SUBORNAZIONE. — This is the offense consisting in inducing, by gifts, promises, or in any other manner, witnesses or experts to give false testimony or a false expert opinion (can. 1755 § 3).
Anyone may be the active subject of the offense, including the accused, the person offended by the offense, or even a witness. The material element consists in promises, gifts, or any other benefit capable of improving the situation of the person who is suborned (the means of subornation are in fact indicated in the cited canon demonstrative). Whatever means are used to commit subornation, however, it is required that the offense be consummated (can. 2228); this occurs as soon as the promise or offer has been made, effectu secuto. In Roman law, if the suborned person had been testis ad offensam and his false testimony had produced its effect, the offense of subornation was punished, like false testimony, by the talion penalty (L. Ferraris, Prompta bibliotheca, VI, Roma 1890, p. 243). In the law preceding the CIC, subornation was punished by various penalties, such as infamy, excommunication (c. 20, C. XXIV, q. 3), suspension (c. 17, X, I, 11), and other penalties, according to the circumstances (2 C. XXXIII, q. 1; 9, X, X, II, 21; Conc. Trid., sess. XIII, cap. 7 de ref.).
The above-mentioned penalties were determined and unified by the norms of the CIC, which, in can. 1755 § 3, punishes subornation in the same manner as falsity in depositions, according to can. 1743 § 3. The penalty will therefore be temporary removal from legitimate ecclesiastical acts; and, if an oath had been involved, a layperson will be punished with interdict and a cleric with suspension.
It should nevertheless be borne in mind that, in order to incur the penalty mentioned above, full imputability is required (can. 2229 § 2), since the verb praesumpserti occurs in canon 1755 § 3. Nonetheless, even if the attempt at bribery has not achieved its objective, or has been made more out of levity of mind than out of a true and complete will to offend, if scandal has arisen from circumstances relating to the facts or the persons involved (for example, if it was a cleric who dared to bribe), proceedings may be taken according to can. 2222.
Subornation in the Italian Penal Code — in which, on this matter, a substantial difference from the old Zanardelli Penal Code is apparent — is subject to the penalties established in arts. 372 and 373 for false testimony, expert opinion, and interpretation; it is therefore punished by imprisonment from six months to three years, reduced by one-half to two-thirds when the offer or promise has not been accepted or the falsehood has not been committed. Conviction entails disqualification from public offices (art. 377).