Overview
- The Criminal Chamber found that Article 229 of the Penal Code protects minors and people with mental or intellectual disabilities but excludes those with exclusively physical impairments.
- The ruling proposes redefining the legal notion of vulnerability so abandonment can be prosecuted when victims have permanent physical disabilities.
- The Court absolved the defendant because the facts did not fit the current statutory definition, noting that alternative charges cannot be pursued at the cassation stage.
- Case records describe an elderly man with severe physical ailments, repeated emergency admissions, hospital reports of neglect, transfer to a care facility, and depletion of his bank accounts.
- The recommendation is non-binding and any change now rests with the Government and Parliament.