Chapter I. Crimes against the peace and security of mankind, war crimes. Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova
Excerpt from the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova
Article 135. Genocide
The commission, with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, of any of the following acts:
a) murder of members of the group;
b) causing bodily harm or harm to the health of members of the group;
c) inflicting on the group conditions of existence calculated to bring about its physical destruction, in whole or in part;
d) imposing measures aimed at preventing births within the group;
e) forcibly transferring children belonging to one group to another group,
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of 15 to 20 years or by life imprisonment.
Article 1351. Crimes against humanity
(1) Committing, as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population and with knowledge of such attack, any of the following acts:
a) enslaving, trafficking in adult persons or trafficking in children;
b) deporting or forcibly transferring, in violation of the general rules of international law, persons lawfully present in the territory where the attack was launched;
c) arresting or otherwise depriving them of their physical liberty in violation of the general rules of international law;
d) torture of a person under the custody of the perpetrator or over whom the perpetrator exercises control in any other way, causing serious bodily harm or health, pain or mental suffering, exceeding the consequences of the sanctions permitted by international law;
e) rape, sexual exploitation, forced prostitution, illegal detention of a woman who has become pregnant forcibly, with the aim of changing the ethnic composition of a population, forced sterilization or any other violent act of a sexual nature;
f) persecution of a group or a specific collectivity, by depriving it of fundamental human rights or by restricting the exercise of these rights, on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, sexual or other grounds recognized as inadmissible under international law;
g) causing the enforced disappearance of a person, with the aim of removing him from the protection of the law, by kidnapping, arrest or detention, at the order of a state or political organizations or with their authorization, support or permission, followed by the refusal to admit that this person is deprived of liberty or to provide factual information regarding the fate reserved for him or her or his whereabouts, as soon as this information has been requested;
h) applying apartheid practices;
i) other inhumane acts of a similar nature that intentionally cause serious physical or mental suffering or serious harm to the person's bodily integrity or health, shall be punishable by imprisonment from 10 to 20 years.
(2) Committing, under the conditions indicated in paragraph (1), of one of the following acts:
a) the murder of one or more persons;
b) subjecting a population or part thereof, with the aim of destroying it in whole or in part, to living conditions intended to cause its physical destruction,
shall be punished by imprisonment from 15 to 20 years or by life imprisonment.
Article 1352. Propaganda of genocide or crimes against humanity
(1) Propaganda of genocide or crimes against humanity, that is, the public dissemination of information, including through an information system, or any other public actions aimed at the total or partial denial, approval or justification of the crimes of genocide or crimes against humanity, recognized by a decision of an international tribunal established by international instruments and whose jurisdiction is recognized by the Republic of Moldova, done in a manner that may provoke the commission of crimes involving violence,
shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 500 to 1000 conventional units or by imprisonment for a term of 1 to 3 years for a natural person, a legal person shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 2000 to 5000 conventional units with deprivation of the right to exercise a certain activity for a period of 1 to 5 years or with its liquidation.
(2) The act committed within the framework of objective scientific research and the presentation of factual arguments for the purpose of scientific debate or artistic expression shall not be considered propaganda of genocide or crimes against humanity.
Article 136. Ecocide
The intentional mass destruction of flora or fauna, the poisoning of the atmosphere or aquatic resources, as well as the commission of other actions that may cause or have caused an ecological catastrophe, shall be punishable by imprisonment for 10 to 15 years.
Article 137. War crimes against persons
(1) The commission, in the context of an armed conflict of an international character, of one of the following acts:
a) compelling, by force or threat, one or more persons referred to in art. 1271 letter a) to enlist in the enemy armed forces;
b) compelling citizens of the enemy party to take part in military operations directed against their country, even if they were enlisted in the armed forces of this enemy party before the outbreak of the armed conflict;
c) unlawfully detaining or unjustifiably delaying the repatriation of one or more persons referred to in art. 1271 letter a);
d) the transfer, directly or indirectly, by an agent of the occupying party, of a part of the civilian population to which he belongs, into the occupied territory, the deportation or transfer by him within or outside the occupied territory of the entire civilian population of this territory or a part thereof,
shall be punished by imprisonment from 3 to 10 years.
(2) Exposing, in the context of an armed conflict with or without an international character, a person protected by international humanitarian law to a risk of death or serious injury to health by:
a) carrying out experiments of any kind, which are not determined by medical, therapeutic, hospital treatment, to which the person has not voluntarily, expressly and previously consented and which are not carried out in his interest;
b) the removal of tissues or organs for the purpose of transplantation, with the exception of the removal of blood or skin for therapeutic purposes in accordance with generally recognized medical principles and with the voluntary, express and prior consent of the person;
c) the submission to medically unrecognized treatment methods, without these being necessary for the health of the person and without his/her voluntary, express and prior consent,
shall be punished by imprisonment from 8 to 12 years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to exercise a certain activity for a term of 3 to 5 years.
