Succession of risks – the effects of the victim’s subsequent behaviour on the criminal responsibility of the offender

Abstract

The present study has set its aim to analyse the hypothesis in which the victim’s behaviour (also) has a contribution to the result. The author only covers the cases in which the victim's reckless behaviour takes place after the offender's act, i.e., the victim, after being intentionally harmed by the offender, does not take care of her wounds or refuses to receive medical treatment. The main concern of the analysis is the Romanian courts’ view on this matter. In the first part of the article, the omissions and shortcomings found in judgments, that can lead to unlawful convictions, are uncovered.

The conclusion of this first part is that things are still far from settled and there is considerable uncertainty, both in the literature and the case law.

Moving on, the author concludes by stating that the solution is to be found in causation, relying on the objective ascription theory, which has received scant attention in Romanian criminal law literature, despite the current european trend. Using a tool offered by this modern theory, namely the ”contributory act of the victim” criterion, judgments should take into account the victim’s contribution to the harmful result, when deciding on the criminal responsibility of the offender.