Article 417 of the Criminal Code

What Article 417 of the Criminal Code punishes

Article 417 punishes the disclosure of secrets and information by an authority or public official, among the offences against public administration. It sanctions an authority or official who discloses secrets or information known to them by reason of their office or position and which should not be divulged. Unlike the discovery and disclosure of secrets in Articles 197 and following, here the person accessed the information legitimately by reason of their office, and the reproach falls on its improper disclosure.

Penalty

Disclosure carries a fine of twelve to eighteen months and special disqualification from public employment or office for one to three years. If the disclosure results in serious harm to the public cause or to a third party, the penalty rises to one to three years in prison and special disqualification for three to five years. Where the information disclosed is a private individual's secrets, the penalty is two to four years in prison, a fine of twelve to eighteen months, and suspension from public employment or office for one to three years.

Defense strategy

The defense should examine whether the information disclosed was genuinely confidential and non-divulgable, and how the official accessed it, a factor that is decisive in separating this offence from the discovery of secrets under Article 197, as the case law linked below clarifies. Establishing the absence or presence of the serious harm that aggravates the penalty is also relevant.