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Crimes Against Humanity

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Domestic Legislation | Resources and Links





Domestic legislation for serious crimes under international law

Crimes

Crime of Aggression / Crimes Against Peace

Article 139 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova concerns to "Planning, Preparation, Unleashing or Waging War":

    "Article 139. Planning, Preparation, Unleashing or Waging War
    (1) Planning, preparing or unleashing a war shall be punished by imprisonment for 8 to 15 years.
    (2) Waging a war shall be punished by imprisonment for 10 to 20 years or by life imprisonment."
War propaganda is punished in Article 140 of the Criminal Code:
    "Article 140. War Propaganda
    (1) War propaganda, spreading of pretentious or invented information inciting to war, or any other actions aimed at unleashing war committed verbally; in writing; on radio, television, cinema; or by any other means shall be punished by a fine of up to 500 conventional units or by imprisonment for up to 6 years, in both cases with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice certain activities for up to 5 years.
    (2) Commission of the acts set forth in par. (1) by a high-ranking official shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 500 to 1000 conventional units or by imprisonment for 3 to 7 years, in both cases with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to practice certain activities for up to 5 years."
See:

  • The Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova. (No. 985-XV dated 18 April 2002).
    Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova, No. 128-129/1012, 13 September 2002. (Republished: Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova, No. 72-74/195, 14 April 2009). [ENG]

    Crimes Against Humanity

    No provision.

    Genocide

    Genocide is defined in Chapter I ("Crimes Against The Peace And Security Of Humanity, War Crimes"), Article 135 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova:

      "Article 135. Genocide
      Commission aimed at the destruction, in whole or in part, of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group of any of the following acts:
        a) killing members of this group;
        b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
        c) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
        d) trafficking in children of the respective group;
        e) deliberate exposure of the group to living conditions leading to its physical destruction in whole or in part
      shall be punished by imprisonment for 16 to 20 years or by life imprisonment."

  • The Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova. (No. 985-XV dated 18 April 2002).
    Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova, No. 128-129/1012, 13 September 2002. (Republished: Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova, No. 72-74/195, 14 April 2009). [ENG]

    War Crimes

    War crimes are defined in Chapter I ("Crimes Against The Peace And Security Of Humanity, War Crimes"), Articles 137, 138, 1401, 141 and 143, and Chapter XVIII ("Military Crimes"), articles 389-393 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova:

  • The Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova. (No. 985-XV dated 18 April 2002).
    Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova, No. 128-129/1012, 13 September 2002. (Republished: Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova, No. 72-74/195, 14 April 2009). [ENG]


    Jurisdiction

    The territorial application of the Criminal Law of the Republic of Moldova is provided for under Article 11 of its Criminal Code. Paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article 11 are devoted to extraterritorial application of the criminal law:

      "Article 11. Application of Criminal Law in Space
      [...]
      (2) Citizens of the Republic of Moldova and stateless persons with permanent domiciles in the territory of the Republic of Moldova who commit crimes outside the territory of the country shall be liable for criminal responsibility hereunder.
      [...]
      (3) If not convicted in a foreign state, foreign citizens and stateless persons without permanent domiciles in the territory of the Republic of Moldova who commit crimes outside the territory of the Republic of Moldova shall be criminally liable under this Code and shall be subject to criminal liability in the territory of the Republic of Moldova provided that the crimes committed are adverse to the interests of the Republic of Moldova or to the peace and security of humanity, or constitute war crimes including crimes set forth in the international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a party.
      [...]
      (7) Criminal punishments and criminal records for crimes committed outside the territory of the Republic of Moldova shall be taken into consideration hereunder in individualizing the punishment for a new crime committed by the same person on the territory of the Republic of Moldova as well as in settling issues related to amnesty in conditions of reciprocity based on a court decision."
    See:

  • The Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova. (No. 985-XV dated 18 April 2002).
    Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova, No. 128-129/1012, 13 September 2002. (Republished: Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova, No. 72-74/195, 14 April 2009). [ENG]

