(1) A person convicted of an offence shall be punished fairly within the limits set out in the Special Part of this Code and in strict accordance with the provisions of the General Part of this Code. In determining the category and term of punishment, the court shall take into account the gravity of the crime committed, the motive for the crime, the person of the offender, the circumstances of the case that mitigate or aggravate the liability, the influence of the punishment imposed on the correction and re-education of the offender, and the living conditions of the offender's family.

(2) In the case of alternative penalties provided for the offence committed, imprisonment shall be exceptional and shall be imposed when the seriousness of the offence and the personality of the offender make it necessary to impose a prison sentence and another penalty is insufficient and would not achieve its purpose. A harsher penalty, from the number of alternatives provided for the commission of the offence, shall be imposed only if a milder penalty, from the number of alternatives provided for the commission of the offence, would not ensure that the purpose of the penalty is achieved. The exceptional nature of the prison sentence shall be justified by the court.

(3) For the commission of a minor or less serious offence, the penalty shall be imposed on the juvenile only if it is assessed that the educational measure is not sufficient for the correction of the juvenile.

(1) In determining the penalty, mitigating circumstances are deemed to be:

a) the first-time commission of a minor or less serious offence;

b) the commission of the offence by a minor or a person who has reached the age of 18 years but has not reached the age of 21 years;

c) the commission of the offence as a result of a combination of difficult personal or family circumstances;

d) the offence committed by a person with reduced responsibility;

e) prevention by the offender of the harmful consequences of the offence committed, voluntary reparation of the damage caused or removal of the damage caused;

f) self-reporting, actively contributing to the detection of the offence or to the identification of the offenders, or admission of guilt;

g) the illegality or immorality of the victim's actions, if they caused the crime;

h) the commission of the offence as a result of physical or mental coercion, which does not remove the criminal nature of the offence, or because of material, occupational or other dependence;

i) commission of the offence by a person in a state of intoxication, caused by the involuntary or forced consumption of substances referred to in Article 24 or by the consumption of such substances without being aware of their effect;

j) committing the offence beyond the legal limits of self-defence, detention, state of extreme necessity, justifiable risk or as a result of the execution of a superior's order or intruction;

k) the serious impairment, by the offence committed, of the offender or the weight of the penalty imposed on him, because of his advanced age, state of health or other circumstances;

l) the expiry, since the commission of the offence, of at least two thirds of the limitation period for prosecution prescribed for the offence, or the exceeding of a reasonable time limit for the examination of the case, taking into account the nature of the offence, if the delay was not caused by the offender.

(2) The court may consider as mitigating circumstances other circumstances not provided for in paragraph (1).

(3) In determining the penalty, the court shall not consider as mitigating a circumstance which is considered by law to be an element of an offence.

(1) In determining the penalty, the following shall be considered aggravating circumstances:

a) commission of the offence by a person who has previously been convicted of a similar offence or of other offences relevant to the case;

b) the offence has caused serious consequences;

c) commission of the offence by any form of participation;

d) commission of the offence for reasons of prejudice;

e) knowingly committing the offence against a minor or a pregnant woman or taking advantage of the victim's known or obvious helplessness owing to old age, illness, disability or any other factor;

f) commission of an offence against a person in connection with the performance of official or public duty;

g) comission of the offence through or in the presence of minors, persons in need, mentally retarded persons or persons dependent on the offender;

h) commission of the offence with particular cruelty or with hazing of the victim;

i) commission of the offence by means which present a heightened social danger;

j) commission of the offence by a person who is intoxicated through the use of substances referred to in article 24. Depending on the nature of the offence, the court may not consider this as an aggravating circumstance;

k) commission of the offence with the use of weapons, ammunition, explosive substances or devices imitating them, specially prepared technical means, noxious and radioactive substances, medicinal and other chemical-pharmacological preparations, as well as with the application of physical or mental coercion;

m) commission the offence by taking advantage of exceptional circumstances, natural disasters and mass disorder;

n) commission the offence with the use of trust.

(1) If the court finds mitigating circumstances in the commission of the offence, the principal penalty shall be reduced or varied as follows:

a) if the minimum sentence of imprisonment provided for in the Special Part of this Code is less than 10 years, the sentence may be reduced to that minimum;

b) If a fine is imposed, it may be reduced to the minimum;

c) If the offence is punishable by life imprisonment, a term of imprisonment of between 15 and 25 years may be imposed.

