Romanian Constitutional Court, 6 May 2020, n. 152
Sixth bulletin of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights on “Coronavirus pandemic in the EU - Fundamental Rights Implications”
Published the UNODC research brief on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on violence against women and gender-related violence
Resolution of the 13th of November 2020 (2020/2790 (RSP))
The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown have forced us to question the foundations of the punitive power and have imposed a debate both about criminal law as a tool for managing the health emergency, on the one hand, and about the consequences of the health emergency on criminal law, on the other. This article departs from this discussion and from the debate following the adoption of the so-called Bonafede reform of the statute of lim- itations, in order to propose some systematic thoughts on the role of non-punishment as a means of managing criminal policy. By combining dogmatics and criminal policy, this ariticle supports a teleological and systematic use of giving up on punishment as a form of implementation of the principles of extrema ratio and fragmentation. In particular, this article hopes for a systematic management of all forms of non-punishment by the legislator instead of a full delegation to prosecutors and judges
In the following pages, it will be analyzed how criminal law has been used and in what terms has been affected by the coronavirus outbreak in its first and emergency phase, comparing the experiences obtained in the Italian and Brazilian legal systems. In the end, some critical reflections will be proposed, with particular regards to the analysis of the criminal dignity of the sanctioned conduct and the typification of the crimes, relating the theoretical discourse to the real experience of the criminal justice system and criminal enforcement in this period.
The author disputes the persecution policy pursued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and the use of the offence under Article 318 of the Criminal Code. With a reduction ad absurdum, the author illustrates the lack of grounds and the negative consequences of such a policy (from such a reading of the law, at the end). The effects translate into an “administrativization” of the criminal system, discriminatory use of pre-trial detention, limitations on due process and the collapse of the whole system. The duty of dealing with this situation is entrusted to the courts, before the Constitutional Court itself intervenes.
The present work, which corresponds to the second part of the one published in Crimanal Justice Network last June 23, deals with the remaining inconveniences that can be generated for the event that the oral trial hearing is held through remote connection systems. Specifically, it deals with issues related to possible effects on the principle of contradiction, problems related to the control of evidence, the effects that an eventual agreement by the participants (especially the accused) could have difficulties in the development of communication between the accused and his or her lawyer during the trial, effects on publicity and conflict with the right to be tried within a reasonable time. This analysis is carried out with reference to the regulations contained in the Chilean Code of Criminal Procedure.
Rights at the Time of the Health Emergency
The bulletin considers the impact of Covid-19 on fundamental rights in important areas of daily life