(3) Committing, in the context of an armed conflict with or without an international character, against one or more persons protected by international humanitarian law, one of the following acts:
a) intentionally causing serious physical or mental suffering or serious injury to body or health;
b) inflicting torture or subjecting them to inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as mutilation;
c) rape, sexual exploitation, coercion into prostitution, illegal detention of a woman who has become pregnant forcibly, with the aim of changing the ethnic composition of a population, forced sterilization or any other act of sexual violence;
d) taking hostages;
e) deportation or forcible transfer, in violation of the general rules of international law, of persons lawfully present in the territory where the armed conflict is taking place;
f) recruitment and incorporation of children who have not reached the age of 18 into the national armed forces, as well as their determination, by any means, to participate actively in military operations;
g) deprivation of the right to be tried by a legally constituted and impartial court, the pronouncement of a sentence or its execution without observing a legal and impartial procedure, which offers the guarantees imposed by international law,
shall be punished by imprisonment from 10 to 20 years.
(4) Committing, within the framework of an armed conflict with or without an international character, the murder of one or more persons protected by international humanitarian law
shall be punished by imprisonment from 15 to 20 years or by life imprisonment.
Article 1371. War crimes against property and other rights
(1) The commission, in the context of an armed conflict with or without an international character, of one of the following acts:
a) the destruction, appropriation or confiscation of property belonging to the enemy party, in violation of international law and without this being justified by military necessity;
b) the plundering of a locality, including that taken by assault,
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of 3 to 10 years.
(2) The declaration, in the context of an armed conflict with an international character, of the rights and actions of one or more citizens of the enemy party as extinguished, suspended or inadmissible in court
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years.
(3) Looting on the battlefield of the dead or wounded committed in the context of an armed conflict with or without an international character
is punishable by imprisonment from 8 to 15 years.
Article 1372. Use of prohibited means of waging war
The use, in the context of an armed conflict with or without an international character, of:
a) poison or poisonous weapons;
b) asphyxiating, toxic or assimilated gases and any similar liquids, substances or processes;
c) weapons, projectiles, materials likely to cause unnecessary physical suffering;
d) bullets that expand or flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets whose hard shell does not completely cover the middle or are perforated by cuts,
shall be punished by imprisonment from 7 to 15 years.
Article 1373. Use of prohibited methods of warfare
(1) Wounding a person provided for in art. 1271 letter c) or wounding by perfidy a member of the enemy armed forces or a combatant of the enemy forces, committed in the context of an armed conflict with or without an international character,
shall be punished by imprisonment from 5 to 8 years.
(2) Declaring, in the context of an armed conflict with or without an international character, that there will be no mercy for the vanquished
is punishable by imprisonment from 7 to 12 years.
(3) Launching, in the context of an armed conflict with or without an international character, an attack:
a) against the civilian population or civilians not taking a direct part in the hostilities;
b) against civilian objects protected by international humanitarian law, in particular buildings dedicated to religious worship, education, art, science or charitable activities, against historical monuments, hospitals and places where the sick or wounded are gathered, as well as against undefended localities, dwellings or buildings which are not used as military objectives;
c) against the personnel of the humanitarian aid or peacekeeping mission, against the installations, material, units or vehicles used within it in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, provided that they are entitled to the protection that international humanitarian law guarantees to civilians and civilian objects;
d) against buildings, material, units and medical transports and personnel using the distinctive emblems provided for by the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949;
e) knowing that this will cause loss of life among the civilian population, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects or extensive, long-term and serious damage to the environment, which would be clearly disproportionate in relation to the overall concrete and directly expected military advantage,
shall be punished by imprisonment from 8 to 15 years.
(4) The use, in an armed conflict with or without an international character, of:
a) methods of warfare likely to cause unnecessary physical suffering;
b) intentional starvation of civilians by depriving them of goods indispensable for survival or intentionally preventing them from receiving aid, contrary to international humanitarian law;
c) a person protected by international humanitarian law in order to avoid certain points, areas or military forces becoming the target of military operations of the enemy party
shall be punishable by imprisonment from 8 to 15 years.
(5) The murder of one or more persons provided for in art. 1271 letter. c), committed by resorting to perfidy in the context of an armed conflict with or without an international character
is punishable by imprisonment from 15 to 20 years or by life imprisonment.
Article 1374. Unlawful use of the distinctive signs of international humanitarian law
Unlawful use of the distinctive signs provided for by the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, of the parliamentary flag, the flag, military insignia or the uniform of the enemy or of the United Nations, as a means of protection in the context of an armed conflict with or without an international character, if this has caused:
a) serious injury to the body or health of one or more persons;
b) the death of one or more persons,
shall be punished by imprisonment from 7 to 15 years.
Article 138. Giving or executing a manifestly illegal order. Failure to exercise or improper exercise of due control
(1) Execution of a manifestly illegal order aimed at committing the crimes provided for in art. 135–1374
shall be punished by imprisonment from 5 to 10 years.
