THE OFFENCES REFERRED TO AT art.217 AND 2171 OF THE PENAL CODE IN RELATION TO THE PROVISIONS SET FORTH IN LAW no.193/2016

Vitalie STATI Universitatea de Stat din Moldova

Аннотация

This study provides a thorough analysis of the offences specified in art.217 and 2171 PC RM in relation to the provisions set forth in Law no.193/2016. The entry into force of this law has influenced the content of the special legal object, the material object and, to a lesser extent, the content of the objective side of the offences in question. During the analysis of the constitutive elements and the aggravating circumstances of the offences stipulated in art.217 and 2171 PC RM, there were established the effects of the adoption of Law no.193/2016. In this regard, it is determined the content of the special legal object and the material object of these offences. Additionally, it is established that, plants containing drugs or ethnobotanicals are probably plants containing narcotic or psychotropic substances. It is emphasized that the absence in the penal law and other laws of the definitions of the notions of „plants containing drugs or ethnobotanicals” and „plants containing drugs” makes the penal norms using such notions unpredictable. It is argued why are inapplicable in practice the notions of „ethnobotanicals” and „analogous”, used in art.217 and 2171 PC RM. It is pointed out that, within the context of the offences provided by art.217 and 2171 PC RM, we can establish the amounts only for narcotic or psychotropic substances, as well as for plants containing such substances. As a result, the Government does not set the amounts for drugs (to other than the plants or narcotic or psychotropic substances), ethnobotanicals or their analogues. It is concluded that, in the presence of the last two normative modalities of the prejudicial act specified in par.(1) art.2171 PC RM, the purpose of manufacturing ethnobotanic products is actually the one adding the illegal character to the action. Last but not least, it is established that, with regard to these two normative modalities, the purpose of manu-facturing ethnobotanic products represents the special purpose of the offence as well. 

Keywords: drugs, narcotic substances, psychotropic substances, ethnobotanicals, analogues, plants, illegal trafficking, amounts, the purpose to distribute, predictability.