Judgment No. 48560 of 2023: Personal Favoring in the Context of Associative Crime

Judgment No. 48560 of July 4, 2023, filed on December 6 of the same year, represents an important opportunity for reflection on the issue of personal favoring in relation to the associative crimes provided for by Article 416-bis of the Penal Code. The Court of Cassation, with this decision, addressed a case in which an individual was accused of having assisted a participant in a mafia consortium, evading the investigations of the authorities.

The Configurability of Personal Favoring

The Court clarified that the crime of personal favoring is configurably committed when the conduct of the agent is aimed at supporting a participant in evading investigations, without the intention of joining, with "animus socii," the criminal action. This aspect is crucial, as it distinctly separates personal favoring from complicity in associative crime.

The crime of personal favoring is configurably committed during the commission of the associative crime referred to in Article 416-bis of the Penal Code when the conduct of the agent is driven by the intention to help the participant evade investigations by the authority and not by the will to take part, with "animus socii," in the criminal action. (Case in which the crime of personal favoring was deemed to exist due to conduct consisting of the recovery and delivery of a bug in favor of a participant in a mafia consortium).

Legal Implications

This ruling fits into a complex legal context, where the distinction between favoring and complicity in crime is of fundamental importance. According to Article 110 of the Penal Code, complicity in a crime implies active cooperation, whereas in the case of personal favoring, the agent's attitude is one of mere assistance to the subject already involved in the crime. The following considerations may help clarify the situation:

  • Favoring does not require active participation in the criminal action.
  • The favoring subject must act with the intention of obstructing investigations.
  • Criminal liability may arise even for acts that do not seemingly appear directly connected to the main crime.

Conclusions

Judgment No. 48560 of 2023 provides an important interpretative key for legal practitioners and citizens regarding the configurability of personal favoring within associative crimes. It emphasizes how the intention to help a participant evade investigations may constitute conduct with criminal relevance, regardless of the desire to participate in the criminal action. This clarification is fundamental both for the protection of legality and for the correct application of criminal norms.

Bianucci Law Firm