty prescribed for the crime for which preparations were being made.

Cape Verde Legislative Decree 4/2003 of 18 November 2003 - PENAL CODE

VOLUME I - GENERAL PROVISIONS

TITLE II - PUNISHABLE DEEDS

CHAPTER II - CHARACTERISTICS OF A PUNISHABLE DEED

Article 21
(Attempted offence)

1. There is an attempted offence when the perpetrator, with wrongful intent, carries out acts for the execution of an offence without that offence being completed.

2. The following are acts for the execution of an offence:

(a) those that correspond in one or more elements to the description of the standard type of crime;

(b) those that are appropriate for producing the typical result;

(c) those that, according to common experience and except in unforeseeable circumstances, are of such a nature as to create the expectation that they will be followed by acts of the kinds indicated in the preceding subparagraphs.

Article 22
(Punishability of an attempted offence)

1. Barring a legal provision to the contrary, an attempted offence shall be punishable only if the crime, had it been completed, would have carried a penalty of more than three years' imprisonment.

2.Inasmuch as the attempted offence is punishable, the penalty may be freely lessened, although it may not be less than one half the minimum period established for the crime, had it been completed, or the minimum legal period, unless otherwise provided under the law.

Cape Verde Legislative Decree 4/2003 of 18 November 2003 - PENAL CODE

VOLUME I - GENERAL PROVISIONS

TITLE II - PUNISHABLE DEEDS

CHAPTER II - CHARACTERISTICS OF A PUNISHABLE DEED

2. If, after a court conviction has been handed down but before the corresponding penalty has been fulfilled, prescribed or extinguished, it is proven that the perpetrator, prior to being convicted, committed another crime or crimes, the rules of the preceding paragraph shall apply.

3. Accessory penalties and security measures shall always be imposed, even if they are established in only one of the applicable laws.

Cape Verde Legislative Decree 4/2003 of 18 November 2003 - PENAL CODE

VOLUME II - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

TITLE IV - CRIMES AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Article 267
(Incitement to war or genocide)

1. A penalty of two to six years' imprisonment shall be imposed as punishment upon anyone who publicly, repeatedly, by any means, incites hatred against a people or an ethnic, racial or religious group, with the intent of destroying that people or that group in whole or in part, or starting a war.

Cape Verde Legislative Decree 4/2003 of 18 November 2003 - PENAL CODE

VOLUME II - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

TITLE IV - CRIMES AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Article 267
(Incitement to war or genocide)

2. The same penalty shall be imposed upon anyone who recruits members of the Cape Verdean armed forces to participate in a war against a foreign state or territory or to bring down the legitimate government of another state or territory by violent means.

Cape Verde Legislative Decree 4/2003 of 18 November 2003 - PENAL CODE

VOLUME II - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

TITLE IV - CRIMES AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Article 268
(Genocide)

A penalty of 15 to 25 years' imprisonment shall be imposed as punishment upon anyone who, as part of the execution of a concerted plan, and with the intention of destroying, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, religious or other group identified on the basis of some arbitrary criterion, carries out any of the following acts with respect to members of that group:

(a) homicide or a serious offence against a person's physical or psychological integrity;

(b) deportation, enslavement, or abduction followed by disappearance;

(c) the systematic, thoroughgoing practice of torture or cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment likely to lead to the partial or total destruction of the group;

(d) measures to prevent reproduction or births;

(e) the forcible transfer of children from one group to another.

Cape Verde Legislative Decree 4/2003 of 18 November 2003 - PENAL CODE

VOLUME II - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

TITLE IV - CRIMES AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Article 272
(Crimes against persons subject to protection in a situation of armed conflict)
A penalty of 10 to 20 years' imprisonment shall be imposed as punishment upon anyone who, in violation of the provisions of international law, in a situation of armed conflict, carries out against any person subject to protection

Cape Verde Legislative Decree 4/2003 of 18 November 2003 - PENAL CODE

VOLUME II - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

TITLE IV - CRIMES AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Article 272
(Crimes against persons subject to protection in a situation of armed conflict)

A penalty of 10 to 20 years' imprisonment shall be imposed as punishment upon anyone who, in violation of the provisions of international law, in a situation of armed conflict, carries out against any person subject to protection

(a) homicide or a serious offence against the person's physical or psychological integrity,

(b) torture or any other cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments,

(c) sexual assault,

(d) deportation, enslavement, or kidnapping or abduction,

(e) forced conscription into enemy armed forces,

(f) the confiscation or destruction of valuable assets,

unless some more severe penalty applies pursuant to some other legal provision.

Cape Verde Legislative Decree 4/2003 of 18 November 2003 - PENAL CODE

VOLUME II - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

TITLE IV - CRIMES AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Article 273
(Prohibited means of combat)

A penalty of 10 to 15 years' imprisonment shall be imposed as punishment upon anyone who, in a situation of armed conflict, uses or orders the use of means or methods of combat that are prohibited or that are intended to cause unnecessary suffering or that are designed to cause serious, extensive and lasting damage to the environment, endangering the health or survival of large numbers of people.

Cape Verde Legislative Decree 4/2003 of 18 November 2003 - PENAL CODE

VOLUME II - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

TITLE IV - CRIMES AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Article 274

(Reprisals and threats of violence against the civilian population)

A penalty of eight to 15 years' imprisonment shall be imposed as punishment upon anyone who, in a situation of armed conflict or occupation, carries out or orders the carrying out of indiscriminate or excessive attacks, or the subjection of the civilian population to attacks, reprisals, acts, or threats of violence, with the aim of sowing terror, unless some more severe penalty applies pursuant to some other legal provision.

Cape Verde Legislative Decree 4/2003 of 18 November 2003 - PENAL CODE

VOLUME II - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

TITLE IV - CRIMES AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Article 276
(Destruction of monuments, holy places, and health facilities)

1. A penalty of three to eight years' imprisonment shall be imposed as punishment upon anyone who, in time of war, armed conflict or occupation, in violation of the applicable provisions of international law, destroys or seriously damages cultural, historical or scientific assets or monuments, or holy places, which constitute people's cultural or spiritual heritage, without such destruction or damage being necessary in military terms.

2. The same penalty shall be imposed upon anyone who, in identical circumstances, destroys or seriously damages health or humanitarian facilities.

Cape Verde Legislative Decree 4/2003 of 18 November 2003 - PENAL CODE

VOLUME II - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

TITLE IV - CRIMES AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Article 277
(Destruction of civilian targets)

1. A penalty of two to six years' imprisonment shall be imposed as punishment upon anyone who, in time of war or armed conflict, attacks civilian assets or targets and destroys them or renders them unusable in a situation where such an operation does not offer a definite military advantage and such civilian assets or targets do not make an effective contribution to the enemy's military action.

2. The same penalty shall be imposed on anyone who, in the same circumstances, destroys, renders unusable or confiscates assets essential to the survival of the civilian population, provided that such assets are not being used by the enemy in direct support of military actions or as subsistence for members of the enemy's armed forces.