    ➤ Addtionally, Article 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova provides the following regarding the Observance of International Law and International Treaties:
      "Article 8. Observance of International Law and International Treaties
      (1) The Republic of Moldova commits to observe the Charter of the United Nations and the treaties to which it is a party, to ground its relationships with other states on the unanimously recognized principles and norms of international law.
      (2) The coming into force of an international treaty containing provisions which are contrary to the Constitution shall be preceded by a revision of the latter."
    ➤ Miscellaneous provisions of the Criminal Code applying to crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes:
      "Article 401. Execution of an Order or Command from a Superior
      (1) An act set forth in criminal law and committed by a person to execute an order or a command from a superior which is mandatory for him/her and provided that the order or command is not clearly illegal and the executor was not aware of the illegal nature of such an order or command shall not be considered a crime. The person who issued the illegal order or command shall be subject to criminal liability.
      (2) A person who intentionally committed a crime in order to execute a clearly illegal order or command from a superior shall be criminally liable based on general principles. Non-execution of the clearly illegal order or command shall exempt the person from criminal liability.
      (3) For the purposes of this article, the order or command from a superior to commit genocide or a crime against humanity shall be clearly illegal."
      "Article 97. Limitation Period of the Enforcement of the Conviction Sentence
      [...]
      (4) The limitation period does not exclude the enforcement of main punishments set for crimes committed against the peace and security of humanity or war crimes provided for in art.135-137, 139 and 143."
    See:

  • The Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova. (No. 985-XV dated 18 April 2002).
    Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova, No. 128-129/1012, 13 September 2002. (Republished: Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova, No. 72-74/195, 14 April 2009). [ENG]


    International Criminal Court

    Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: The Republic of Moldova signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on 08 September 2000 and deposited its instrument of ratification on 12 October 2010.

    Upon ratification the Republic of Moldova made the following notification under article 87 (1) and (2) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court:
      "1. According to the provisions of the article 87 paragraph 1 of the Statute, the Republic of Moldova declares that all the cooperation requests and all the related documents shall be transmitted through the diplomatic channel.

      2. According to the provisions of the article 87 paragraph 2 of the Statute, the Republic of Moldova declares that all the cooperation requests and any documents supporting the requests shall be prepared in Moldovan language or in English, which is one of the working languages of the International Criminal Court, or be accompanied by a translation into one of these languages."

  • Constitutional Court's resolution on the control of constitutionality of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
    Monitorul Oficial al Republicii Moldova, N° 161-164 (3048-3051), 12 October 2007. [ENG]

  • Resources and Links

  • Constitution of the Republic of Moldova. (27 August 1994)
    Presidency of the Republic of Moldova. [ENG]. [Last accessed 08Sep17]. [External Link]

  • Constitution of the Republic of Moldova. (1994, with Amendments through 2006)
    Comparative Constitutions Project, University of Texas at Austin. [ENG]. [Last accessed 08Sep17]. [External Link to pdf document]

  • Codul Penal al Republicii Moldova. (Criminal Code of Moldova). (Updated). (COD Nr. 985 din 18 April 2002).
    Ministerul Justitiei, Republica Moldova. [RUM/RON]. [Last accessed 08Sep17]. [External Link]

  • Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Moldova.
    Southeast European Prosecutors Advisory Group. [ENG]. [Last accessed 08Sep17]. [External Link to pdf document]

  • The Norwegian Mission of Rule of Law Advisers to Moldova.
    NORLAM. [ENG]. [Last accessed 08Sep17]. [External Link]

  • Monitorul Oficial al Republicii Moldova. (Official State Gazette)
    [RON/RUS]. [Last accessed 08sep17]. [External Link]

  • Official Legislation Database.
    Ministerul Justitiei, Republica Moldova. [RON/RUS]. [Last accessed 08sep17]. [External Link]

  • List of International Humanitarian Law Treaties to which Moldova is a State party.
    International Committee of the Red Cross. [ENG]. [Last accessed 08Sep17]. [External Link]