The figure of the repentant and negotiated criminal justice: on the incorporation of new premium clauses in the Criminal Code (arts. 262.3 and 288 bis Criminal Code)

Abstract

The reform brought about by LO 14/2022, dated December 22, has modified the premial attenuation provided for the offense of embezzlement (art. 434 CP), and fundamentally included new premial clauses applicable to criminal behaviors that would affect free competition and that are applicable to the offense of alteration of prices in public tenders and auctions (art. 262.3 CP), the withdrawal of raw materials or essential products (art. 281), and the alteration of prices (art. 288 bis CP). These novelties serve to reopen the debate on the legitimacy of the premial criminal law in relation to the so-called figure of the repentant, which has an impact not only on the possible attenuation or exemption of the penalty to be imposed but also on the scope of the penalty’s enforcement.