African Union Criminal Code-Article 45-Level 4-Serious penalties



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5. Justice and punishment

Article 45-Level 4-Serious penalties

45.1

Level 4 (Serious) penalties

Serious offences are the fourth most serious classification of penalties and are reserved for crimes considered most serious, that however include the possibility of reform of the offender. While serious offences still entail significant penalties, the emphasis on the application of serious penalties is active and thorough reform of the offender to reduce the likelihood of reoffence.

45.2

Penalty selection

Penalties are divided into two sections for each (type):- absolution and penitence. Only the penalties listed under the appropriate section (e.g. penitence.) and under the appropriate type (e.g. Type 3) may be selected where the offence matches the same criteria. Under no circumstances shall the penalties listed for absolution be applied to an offence that only qualifies for penitence. and vice versa.

In terms of penalty selection, a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of (4) penalties may be selected as part of a recommended punishment.

Where a penalty is listed with an asterisk (*) and the yellow color means it is a mandatory sentence component and must be included as part of the sentence.

If no asterisk (*) and no color is listed over a sentence element, it means it is an optional sentence component and may be selected providing the total number of sentence components does not exceed four.

All sentence components must be served concurrently, that is in parallel. It is not permissible to artificially extend the length of a sentence by stating they must be served consecutively (one after the other).

45.3

Six types (levels) of serious penalties

Under the Criminal Code, there are six types (levels) of Level 4-serious penalties. These levels match the specific conditions of serious offences. However, where types are grouped under the same offence, the severity or leniency within a category is to be determined by any mitigating and/or aggravating circumstances.

Type 1 penalties

Absolution
1	Criminal Record: 4 yrs
2	Imprisonment: 1 yrs
3	Victim reconciliation;
4	Part Property Seizure;
5	Skills/education courses;
6

Penitence
1	Criminal Record: 8 yrs
2	Imprisonment: 2 yrs
3	Part Property Seizure;
4	Forced behaviour modification;
5
6

Type 2 penalties

Absolution
1	Criminal Record: 6 yrs
2	Imprisonment: 1.5 yrs
3	Victim reconciliation;
4	Part Property Seizure;
5	Skills/education courses;
6

Penitence
1	Criminal Record: 12 yrs
2	Imprisonment: 3 yrs
3	Part Property Seizure;
4	Forced behaviour modification;
5
6

Type 3 penalties

Absolution
1	Criminal Record: 8 yrs
2	Imprisonment: 2 yrs
3	Victim reconciliation;
4	Part Property Seizure;
5	Skills/education courses;
6

Penitence
1	Criminal Record: 16 yrs
2	Imprisonment: 4 yrs
3	Part Property Seizure;
4	Forced behaviour modification;
5
6

Type 4 penalties

Absolution
1	Criminal Record: 10 yrs
2	Imprisonment: 2.5 yrs
3	Victim reconciliation;
4	Part Property Seizure;
5	Skills/education courses;
6

Penitence
1	Criminal Record: 20 yrs
2	Imprisonment: 5 yrs
3	Part Property Seizure;
4	Forced behaviour modification;
5
6

Type 5 penalties

Absolution
1	Criminal Record: 12 yrs
2	Imprisonment: 3 yrs
3	Victim reconciliation;
4	Part Property Seizure;
5	Skills/education courses;
6

Penitence
1	Criminal Record: 24 yrs
2	Imprisonment: 6 yrs
3	Part Property Seizure;
4	Forced behaviour modification;
5
6

Type 6 penalties

Absolution
1	Criminal Record: 14 yrs
2	Imprisonment: 3.5 yrs
3	Victim reconciliation;
4	Part Property Seizure;
5	Skills/education courses;
6

Penitence
1	Criminal Record: 28 yrs
2	Imprisonment: 7 yrs
3	Part Property Seizure;
4	Forced behaviour modification;
5
6

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