Concurrent-offense penalty question referred for preliminary ruling inadmissible

The High Court of Cassation and Justice (Înalta Curte de Casaţie şi Justiţie), panel for preliminary rulings in criminal matters, dismissed as inadmissible the referral from the Bucharest Court of Appeal (Criminal Section I) seeking a preliminary ruling on whether, under the new Criminal Code, when one of several concurrent offenses is subject to a cause terminating the criminal process, application of the penalty for the remaining concurrent offense is mandatory. The court held the referral inadmissible, meaning the lower court's request was rejected and no binding ruling was issued on the substantive question. The dispute concerned the interpretation of the new Criminal Code’s provisions on concurrent offenses and termination of criminal proceedings. The decisive legal basis was procedural, as the referral failed to meet the admissibility conditions for a preliminary ruling under the relevant criminal procedure law, likely because the question did not present a genuine difficulty or was not necessary for resolving the case.