GENERAL PART
Chapter VI. Principles of the imposition of penalty and penal means
Article 53. § 1. The court shall impose the penalty according to its own discretion, within the
limits prescribed by law bearing in mind that its harshness should not exceed the degree of guilt,
considering the level of social consequences of the act committed, and taking into account the preventive and educational objectives which the penalty has to attain with regard to the sentenced person, as well as the need to develop a legal conscience among the public.
§ 2. In imposing the penalty, the court shall above all take into account the motivation and the
manner of conduct of the perpetrator, committing the offence together with a minor, the type and degree of transgression against obligations imposed on the perpetrator, the type and dimension of any adverse consequences of the offence, the characteristics and personal conditions of perpetrator, his way of life prior to the commission of the offence and his conduct thereafter, and particularly his efforts to redress the damage or to compensate the public perception of justice in another form. The court shall also consider the behaviour of the injured person.
§ 3. In imposing the penalty, the court shall also take into consideration the positive results of the
mediation between the injured person and the perpetrator, or the settlement reached by them in the
proceedings before the state prosecutor or the court.
Article 54. § 1. In imposing a penalty on a minor or a juvenile, the court shall first and foremost
aim to educate the perpetrator.
§ 2. The penalty of the deprivation of liberty for life shall not be imposed on the perpetrator who
was under 18 at the time of the commission of the offence.
Article 55. Circumstances affecting the imposition of the penalty shall be taken into consideration
only with regard to the person to whom they pertain.
Article 56. The provisions of Article 53, Article 54 § 1 and Article 55 shall be applied accordingly,
to the imposition of other means provided for in this code.
Article 57. § 1. In the event of the concurrence of several independent grounds for the
extraordinary mitigation or enhancement of a penalty, the court may mitigate or enhance the penalty only once, considering jointly the concurrent grounds for mitigation or enhancement.
§ 2. In the event of the concurrence of the grounds for extraordinary mitigation and enhancement,
the court may adopt an extraordinary mitigation or enhancement of the penalty.
Article 58. § 1. If the law provides for an option of the type of penalty, the court shall impose the
penalty of deprivation of liberty without suspending execution thereof, only when no other penalty or penal measure would not serve the purpose thereof.
§ 2. No fine shall be imposed when the income of the perpetrator, his situation or potential to
earn provide reasonable grounds for the supposition that the perpetrator would not honour the fine and that enforcing the same by execution would not be possible.
§ 3. If the offence is subject to a penalty of a deprivation of liberty not exceeding 5 years, the
court, instead of imposing this penalty may impose a fine or a penalty of restriction of liberty, particularly when it imposes a penal measure at the same time.
§ 4. The provision of § 3 does not apply to the perpetrator of an intentional misdemeanour who
has previously been sentenced to a deprivation of liberty for a period of not less than 6 months without
conditional suspension of its execution.
Article 59. If the offence is subject only to a penalty of a deprivation of liberty not exceeding 3
years or, alternatively, to the penalties specified in Article 32, sections 1 through 3, and the social
consequences of the act are not great, the court may renounce the imposition of the penalty if it decides to impose a penal measure at the same time, and the purpose of such a penalty is thus served by the measure.
Article 60. §1. The court may apply an extraordinary mitigation of the penalty in the cases
specified by law, as well as with respect to a juvenile if this is justified by objectives described in Article
54 § 1.
§ 2. The court may also apply an extraordinary mitigation of the penalty in particularly justified
cases when even the lowest penalty stipulated for the offence in question would be incommensurate, and particularly :
1) if the injured person and the perpetrator have been reconciled, the damage incurred has
been repaired, or the injured person and the perpetrator have agreed as to the manner of reparation for the damage,
2) taking into consideration the attitude of the perpetrator, particularly if he attempted to
repair the damage or prevent the damage from occurring,
3) if a perpetrator of an unintentional offence or someone close to him has suffered a major
detriment in connection with the offence committed.
§ 3. The court shall be applied an extraordinary mitigation of the penalty or may even
conditionally suspend the execution of the penalty, with respect to a perpetrator who, co-operating with
others in the commission of an offence, reveals information pertaining to the persons involved therein or essential circumstances thereof, to the agency responsible for its prosecution.
§ 4. Upon a motion from the state prosecutor, the court may apply an extraordinary mitigation of
the penalty or even conditionally suspend the execution of the penalty with respect to a perpetrator, who, irrespective of any explanation provided in his case, revealed and presented to the agency responsible for prosecution, essential circumstances, not previously known to that agency, of an offence subject to a penalty exceeding 5 years deprivation of liberty.
§ 5. In the cases referred to in § 3 and 4, the court, in imposing the penalty of deprivation of
liberty for up to 5 years, may conditionally suspend the execution of the penalty for a probation period of up to 10 years, if it recognises that, in spite of not serving the penalty, the perpetrator would not commit the offence again ; the provisions of Articles 71 through 76 shall be applied accordingly.
§ 6. The extraordinary mitigation of a penalty shall consist in the imposition of a penalty below
the lower statutory level, or the imposition of a penalty of lesser severity, in accordance with the following principles :
1) if the act in question constitutes a crime, the court shall impose a penalty of not less
than one-third of the lower statutory level ;
2) if the act in question constitutes a misdemeanour, and the lower statutory level of the
penalty is not less than one year's deprivation of liberty, the court shall impose either a fine, the penalty of restriction of liberty or deprivation of liberty ;
3) if the act in question constitutes a misdemeanour, and the lower statutory level of penalty
is less than one year's deprivation of liberty, the court shall impose either a fine or the
penalty of restriction of liberty.
§ 7. If the act in question is subject, alternatively, to the penalties specified in Article 32 sections
1 through 3, the extraordinary mitigation of a penalty shall consist in renouncing the imposition of the
penalty, and the imposition of a penal measure as specified in Article 39 sections 2 through 8 ; the
provision of Article 61 § 2 shall not be applied.
Article 61. § 1. The court may renounce the imposition of a penalty in the cases specified by law
or in the case provided for in Article 60 § 3, particularly if the role of the perpetrator in the commission of the act was of secondary importance, and the information transmitted has helped to prevent the commission of another offence.
§ 2. Renouncing from the imposition of penalty, the court may refrain from adjudging a penal
measure, even if adjudging it were mandatory.
Article 62. Upon deciding to impose a penalty of deprivation of liberty, the court may determine
the kind and type of penal institution where the sentenced person is to serve the term and to stipulate the therapeutic methods for serving the term of deprivation of liberty.
Article 63. §1. The period of an actual deprivation of liberty in a given case, rounded to a full
number of days, shall be credited to the penalty of deprivation of liberty, with one day of actual deprivation of liberty equalling one day of the penalty of deprivation of liberty, or two days of the penalty of restriction of liberty, or two daily rates of a fine.
§ 2. The actual period of preventive measures of the corresponding kinds, as specified in Article
276 of the Code of criminal procedure, shall be credited against the imposed measures specified in Article 39 sections 2 and 3 of this Code.
Sentencing - national proceedings
Determination of sentence - national proceedings
EDIT.