The imposition of criminal punishment in accordance with the effects of mitigating and aggravating circumstances

URL: https://dspace.academy.police.md/the-imposition-of-criminal-punishment-in-accordance-with-the-effects-of-mitigating-and-aggravating-circumstances/

Data: 2025

Judicial individualization involves establishing and applying a punishment that reflects the harm inflicted on social values by the person who committed the offense. This process entails the use of a complex set of mitigating and aggravating circumstances, alongside the general criteria for individualization, which serve as the starting point of this work. The paper constitutes an analytical material on the current legal provisions regarding the institution of punishment individualization in general and the institution of applying punishment in accordance with the effects of mitigating and aggravating circumstances in particular. The legal framework within which judicial individualization must occur is analyzed. The means and criteria for individualizing criminal punishment, as determined by law, are outlined. A distinction is made between general and special criteria for punishment individualization. The nature, role, and importance of mitigating and aggravating circumstances, which form part of the general criteria for punishment individualization, are assessed. Essential doctrinal opinions regarding the classification, role, and significance of mitigating and aggravating circumstances are presented. The effects of mitigating and aggravating circumstances on determining the punishment of the accused are evaluated in three situations regulated by law: a) the court retains only mitigating circumstances and their effects; b) only aggravating circumstances exist in the commission of the act and their effects; c) the court retains a concurrence of aggravating and mitigating circumstances and their effects. Also, proposals for “lege ferenda” are made.