Database of Legislation

Article 359

Falsity of testimony or statement

1 – Whoever gives false statements in a party’s testimony in relation to facts over which shall testify, after taking oath and having been warned of the criminal consequences to which he is exposed with the false testimony, is punished with sentence of imprisonment for not more than three years or with fine penalty.
2 – In the same sentence incur the private prosecutor and the civil parties regarding statements given in a criminal procedure as well as the defendant as regards statements about the identity and criminal record. 


Article 360

Falsity of testimony, expertness, interpretation or translation

1 – Whoever, as a witness, expert, technician, translator or interpreter, before a court or competent officer to receive as a mean of evidence, testimony, report, information or translation, gives testimony, submits report, gives information or makes false translations, is punished with sentence of imprisonment from six months to three years, or with fine penalty not less than 60 days.
2 - In the same sentence incurs whoever, without a justified reason, refuses to testify or to submit report, information or translation.
3 – If the act mentioned in no. 1 is committed after the agent has taken oath and having been warned of the criminal consequences to which he is exposed, the sentence is of imprisonment for not more than five years or of fine penalty for not more than 600 days. 



Article 361

Aggravation

1 - The sentences foreseen in articles 359 and 360 are aggravated of one third in their minimum and maximum limits if:
a)  The agent acts with a profitable intention;
b)  From the act results dismissal from place, loss of professional position or destruction of the familiar or social relationships of another person; or
c) From the act results that, in lieu of the agent, another person is convicted for the crime which he has committed.
2 – If from the conducts described in articles 359 or 360 result deprivation of liberty of a person, the agent is punished with sentence of imprisonment from one to eight years. 


Article 362

Withdrawal

1 – The punishment for articles 359, 360 and 361, paragraph a) does not take place if the agent voluntarily withdraws, in time for such withdrawal to be taken into account in the decision and before having result from the false testimony, report, information or translation, a damage to a third party.
2 – The withdrawal can be made, depending on the cases, before the court, the Public Prosecution or a body of the criminal police. 


Article 363

Bribe

Whoever persuades or tries to persuade another person, through a gift or promise of a benefit of economic nature or not, to commit the acts foreseen in articles 359 or 360, without such acts being committed, is punished with sentence of imprisonment for not more than two years, or with fine penalty for not more than 240 days.


Article 364

Special mitigation and release without punishment

The sentences foreseen in articles 359, 360 and 363 are specially mitigated and the release without punishment may occur when:
a) The falsity concerns circumstances which do not have an essential meaning for the evidence to which the testimony, report, information or translation is aimed for; or b) The act has been committed to avoid that the agent, spouse, an adopting person or adopted, the relatives or in-laws until the second degree or the person, of a different or of the same sex, who lives with the agent in equal conditions as those of spouses, were exposed to the danger of being subject to a sentence or security measure.


Article 365

Calumnious denunciation

1 – Whoever, by any means, before an authority or publicly, with the conscious of the falsity of the imputation, denunciates or releases over a certain person the suspicion of the commission of a crime, with the intent that a procedure is brought against such person, is punished with sentence of imprisonment for not more than three years, or with fine penalty.
2 – If the conduct consists of the false imputation of an administrative penalty or disciplinary fault, the agent is punished with sentence of imprisonment for not more than one year, or with fine penalty for not more than 120 days.
3 – If the mean used by the agent consists of the submission, alteration or misconstrue of a mean of evidence, the agent is punished;
a)  In the case of no. 1, with sentence of imprisonment for not more than five years;
b)  In the case of no. 2, with sentence of imprisonment for not more than three years or with fine penalty. 
4– If from the act results deprivation of liberty of the offended party, the agent is punished with sentence of imprisonment from one to eight years.
5 – Upon request of the offended party, the court orders the public knowledge of the convictional sentence, pursuant to article 189.


Article 366

Simulation of crime

1 – Whoever, without imputing it to a specific person, denunciates a crime or creates a suspicion of its commission to the competent authority, knowing that such crime has not occurred, is punished with sentence of imprisonment for not more than one year, or with fine penalty for not more than 120 days.
2 – If the act concerns an administrative penalty or disciplinary offence, the agent is punished with fine penalty for not more than 60 days.


Article 367

Personal favouring

1 – Whoever, totally or partially, prevents, frustrates or deceives an evidence or preventive activity of a competent authority, with the intent or conscious to avoid that another person, who has committed a crime, is subject to a sentence or security measure, is punished with sentence of imprisonment for not more than three years or with fine penalty.
2 – In the same sentence incurs whoever renders assistance to another person, with the intent or conscious to, totally or partially, prevent, frustrate or deceive the execution of a sentence or security measure which has been applicable to such person.
3 – The sentence that the agent turns out to be convicted of, pursuant to the previous numbers, may not exceed the sentence foreseen in the law for the act committed by the person for whose benefit the agent has acted.
4 – An attempt is punishable.
5 – Is not punishable:
a) The agent who, with the act, procures at the same time to avoid that against him is imposed a sentence or a security measure; o
b) The spouse, adopting persons or adopted, the relatives or in-laws until the second degree or the person, of a different or of the same sex, who lives in equal conditions as those of spouses with whom for whose benefit has acted. 