(2) If it is established by a court that there are mitigating circumstances in the commission of the offence, the additional penalty prescribed by law for the offence committed may be abolished.

(3) If there are aggravating circumstances, the maximum penalty provided for in the corresponding Article of the Special Part of this Code may be applied.

(4) In the presence of aggravating and mitigating circumstances, a reduction of the penalty to the lowest limit or an increase to the upper limit provided for in the Special Part of the present Code shall not be obligatory.

(5) If there are exceptional mitigating circumstances, the penalty may be imposed according to the provisions of Article 79.

(1) Taking into account the exceptional circumstances of the case, relating to the purpose and motives of the offence, the role of the offender in the commission of the offence, his conduct during and after the commission of the offence, other circumstances which substantially reduce the seriousness of the offence and its consequences, as well as the active contribution of the participant in a group offence to its detection, the court may impose a penalty below the minimum penalty prescribed by the criminal law for the offence in question or a more lenient penalty of a different category, or it may waive the mandatory additional penalty. The fact that the offender is a minor is considered an exceptional circumstance. The commission of the offence by persons who have reached the age of 18 but have not reached the age of 21 may be considered by the court as an exceptional circumstance.

(1.1) Both a mitigating circumstance and a combination of such circumstances related to the situations referred to in paragraph (1) may be regarded as exceptional.

(2) (Repealed)

(3) In the case of conviction of adult persons for committing particularly serious crimes, the court may impose a punishment below the minimum limit provided for by the criminal law, but constituting at least two thirds of the minimum punishment provided for by this Code for the crime committed.

(4) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply to adults in the case of a sentence of life imprisonment, in the case of recidivism of offences or in the case of offences under paragraphs (2)-(4) of Article 166.1.

If the defendant has entered into a plea agreement and the court accepts the agreement, the penalty for the offence charged is reduced by one third of the maximum penalty provided for the offence.

(1) In determining the penalty for an incomplete offence, account shall be taken of the circumstances due to which the offence was not consummated.

(2) The amount of the penalty for the preparation of an offence, which is not recidivism, may not exceed half of the maximum amount of the most severe penalty provided for in the relevant article of the Special Part of the present Code for an consummated offence.

(3) The amount of punishment for an attempted offence, which is not a recidivism, may not exceed three quarters of the maximum amount of the most severe punishment provided for by the corresponding article of the Special Part of the present Code for an consummated offence.

(4) For the preparation of an offence and an attempted offence, life imprisonment shall not apply.

(1) In determining the penalty for dangerous recidivism and particularly dangerous recidivism of offences, account shall be taken of the number, nature, seriousness and consequences of the previous offences, the circumstances under which the previous penalty was insufficient to correct the offender, and the nature, seriousness and consequences of the new offence

(2) The amount of punishment for dangerous and particularly dangerous recidivism may not be less than one third of the maximum penalty prescribed in the corresponding Article of the Special Part of this Code. If only mitigating circumstances are established, the court may determine the penalty within the limits provided for the offence in the Special Part of this Code.

The organizer, instigator and accomplice of an offence under criminal law committed intentionally shall be punished in accordance with the law applicable to the perpetrator. In imposing the penalty, account shall be taken of the contribution of each of them to the commission of the offence, as well as of the provisions of article 75.

(1) If a person is convicted of two or more offences without having been convicted of any of them, the court, imposing the sentence for each separate offence, shall determine the final sentence for the concurrence of offences by accumulation, in whole or in part, of the penalties imposed, but for a term not exceeding 25 years of imprisonment, and in respect of persons who have not reached the age of 18 years and persons who have reached the age of 18 years but have not reached the age of 21 years, who have not been convicted before - for a term not exceeding 12 years and 6 months. If the person is convicted of committing two or more minor and/or less serious offences, the final sentence may also be determined by absorbing a less severe sentence with a more severe one.

