Ce (nu) ne dorim atunci când modificăm legea penală. O analiză preliminară a modificărilor aduse infracțiunilor contra persoanei prin Legea pentru prevenirea și combaterea femicidului și a violențelor care îl preced
What (we do not) want when amending criminal law. A preliminary analysis of the amendments to offenses against the person introduced by the Law on the prevention and fighting of femicide and the violence that precedes it

Summary/Abstract: The paper analyzes the amendments to offenses against the person introduced by the Law on the prevention and fighting of femicide and the violence that precedes it, adopted in March 2026 by the Parliament of Romania. It provides a detailed presentation of the new aggravating circumstances within the framework of aggravated homicide - which do not distinguish based on whether the victim is a woman or a man - offering guidance on the interpretation of newly introduced notions, such as “control” and “domination”, as well as benchmarks for interpreting the gender-based aggravating circumstance and the new form of homicide committed in the context of separation. Similar aggravating circumstances concerning the offenses of determining or facilitating suicide and those against bodily integrity or health are also examined. The article identifies legislative errors, inconsistencies and issues related to the application of certain legal provisions, as well as difficulties in legal classification and sentencing arising from the system of successive aggravations that lead to fractional increases in penalties. Without disputing the usefulness of other provisions of the new law, the article emphasizes that the preventive effect of the amendments to the Criminal Code is debatable, in light of studies showing no real progress in hyper-repressive systems and calls for caution when amending criminal law. The paper also presents the new rules regarding the initiation of criminal proceedings ex officio in cases of battery against a family member, rape, sexual assault and trespassing, as well as some of the issues raised by these regulations.

• Details
• Contents