Regulating negligence in French and Italian criminal law

Abstract

The modified version of art. 121-3 of the French Criminal Code introduces a hierarchy of the nonintentional forms of guilt according to seriousness. From the perspective of the French legislator, this hierarchy would be the following: deliberate negligence (art. 121-3 para. 2), simple negligence – carelessness, imprudence – (art. 121-3 para. 3) and breaking a duty of care or protection (art. 121-3 para. 4). In the Italian Criminal Code only the conscious negligence is defined, whereas the simple negligence is not defined, but merely exemplified. Thus, article 43 para. 1 states that “There is an offence committed with negligence whenever the result, even though foreseen, is not desired by the agent and occurs because of carelessness, imprudence, lack of skill, or failure to observe laws, regulations, orders or instructions”.

Keywords

• criminal negligence
• indirect intention
• french legal system
• italian legal system.