8. Acord de recunoaştere a vinovăţiei. Existenţa prejudiciului. Întinderea prejudiciului. Acţiune civilă exercitată în faţa instanţei civile. Contract
8. Plea bargaining agreement. Existence of damage. Quantum of damages. Civil action brought before a civil court. Contract

Summary/Abstract: The High Court of Cassation and Justice addresses two important aspects in the summarized Decision. The first aspect pertains to the res judicata effect of a criminal judgment – through which a plea bargain was admitted – before a civil court regarding the existence of the damage. The second aspect considers the incidence of contractual liability and the principle of non cumulation of contractual and tortious liability, as enshrined in Art. 1.350 para. (3) of the Civil Code, in the specific case under adjudication, given the existence of a contract between the parties to the dispute. Regarding the res judicata of the criminal judgment admitting the plea bargain, based on a per a contrario interpretation of the provisions of Art. 486 para. (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it emerges that the special legal provision regarding plea bargains extends the res judicata effect of criminal judgments regulated by Art. 28 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The judgment by which the plea bargain was admitted constitutes res judicata before the civil court with respect to the existence of the act, the identity of the person who committed it, the existence of the damage, the guilt of the perpetrator, and the existence of the causal link between the illicit act and the damage. As for the second settled aspect, concerning the incidence of contractual liability and the principle of non cumulation of contractual and tortious liability, it must be noted that the mere existence of a contract is not sufficient to conclude that contractual liability applies. While the existence of a contract may serve as a criterion for determining the incidence of contractual liability, it is not an exhaustive one. It must be applied alongside the „third party criterion” or the „legitimate interest criterion” to determine the applicable form of civil liability.

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