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Law No. 312 Of 24 April 1945 To Pursue And Punish Those Responsible For The Country's Disaster Or War Crimes)

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 312 din 24 aprilie 1945 pentru urmărirea şi sancţionarea celor vinovaţi de dezastrul tarii sau de crime de război *)

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LEGE Nr. 312 of 24 April 1945 for the pursuit and sanctioning of those guilty of the country's disaster or war crimes *)
ISSUER JUSTICE MINISTRY
Published in OFFICIAL MONITOR NO. 94 of April 24, 1945



Note * *) Text corrected according to the rectification published in the Official Gazette No. 95 of April 25, 1945. + Article 1 They are guilty of the country's disaster: a) Militating for Hitlerism or fascism and having effective political responsibility allowed the entry of German armies into the territory of the country; b) After September 6, 1940, they campaigned for the preparation or completion of the above facts through the graiu, by writing or by any other means. + Article 2 They are guilty of the disaster of the country by savoring war crimes those who: a) They decided to declare or continue the war against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Nations; b) They did not comply with the international regulations regarding the leadership of the war; c) They subjected to inhumane treatment the prisoners or hostages of war; d) They have ordered or completed acts of terror, cruelty or suppression on the population of the territories in which the war was fought; e) They have ordered or committed collective or individual repressions for the purpose of political persecution or for racial reasons on the civilian population; f) They have ordered or organized excessive work or travel and transport of persons for the purpose of exterminating them; g) Commanders, directors, supervisors and guards of prisons, of prison camps or of political internees, of deportees or of political prisoners, of camps or detachments of mandatory work, who have subjected to inhuman treatment those under their power; h) Judicial police officers or investigators with any title in matters of a political or racial nature who have committed acts of violence, torture or other illegal means of coercion; i) Prosecutors or civil or military judges who have helped or committed-with intent-acts of terror or violence; j) They left the national territory to put themselves in the service of Hitler or fascism and attacked the country by writing, through graiu, or in any other way; k) They wrongfully or improperly appropriated private or political goods from the territories in which the war was fought; l) They have illicitly carried out, on the occasion of their participation in the leadership of the war, in any capacity, or by taking advantage of their connection with such persons or by the legislative, legionary or racial m) They have ordered or initiated establishment of ghettos, internment camps or deportations for reasons of political or racial persecution; n) They have ordered the ediction of legions or unjust measures of Hitler, legionary or racial conception, or have practiced-with intent-an excessive execution of laws derived from the state of war or dispositions of a political or racial nature; o) They put themselves in the service of Hitler or fascism and contributed through their own deeds to the realization of their political goals or to the country's economic life to the detriment of the interests of the Romanian people. + Article 3 Those guilty of the facts provided in art. 1 1 and art. 2 2 para. m-o, they will be punished with heavy detentiation for life or with heavy detentiation from 5 to 20 years or with rigorous detentiune from 3 to 20 years. Those guilty of the facts provided by art. 2. para. a-j will punish themselves with death or hard labor for life. Those guilty of the facts provided by art. 2, para. k-l will punish him with hard labor for life or hard labor on time bordered from 5 to 25 years or with heavy dungeon from 3 to 20 years. The instigators and co-authors of those guilty for the facts provided by this law will be punished with the same penalties The accomplices, the favorizers and the concealers of those guilty for the acts provided for by this law will be punished with a lighter punishment with a degree than that provided for the main author. In addition to these penalties, civic degradation will also be pronounced, as well as the confiscation of wealth for the benefit of the State as compensation. + Article 4 The Minister of Justice will establish a number of public accusers tasked with researching and training those accused of savoring the facts provided by this law, as well as instigators, co-authors, accomplices, favorizers and concealers Their. One of the public accusers will have the charge of chief of public accusers. Public accusers will be appointed among Romanian citizens, major, without distinction of sex, and can also be appointed from civil servants. The appointment will be made by senior royal decree, at the proposal of the justice minister The research and training bodies will operate under the Ministry of Justice, having their headquarters in Bucharest, and on the case of necessity also in the residence cities of the Courts of Appeal. + Article 5 The public accusers will look into all the cases brought by the Council of Ministers. They will also be able to refer to it ex officio or after the sending made by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers for research. They will be able to take any insurance measures on the goods of the suspect and other natural or legal persons, measures that will remain in the being until the trial. Public accusers will be able to raise, in whole or in part, insurance measures. + Article 6 The public accusers have the right to do any investigations and collect any evidence, also using all the rights and powers granted by the criminal procedure code to the public ministry and the investigating judge. They will be able to be helped by magistrates, clerks or jurists, as well as financial specialists, experts and officials who will be appointed or delegated by the justice minister. Public accusers have the right to demand that their dispositions be executed both by the organs of the judiciary and by those of the executive power of any category. They will be able to ask to be assisted, in any circumstance by the public force. They will also be able to do any descents, searches, pick up any delicate bodies, any acts from individuals or from any civil or military authority, even acts of a secret nature. All public authorities are obliged to give the contest to public accusers under the sanction of provisions of art. 243 criminal code, for civil servants who would disregard this duty. The military prosecutor's offices and