Agreement on admission of guilt. Leaving the civil side unresolved

DREPT PENAL ŞI DREPT PROCESUAL PENAL

Abstract

According to Article 20 para. (1) and Article 27 para. (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the injured party who has suffered harm as a consequence of committing a criminal offence, has a right of option: either he or she joins the civil action to the criminal action in the criminal proceedings, or he or she directly addresses to the civil court for the recovery of the loss. The right of option exclusively belongs to the injured person, as a result of his or her assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of the choice of either way, including of the likelihood of conclusion of an agreement on admission of guilty in the criminal proceedings, with the consequence that the civil action be left unresolved in this way. Likewise, leaving the civil action unresolved in the criminal proceedings is without prejudice to the right of the injured party to refer to a court of law for the repair of compensation, on the contrary, according to Article 27 para. (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the plaintiff claiming damages may bring action before the civil court, and the evidence produced during the criminal proceedings may be used before the civil court. In any case, no matter if the civil action is exercised in criminal proceedings or separately before the civil court, the plaintiff claiming damages shall be liable for proving the alleged claims. Consequently, the legislative solution enshrined by Article 486 para. (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure is without prejudice for the right of the plaintiff claiming damages to a fair trial.