Precedent-setting ruling from the Court of Cassation on bribery: Conditional offer not considered a crime

The 4th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation has issued a notable ruling regarding bribery charges. The acquittal of a defendant, who was alleged to have offered payment in exchange for smuggling migrants across the border, has been upheld.

According to the case file, an investigation was launched against the defendant, who was being tried for human smuggling, on charges of "bribery" and "insult" following a complaint by security forces. The High Criminal Court decided to convict the defendant for the crime of insult, while acquitting them of the charge of bribery.

After the decision was appealed, the Regional Court of Justice rejected the objections. The file was subsequently brought before the 4th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation for appellate review.

The Chamber evaluated the "conditional offer" in terms of the formation of the crime of bribery. In its decision, citing a ruling by the General Assembly of Criminal Chambers of the Court of Cassation dated May 4, 1987, it was emphasized that the subject of the crime of bribery is the performance or non-performance of a task.

“It is clear that a conditional bribery agreement cannot be made, because if the condition is not met, the requirement of the bribery agreement cannot be fulfilled; in other words, the subject of the agreement ceases to exist.”

The Court of Cassation also noted that in this specific case, no evidence was obtained indicating that the defendant had smuggled migrants across the border. Therefore, it was concluded that a conditional offer does not constitute the crime of bribery.

The Chamber stated that there was no illegality in the local court's assessment regarding the classification of the crime and rejected the appeal on its merits. Thus, the conviction for the crime of insult and the acquittal for the crime of bribery against the defendant were unanimously upheld.

News Source: 12punto