Relationship Between Amnesty and Prosecution in Relation to Private Prosecution

Abstract

This article deals with the legal relationship between the institution of amnesty and the prosecution initiated at the request of the accusing victim, analyzing the interaction between the public interest represented by the amnesty and the procedural autonomy of the victim in the criminal process. Amnesty, as an act of normative nature and extinguishing effect of criminal liability, directly interferes in the legal-criminal relationship, raising issues on the limits of its application in offenses that are pursued only on the basis of the will of the injured party. In a historical perspective, amnesty is presented as an institute of early origin, since Ancient Greece, where it was used as a tool for restoring social peace after political conflicts, and which with the development of the modern state took on a normative character as a competence of the legislative body, becoming an instrument of criminal policy for reconciliation and institutional stability. Through the analysis of the provisions of the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the case law, the study examines whether and to what extent amnesty prevails over the will of the accusing victim to continue the criminal prosecution, as well as the procedural consequences arising from it, including the dismissal of the case and the impact on the civil rights of the injured party. The article aims to highlight the balance between the principle of legality, the active role of the victim in proceedings with private prosecution and the political-criminal function of amnesty as a tool of the state's criminal policy. In conclusion, reflections are presented on the need for a normative clarification and unified interpretation, in order to guarantee legal certainty and effective protection of the rights of the parties in the criminal process.