The Elements of the Offence and the Terrorist Purpose
Article 323 of the Criminal Code treats the terrorist act as one of the gravest offences. Under its first part, a terrorist act is an explosion, arson, an attack on a person, the use of a weapon or another action that creates a danger of loss of human life, significant property damage or another grave consequence, committed with a terrorist purpose. This dual core of the offence — a violent act plus a special purpose — determines the entire defence strategy: a dangerous act alone is not enough; the prosecution must also prove the intent to intimidate or coerce.
The terrorist purpose is defined in the note to the article: it is the intimidation of the population or the compulsion of an organ of state authority, of an organ of a foreign state or of an international organization to perform or not to perform an act, or the destabilization or destruction of the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country, a foreign country or an international organization. If the prosecution cannot prove that this purpose actually existed, the qualification under Article 323 gives way to an ordinary violent offence, with a substantially lower penalty range.