Abstract: The criminal attempt - which is an atypical form of the offense – is enshrined in the IVth Chapter of the IInd Title from the General Part of the current Romanian Criminal Code (articles 32 thru 34). There are both similarities and differences between the way the criminal attempt was regulated in the former Romanian Criminal Code (in force since 1969, thru the 1st of February 2014), and the current provisions regarding it. Some of the issues examined in this article, which give it content, refer to matters such as: if the normative amendments which have been made, reflect (or not) major changes of perspective, from the legislators part, regarding the criminal attempt; whether the legal wording adopted removes (or not) the theoretical controversies and the divergent jurisprudential solutions surrounding the criminal attempt;hether there are (or not) some problems regarding the application of the most favorable criminal law for the offender (the mitior lex principle), in connection to the criminal attempt. To some of the legislative solutions regarding the criminal attempt, or to some of the solutions adopted in doctrine and jurisprudence in connection to it, the author has added, also, a brief critical analysis.

Key words: criminal attempt; incrimination; sanctioning; impunity; theoretical and practical solutions