(2) Giving, by the hierarchical superior or by the person holding the command of the armed forces, in the context of an armed conflict with or without an international character, a manifestly illegal order aimed at committing the crimes provided for in art. 135–1374
is punishable by imprisonment from 8 to 15 years.
(3) Failure to exercise or improper exercise of due control by a military commander or by the person holding the command of the armed forces, which led to the commission of the crimes provided for in art. 135–1374
is punishable by imprisonment from 6 to 12 years.
Article 139. Planning, preparing, waging or waging war
(1) Planning, preparing or waging war
is punishable by imprisonment from 8 to 15 years.
(2) Waging war
is punishable by imprisonment for 10 to 20 years or life imprisonment.
Article 140. War propaganda
(1) War propaganda, the dissemination of biased or fabricated information, inciting war or any other actions aimed at starting a war, committed verbally, in writing, by radio, television, cinema or by other means,
is punishable by a fine of up to 1,500 conventional units or by imprisonment for up to 6 years, in both cases with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to exercise a certain activity for a term of up to 5 years.
(2) The commission of the actions provided for in paragraph (1) by a person holding a public office
shall be punishable by a fine of 1,500 to 2,000 conventional units or by imprisonment for 3 to 7 years, in both cases with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to exercise a certain activity for a term of up to 5 years.
Article 1401. Use, development, production, otherwise acquiring, processing, possession, storage or preservation, direct or indirect transfer, keeping, transporting weapons of mass destruction
(1) Use, development, production, otherwise acquiring, processing, possession, storage or preservation, direct or indirect transfer, keeping, transporting chemical weapons, biological weapons, nuclear weapons, nuclear explosive devices or other weapons of mass destruction in violation of the provisions of national legislation or international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a party
shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 3000 to 5000 conventional units or by imprisonment for a term of 8 to 12 years, in both cases with (or without) deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to exercise a certain activity for a term of 2 to 5 years, and a legal entity shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 5000 to 8000 conventional units with deprivation of the right to exercise a certain activity for a term of 2 to 5 years or by its liquidation.
(2) The same actions:
b) committed by two or more persons;
c) committed by an organized criminal group or a criminal organization;
d) resulting in causing damage in particularly large proportions;
e) resulting in the death of the person
shall be punished by imprisonment from 16 to 20 years, and the legal entity shall be punished by a fine in the amount of 8,000 to 10,000 conventional units with its liquidation.
(3) Designing, producing, otherwise acquiring, possessing, keeping, transferring or transporting equipment, material, software or related technology that contributes substantially to the design, production or delivery of weapons of mass destruction, knowing that such equipment, material, software or technology is intended for this purpose
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of 1,000 to 3,000 conventional units or by imprisonment for a term of up to 5 years, in both cases with (or without) deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to engage in a certain activity for a term of up to 5 years, or by a fine, applied to a legal entity, in the amount of 3,000 to 5,000 conventional units with deprivation of the right to engage in a certain activity for a term of up to 5 years or by liquidation of the legal entity.
(4) Designing, producing, otherwise acquiring, possessing, storing, transferring or transporting source material, special fissile material, equipment or material designed or prepared for the processing, use or production of special fissile material knowing that this material, material or equipment is intended for use in nuclear explosion activity or in other nuclear activity that contravenes international treaties to which the Republic of Moldova is a party
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to 5 years with (or without) deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to engage in a certain activity for a term of 2 to 5 years, with a fine, applied to a legal entity, in the amount of 4,000 to 7,000 conventional units with deprivation of the right to engage in a certain activity for a term of 2 to 5 years or with the liquidation of the legal entity.
Article 141. Mercenary Activities
(1) Participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict, in military actions or in other violent actions aimed at overthrowing or undermining the constitutional order or violating the territorial integrity of the state
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years.
(2) Hiring, training, financing or otherwise providing mercenaries, as well as their use in an armed conflict, in military actions or in other violent actions aimed at overthrowing or undermining the constitutional order or violating the territorial integrity of the state,
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of 10 to 15 years.
Article 142. Attack on a person benefiting from international protection
(1) Committing an act of violence against the office, home or means of transport of a person benefiting from international protection, if this act may endanger the life, health or freedom of the person in question,
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years.
(2) Kidnapping or committing another attack on a person benefiting from international protection or on his or her freedom
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of 7 to 15 years.
(3) Murder of a person benefiting from international protection
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of 16 to 20 years or life imprisonment.
(4) The actions provided for in paragraph (1) or (2), committed with the purpose of provoking war or international conflict,
shall be punished by imprisonment from 8 to 15 years or by life imprisonment.
(5) The threat to commit an action provided for in paragraph (1), (2), (3) or (4), if there was a danger of the threat being carried out,
shall be punished by imprisonment from 3 to 7 years.
Article 144. Cloning
Creating human beings by cloning
shall be punished by imprisonment from 7 to 15 years.
