The article titled “Penalties Applicable to Criminal Offenses Committed in Cyberspace as a Limitation on Human Rights,” written by Assistant Professor Dorel Herinean, Ph.D., of the Faculty of Law at the University of Bucharest.

Any sanction imposed on a person inherently entails a restriction of that person’s rights and freedoms. Sanctions provided for by law and applied in judicial practice must be tailored to both the offense and the individual. From this perspective, certain categories of offenses share common elements that influence the sanctions, and this article aims to examine these elements in the context of cybercrimes in the broad sense.

This article analyzes the sanctions provided for under Romanian criminal law and, in particular, the effects they may have in cyberspace, while also examining the limits and examples of best practices discussed in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and reviewing several examples from other jurisdictions.

The article also addresses the effectiveness of traditional penalties for crimes committed exclusively in the digital environment and the need to adapt current legislation so that penalties can truly achieve their preventive purpose.

Keywords: criminal sanctions; cybercrimes; additional penalties; cyberspace; human rights.