A brawl in public can raise several charges, but the mere fact that a conflict takes place in front of other people does not automatically mean that it constitutes the crime of disturbing the peace and public order. For a proper analysis, the conduct of each participant, the consequences for the victims, and the effect on public order must be separated.
Disorder and public peace: Article 371 of the Criminal Code
Article 371 punishes the act committed in public by threats or serious offenses against the dignity, if it disturbs public order and peace, with imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years or a fine. If the disturbance is caused by violence against persons or property, the punishment is from 1 to 5 years. For this second form, the special limits are increased by one third if the perpetrator is in possession of a weapon or another object or means among those described by law as dangerous.
The High Court established that it is not necessary for the violence or threats to target more than one person: only one person can be directly targeted. However, the effect required by the law, namely disruption of public order and peace, must be proven. Therefore, the public place and the conflict, taken separately, do not resolve the classification.
Clinching: participation in the group confrontation
Article 198, paragraph (1) punishes participation in a brawl with imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years or a fine. The text concerns participation in violent confrontation; the mere presence nearby is not, per se, participation. The role of each person is determined by evidence, such as recordings, statements, traces, and medico-legal documents.
The law provides for a special rule regarding serious consequences caused during a fight: if a person suffered bodily injury and it is not possible to determine which participant caused it, the penalty of 1 to 5 years applies to all participants, with the exception of the victim, who is liable according to the basic form. If death occurs in these circumstances, the penalty is from 6 to 12 years; for the death of two or more persons, the limits are increased by one third. The person caught in the fight against their will or who tried to separate the others is not punished.
Individual liability and separate offenses
The special rule in Article 198, paragraph (2) does not turn any witness or person present in the area into a participant. Participation in the brawl must be proven and the exact situation provided for by the text must be verified. When the perpetrator of the injury can be identified, the responsibility for that act is analyzed individually, according to the framework established based on the evidence.
Depending on the conduct, other offenses can also be analyzed separately, such as hitting or causing bodily harm, destroying or carrying or using without right dangerous objects in the places indicated by Art. 372. The existence of an incident does not automatically mean that all these offenses are met; each has its own elements and conditions.
What evidence matters
To distinguish between a brawl, an individual assault, and a disturbance of public order, the sequence of events, who intervened actively and how, whether there was a mutual confrontation, the medical consequences, and the concrete impact of the incident on the public space are relevant. Video recordings can be deleted, and witnesses can become more difficult to identify; rapid preservation of evidence can be important for all parties.
Legislative references: Criminal Code, Articles 77, 198 and 367–372, consolidated form. The interpretation of Article 371 regarding violence committed against a single person is also reflected in the High Court’s decision mentioned in the notes to the article in the Criminal Code.
Informative material; the legal classification depends on the evidence and the circumstances of each case.
