A petrol pump was robbed, a shop window was smashed and a petrol station attendant was handcuffed and beaten and eventually succumbed to her injuries. Sometimes the media brings us stories like this. From a layman’s point of view, it’s an extremely repulsive crime. From the point of view of legal theorists, it’s a so-called concurrent crime. Why does this qualification matter in criminal proceedings, and how is concurrence penalised and punished? We will take a closer look at this in our text.
The basic prerequisite is the aforementioned commission of multiple offences. Thus, in the case of concurrence, there cannot be any unlawful act, but only one that is designated as a criminal offence by the Criminal Code. Thus, concurrence between a criminal offence and a misdemeanour is excluded , and even concurrence between a criminal offence and an otherwise punishable act, such as extreme hardship, is not possible.
The very fact that criminal acts have been committed is essential for the creation of concurrence. Whether they are investigated together in the same criminal proceedings at the time is not entirely relevant.
However, there is another key fact, namely that the commission of those unlawful acts took place before the time when the judgment was pronounced or became final. However, once a conviction for any offence becomes final and the offender commits another offence after that point, the offender has already reoffended. A thief who is released from prison and immediately goes out to steal again is then a classic recidivist.
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Tip: Most of us probably have a general understanding of what a crime is. “Murder or theft” would be a possible answer. But did you know that theft can also be a simple misdemeanor that doesn’t even register on a criminal record? And do you know that the criminal record is also a government office? We’ve looked at the offences, how they are divided and the statute of limitations in our next article.
The basic types of concurrency are:
We further distinguish between homogeneous and heterogeneous concurrence. Homogeneous is the repetition of the same type of acts, such as the aforementioned apartment robbery. Non-homogeneous concurrence means the commission of completely different offences, such as robbery, rape and extortion.
The combination of the above may give rise to cases of single-act concurrence of the same or different kinds and multiple-act concurrence of the same or different kinds.
Why so much legal theory and what good is this pigeonholing? It is important for criminal proceedings that concurrence is a general aggravating circumstance and is subject to a special sentencing regime.
When a concurrent off ence occurs, a summary or aggregate sentence is imposed for all the offences that are concurrent. A cumulative penalty is imposed if all offences are tried together. However, in imposing the sentence, the court shall not add up the individual sentences but shall impose the sentence for the most serious offence. This is an application of the so-called principle of absorption, whereby the most severe possible punishment for one of the offences “swallows” other, less severe punishments. Aggregate sentencing is imposed by the court when you commit multiple offences and there are multiple trials about them because for some reason it is not possible to have a single trial. In that case, the court decides to vacate the sentence in the conviction for the earlier offense and imposes the aggregate sentence for all the offenses under the same principles as the aggregate sentence.
Mr X assaults a woman in a park, rapes her and robs her. He thus commits a single act.
Mrs Y rapes and robs three men over a period of months. She also strangled one of them and caused him grievous bodily harm. A joint criminal trial is now underway for these offences. This is known as multiple concurrence.
The decisive moment for assessing whether the perpetrator will receive a summary/aggregate sentence for multiple offences or will be punished separately for each offence is the moment when the conviction is handed down by the court of first instance.
Example:
Mrs Y receives an aggregate sentence for her offences because her offences are decided in a single trial and decided in a single judgment. In doing so, the court will impose the sentence under the provision which applies to the most serious offence. In the present case, the sentence is for grievous bodily harm.
Mrs Y, the sedative, was released from prison and a few weeks later met a new man and tried her tried and tested sedation trick on him. This offence is treated entirely separately and carries a separate penalty. It is a recidivism, but it is considered an aggravating circumstance in sentencing .
Tip: Some foreign countries have a different approach to concurrent or repeated offences. For example, Michael J. Devlin, who abducted and abused young children between 2002 and 2007, was sentenced to 74 life sentences plus more than 2,000 years behind bars. Serial killer Gary Ridgway, who murdered at least 71 women, was sentenced to 49 life sentences plus 480 years behind bars. Czech criminals don’t walk away from court with those sentences. At least from the Czech ones.
There are two criminal proceedings against Mrs Y, who put a man to sleep and robbed him. One is for theft and grievous bodily harm and during the course of the criminal proceedings it is discovered that Ms Y has also embezzled some money at work. This is the subject of separate criminal proceedings. In this case, a verdict is handed down, but this is subsequently overturned by another court which decides on the theft and grievous bodily harm. This is punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment under the Criminal Code. The amount of the aggregate sentence will be determined in the same way as the aggregate sentence.
Our team of experienced attorneys will help you solve any legal issue. Within 24 hours we’ll evaluate your situation and suggest a step-by-step solution, including all costs. The price for this proposal is only CZK 690, and this is refunded to you when you order service from us.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 10 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
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