the garrison commands are obliged to provide the public accusers with the military from the active personnel of the army. For the officers superior to the rank of captain, the prior authorization of the Minister of War will be required for this purpose. + Article 7 The arrest warrants will be issued by the Council of Ministers, or public accusers with the consent of the chief accuser. The ordered arrests are not subject to confirmation. Public accusers will be able to order the release of those arrested by them, only with the consent of the chief accuser. The Council of Ministers will be able to order, in all cases, the release of those arrested. + Article 8 Following the research undertaken, the public accuser will draw up the indictment that will be subject to the Council of Ministers for approval. The Council of Ministers will decide on the court's referrals with the trial of the matter. The acts of the public accuser and the Council of Ministers cannot be appealed on any path. + Article 9 By sending to trial, all the accused's assets are hit by unavailability. Unavailability operates through the publication in the Official Gazette of the device of the indictment. Extinguishing the criminalization by the death of the accused, intervened after the beginning of the investigations, does not prevent the taking of the measures 5 and neither the unavailability of the goods, and the investigations and judgment will be followed against the heirs, for the confiscation of wealth for the benefit of the State for compensation. + Article 10 The trial of the facts provided by this law will be made by the People's Court + Article 11 The People's Court consists of: a) Judges appointed by the Minister of Justice between magistrates; b) Judges of the people, Romanian citizens, majors, men or women, elected among the members of the seven political groups who enter the composition of the government of democratic concentration. Each of these groups will designate five members, who will appear on the lists of the people's judges. If a group does not designate its members within 15 days of the publication of this law, the lists will be formed only with the persons indicated by the other groups. Lists of judges of the people will be formed in each of the residence cities of the Courts of Appeal. + Article 12 The Minister of Justice will make up one or more complete Court of the People's judgment as necessary. The trial panel will consist of nine members of which two will be appointed magistrates and seven will be of the judges of the people. The judges of the people of the court panel will be drawn by the minister of justice, one from the list of five judges proposed by each group. If any of the groupings has not appointed its members, the draw of the respective judge will be made among the members appointed by the other groups. The trial panel will be chaired by the appointed magistrate, who is the highest in the grade or the most old in the same degree. If any of the magistrates is prevented from taking part in the judgment, he will be replaced by another by the Minister of Justice. If he is prevented from taking part in the judgment of any of the judges of the people, he will be replaced by another drawn from the list of members of the group to which the absent judge belongs, and in the absence of the members appointed by that grouping, the draw will be made between the members appointed by the other groups. Before the entry into service, the judges of the people drawn will submit before the Minister of Justice the oath of allegiance provided for the court body. The magistrates appointed and the judges of the people drawn will not be able to be recused. + Article 13 The court panels will work in Bucharest. The justice minister will also be able to form full court in the residences cities of the other Court of Appeal. In this case these complete will be competent to judge the offenders who committed the facts in the respective Court of Appeal constituency. Criminals who committed acts outside the country's decisions will be tried by the People's Court of Bucharest. Instigators, coauthors, accomplices, favorizers and concealers will be tried by the same court. + Article 14 The president opens the meeting, orders the call of the parties and witnesses, takes the identity questioning of the accused and orders the indictment to be read. He then proceeds to interrogate the accused and hear witnesses after which he gives the floor to the public accuser and the defense, so that the defense will have the latter word. The President declares that the Court of First Instance closed, after which the Court of The briefing notes will be sketchy. The decision will be motivated and can be appealed to the High Court of Cassation and Justice only for the bad composition of the court or the wrong application of the sentence. The appeal is declared orally before the court and will be tried within three days of receipt of the case. The reasons for the appeal will be proposed and opened by written memo, filed until the day of the court term. The appeal suspends the execution of the sentence only if the death penalty was handed down. The decision will be executed by the prosecutors of the County Court at the residence of the court that pronounced it. + Article 15 The provisions of the code of criminal procedure, with regard to judgment and enforcement in criminal matters, are applicable before the People's Court whenever they are not contrary to the provisions of this law. + Article 16 Any legal acts, of any nature, relative to the assets of those convicted on the basis of this law, intervened after August 23, 1944, are void of law, and the goods out of their patrimony will be subject to confiscation handed down by the court. The goods or rights belonging to the wife and descendants of the convicted person, endowed after September 6, 1940, are subject to the same provisions, apart from the goods acquired by succession. + Article 17 Those who will hide in any way or give help to flee those provided by this law, as well as those who hide their assets, will be punished by the People's Court with correctional imprisonment from 3 to 5 years. + Article 18 Provisions of the laws: No. 50 for the pursuit and punishment of criminals and war profiteers and No. 51 for the pursuit and sanctioning of those guilty of the country's disaster, published in the Official Gazette of January 21, 1945, as well as any other Contrary provisions, are also repealed. The tracking and training documents, as well as the arrest warrants, intervened according to these laws until the date of publication of the present decree-law, remain valid. The prosecution and prosecution, based on the present decree-law of those responsible for the disaster of the country or war crimes, will be possible until September 1, 1945. ------------------