U-I-132/15

Reference no.:
U-I-132/15
Objavljeno:
Official Gazette RS, No. 24/2018 | 15.03.2018
ECLI:
ECLI:SI:USRS:2018:U.I.132.15
Abstract:
The requirement that a criminal law rule be clear and precise (lex certa) does not only mean that its content can be determined but also that it is recognisable within the system of legal rules and thus distinct from other rules of a punitive nature (lex distincta). If the statutory elements of a criminal offence and a minor offence completely overlapped or the norms were identical such that there is no clear boundary between them, this would create legal uncertainty and enable arbitrary prosecution by law enforcement authorities. Such a situation would entail an antinomy in the legal order, which is contrary to the principles of a state governed by the rule of law (Article 2 of the Constitution) and interferes with the principle of legality in criminal law (the first paragraph of Article 28 of the Constitution).
 
The statutory elements of the criminal offence of abuse of internal information referred to in Article 243 of the Criminal Code do not overlap completely with the statutory elements of the minor offence referred to in the third paragraph of Article 566 in conjunction with point 1 of the first paragraph of Article 566 of the Financial Instruments Market Act. The allegation of the applicant that there is no clear boundary between them is therefore not justified. Such entails that the contested first paragraph of Article 243 of the Criminal Code was not inconsistent with Article 2 and the first paragraph of Article 28 of the Constitution.
Document in PDF:
Type of procedure:
review of constitutionality and legality of regulations and other general acts
Type of act:
statute
Applicant:
High Court in Ljubljana
Date of application:
11.09.2015
Date of decision:
15.03.2018
Type of decision adopted:
decision
Outcome of proceedings:
establishment – it is not inconsistent with the Constitution/statute
Document:
AN03968