THE LIMITATION PERIOD FOR CRIMES OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILD VICTIMS: INDICTIBILITY, EXTENSION OR SUSPENSION OF THE TIME LIMITATION
The Independent Commission for the Study of Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church has suggested that the statute of limitations for "crimes against the sexual freedom and self-determination of minors" should be suspended until the victim reaches the age of 30, extending by seven years the time limit provided by law.
This proposal gave visibility to an old debate between the defenders of the imprescriptibility of this type of crimes, with the argument that for a child victim the trauma of sexual assault is never forgotten, and the continental Roman-Germanic legal tradition that all crimes should have a statute of limitations to ensure that a person does not live his entire life, in a totalitarian state, hostage to a criminal conviction.
This proposal to suspend the statute of limitations has achieved a broad political consensus (government, majority of members of parliament) and also in the public debate. This consensus is due to the balanced weighing between giving victims more time to overcome their trauma and denounce the abuses, and the legal security of social relations. Thus, the Assembly of the Republic has already unanimously approved a bill to amend the Penal Code so that criminal proceedings will not expire before the minor victim of sexual abuse and female genital mutilation reaches the age of 30.
Professor at FEUC, CES researcher and jurist