Article 368

Personal favouring committed by office

When the favouring foreseen in the previous article is committed by an officer who intervenes or has competence to intervene in the proceeding, or by whom has competence to order the execution of the sentence or of the security measure, or has been incumbent to enforce it, the agent is punished with sentence of imprisonment for not more than five years.


Article 368-A

Laundering

1 – For the purposes of the following numbers, the assets arising from the commission, under any form of participation, of the typical unlawful acts of pandering, sexual abuse of children or of dependant minors, extortion, trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances, trafficking in arms, trafficking of organs or human tissue, trafficking of protected species, tax fraud, trafficking of influence, corruption and further infringements mentioned in no. 1 of Law no. 36/94 of 29 September and of the typical unlawful acts punishable with sentence of imprisonment of minimum length over six months or with a maximum length over five years as well as the assets which are obtained thereof are considered as benefits.
2 – Whoever converts, transfers, assists or facilitates any conversion transaction or transfer of benefits, obtained by himself or by a third party, directly or indirectly, with the intent to deceive its unlawful origin, or to avoid that the perpetrator or participant of such infringements is criminally pursued or subject to a criminal consequence, is punished with sentence of imprisonment from two to twelve years.
3 – In the same sentence incurs whoever hides or deceives the true nature, origin, location, disposal, movement or ownership of benefits or the rights related therein.
4 – The punishment for the crimes foreseen in nos. 2 and 3 occurs even if the acts which integrate the underlying infringement have been committed outside the national territory, or even if the place of the commission of the act is not known or the identification of their perpetrators.
5 – The act is not punishable when the criminal procedure in relation to the typical unlawful acts from which the benefits arise depends upon complaint and such complaint has not been filed in due time. 
6 – The sentence foreseen in nos. 2 and 3 is aggravated of one third if the agent commits the conducts in a customarily way.
7 – Upon full repair of the damage caused to the offended party by the unlawful typical act from which commission the benefits arise, until the commencement of the hearing for trial in first instance and without an illegitimate damage to a third party, the sentence is specially mitigated.
8 – Upon verification of the requirements foreseen in the previous number, the sentence may be specially mitigated if the repair is partial.
9 - The sentence may be specially mitigated if the agent actually assists in the collection of the decisive evidences for the identification or arrest of the responsible parties for the typical unlawful acts from which the benefits arise
10 - The sentence applicable pursuant to the previous numbers may not exceed the maximum limit of the highest sentence amongst those foreseen for the typical unlawful acts from which the benefits arise.


Article 369

Denial of justice and prevarication

1 – The officer who, in the scope of a procedural inquiry or judicial, administrative penalty or disciplinary proceeding, consciously and against right, promotes or not, leads, decides or not, or commits an act in the performance of the powers arising from the position that he holds, is punished with sentence of imprisonment for not more than two years, or with fine penalty for not more than 120 days.
2 - If the act is committed with the intent to harm or benefit anyone, the officer is punished with sentence of imprisonment for not more than five years.
3 – If, in the case of no. 2, results deprivation of liberty of a person, the agent is punished with sentence of imprisonment from one to eight years.
4 –The officer who, being competent thereof, orders or executes a custodial measure in an illegal manner, or omits to order it or execute it pursuant to the terms of the law, incurs in the sentence foreseen in the previous number.
5 – In the case foreseen in the previous number, if the act is committed with gross negligence, the agent is punished with sentence of imprisonment for not more than two years or with fine penalty. 

Article 370

Prevarication of attorney or of solicitor

1 – The attorney or solicitor that intentionally harms a cause delivered for his support is punished with sentence of imprisonment for not more than three years or with fine penalty.
2 – In the same sentence incurs the attorney or solicitor that, in the same cause, supports or renders solicitors’ services to persons whose interests are in conflict, with the intent to act for the benefit or harm of any of them.


Article 371

Breach of investigation secrecy

1 – Whoever, regardless of having contacted with the proceeding, illegitimately gives knowledge, in whole or in part, of the contents of an act of a criminal proceeding which is covered by investigation secrecy, or to which course is not admissible the assistance of the public in general, is punished with sentence of imprisonment for not more than two years, or with fine penalty for not more than 240 days, unless another sentence is applicable to the case by the procedure law.
2 – If the act described in the previous number relates to:
a) An administrative penalty proceeding, until the decision of the administrative authority; or
b) A disciplinary proceeding, while the secrecy is legally maintained;
the agent is punished with sentence of imprisonment for not more than six months or with fine penalty for not more than 60 days