Erroneous Declaration of Judicial Unworthiness in a Case of Homicide Committed with Indirect Intent

Case Note on Cluj-Napoca District Court, Civil Panel, Judgment No. 5097/2023

Abstract

In a case decided by the Cluj-Napoca District Court, the civil panel incorrectly applied judicial unworthiness under Article 959(1)(a) of the Romanian Civil Code, rather than unworthiness by operation of law under Article 958(1)(a), after a criminal conviction for homicide committed with indirect intent. This note argues that the court misinterpreted the form of intent, confusing indirect intent with praeterintentional conduct, and thus misapplied unworthiness to inherit. Drawing upon the distinctions between direct intent, indirect intent, and praeterintention under Romanian law, the note shows that homicide with indirect intent should trigger absolute unworthiness. The analysis situates the rule in a comparative context, stressing its Québec origins and Romanian adaptation. Finally, it considers the practical consequences of the error, including temporal effects on succession claims and the risk of establishing misleading jurisprudential patterns.