Principle of lex mitior,Is that you? – Case note on C-218/15,Paoletti and others

Abstract

The principle of applying the more lenient sanction – also called principle of lex mitior - constitutes a general principle of national criminal laws as well as a general principle of Union law, as confirmed by the Court of Justice of the European Union over time. In the case analysed here, a reference for a preliminary ruling was made in order to understand whether said principle applied to the case of some Italian nationals who had organised the illegal entry into Italy of some Romanian nationals. More specifically, given that the illegal acts had been carried out before the accession of Romania to the European Union, the Court was asked if Romania's subsequent accession could have had any effects on the criminal offence of facilitation of illegal immigration.