(2) Any of the additional penalties provided for in the corresponding articles of the Special Part of this Code, which establish liability for the offences for which the person has been found guilty, may be added to the principal penalty imposed in the case of concurrence of offences. The final additional penalty determined by the accumulation, in whole or in part, of the additional penalties imposed may not exceed the maximum term or amount provided for in the General Part of this Code for this category of penalties.

(3) If several offences are punishable by different types of principal punishment, for which Article 87 does not provide for their addition, and the court finds no reason to absorb one punishment by the other, they shall be carried out separately.

(4) In accordance with the provisions of paragraphs (1) to (3), the sentence shall also be imposed if, after sentencing, the convicted person is also found guilty of committing another offence committed before the sentencing in the first case. In this case, the term of the sentence shall include the duration of the sentence served in whole or in part under the first sentence.

(5) In the case of a concurrence of offences, where a sentence of life imprisonment and one or more terms of imprisonment or other categories of punishment have been established, life imprisonment shall be the final sentence.

(1) If after the pronouncement of a sentence but before the complete serving of the sentence the condemned has committed a new offence, the court shall add the unexpunged part of the sentence of the previous sentence to the sentence imposed under the new sentence in whole or in part. In this case the final penalty cannot exceed 30 years of imprisonment, and with regard to persons under the age of 18 and persons who have attained the age of 18 but have not attained the age of 21, who have not previously been convicted, 15 years of imprisonment.

(2) Cumulation of complementary penalties in the case of cumulation of sentences is carried out under the conditions of art. 84 paragraph (2).

(3) The final sentence in the case of cumulative sentences shall be higher than the sentence imposed for the newly committed offence and the unexpunged part of the penalty imposed by the previous court sentence.

(4) Where one of the sentences prescribes life imprisonment, the final sentence in the case of cumulative sentences shall be life imprisonment.

(1) When enforcing a foreign judgement, the court shall replace a sentence of deprivation of liberty imposed in a foreign State with the penalty provided for in the domestic criminal law for the same act, without worsening the criminal consequences for the convicted person established by the foreign State. If the foreign State provides for a penalty lower than the lower limit provided for under domestic law, the tribunal shall not be bound by that limit and shall apply the penalty corresponding to that imposed in the foreign State.

(2) Any part of the penalty imposed in the foreign State and any period of provisional detention served by the sentenced person shall be deducted in full by the court's decision on recognition of the foreign State's judgment.

(3) When enforcing the decision of the foreign state on the imposition of a fine or confiscation of a sum of money, the court shall determine the amount of the fine or confiscation in national currency, applying the official exchange rate of the Moldovan leu valid at the time of the judgment on the recognition of the decision of the foreign state, without exceeding the maximum penalty set by the foreign state for such offence.

(4) Fines and confiscation of property resulting from the enforcement of judgments of a foreign State shall accrue to the Republic of Moldova without prejudice to the rights of third States.

(1) Where different principal penalties are imposed as a result of concurrence of offences or cumulation of sentences, 4 hours of unpaid community service shall correspond to one day of imprisonment.

(2) Other penalties when added to the deprivation of liberty shall be carried out independently.

(1) The terms of deprivation of the right to hold a certain office or to exercise a certain activity and of imprisonment shall be calculated in months and years, and those of unpaid community service - in hours.

(2) When calculating or cumulating the penalties referred to in paragraph (1), with the exception of unpaid community service, as well as when substituting the penalty, they may be calculated in days.

 (3) The time in pre-trial detention prior to trial shall be included in the term of imprisonment by calculating one day for one day, and in the term of unpaid community service - by calculating one day of remand in custody for 4 hours of unpaid community service.

(4) The time of pre-trial detention and the time of serving a sentence of deprivation of liberty ordered by a court for an offence committed abroad, in the case of extradition of a person in accordance with the law, shall be counted as part of the sentence at the rate of 1 day per 1 day.

(5) When a convicted person who has been previously detained in pre-trial detention is sentenced to a fine, deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to engage in certain activities as the main punishment, the court shall take into account the period of detention, mitigate the imposed punishment or completely exempt him/her from serving it.

(6) The time during which the convicted person was hospitalized during the period of serving the sentence shall be included in the period of serving the sentence, unless the illness was deliberately provoked, and this fact was established during the period of serving the sentence. The period of absence from work shall not be included in the sentence of unpaid community service.