EIRP Proceedings, Vol 5 (2010)

Abstract

The corruption phenomenon in Romania is one of the factors that have slowed the progress of economic and political development, and therefore the fight against this phenomenon constitutes a primary concern of the entire Romanian society, in order to increase the level of integrity and trust towards state institutions and in order to integrate the Romanian society in the European community. Law no. 286/2009 regarding the new Criminal Code brings a number of changes in terms of corruption offenses, changes that have drawn much criticism. The faulty wording in the general part has resulted in the decriminalization of the largest part of the corruption crimes already committed and, as such, a partial indirect amnesty of the corruption acts, which have seriously affected the social system and Romania's development. The manner in which a crime is defined by law or the ambiguity of the definitions regarding the criminal nature of an act seriously affect the clarity and predictability of the criminal policy. Moreover, the draft Criminal Code and the draft Criminal Procedure Code contain a number of provisions which are contrary to the Constitutional Court's jurisprudence and may affect the efficiency of the law.