Criminal Code of Russia

The Russian Criminal Code (Russian: Уголовный кодекс Российской Федерации, frequently abbreviated УК РФ) is the prime source of the Law of the Russian Federation concerning criminal offences. The 1996 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (UGKRF) came into force on 1 January 1997.[1] The new Criminal Code replaced the Soviet analogue of 1960.[1] The main changes deal with economic crimes and property crimes. These were the main pitfalls of the Soviet Criminal Code, as most of the other chapters were already amended to correspond to new Russian realities.

Criminal Code of Russia
Parliament of Russia
Citation63-ФЗ
Territorial extentRussia
Enacted byParliament of Russia
Signed byPresident of Russia
Signed13 June 1996
Commenced1 January 1997
Status: Amended

On 8 January 1997, President Yeltsin signed the Criminal Correctional Code to regulate the conditions of the sentences. The first CRIMINAL-PROCEDURAL CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION was enacted on 18 December 2001; it has subsequently been amended.[2]

Synopsis

The UGKRF is a declarative document. It begins with in Article 2 a list of "tasks", such as "the protection of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, property, public order and public security, the environment, and the constitutional system of the Russian Federation against criminal encroachment, the maintenance of peace and security of mankind, and also the prevention of crimes." To accomplish these tasks, the UGKRF "establishes the ground and principles of criminal responsibility, defines which deeds are recognized as offences dangerous to persons, society, or the State, and establishes the types of punishment and other penal measures for the commission of offences." Only the UGKRF determines criminality; that is, only if a person engages in conduct delineated by this statute can s/he be subject to the criminal label, and thereby punished.[3][4]

As late as 2002 the principle of non bis in idem seemed to apply to Russian criminal law.[5] In 2099 the plaintiff won the case of Zolotukhin v Russia while the European Court of Human Rights still held sway in the country. Russia, having been expelled from the Council of Europe as of 16 March 2022,[6] ceased to be a party to the convention with effect from 16 September 2022 in accordance with Article 58.[7]

Lawyers in Russia are substantially concerned with the principle of mens rea, although they may not recognize it as such.[8]

The UGKRF establishes criminality for Trafficking in persons (article 127-1) and Rape (article 131).[9]

Article 226.1 deals with “Smuggling of strong, venomous, poisonous, explosive, radioactive substances, radiation sources, nuclear materials, firearms or their main parts, explosive devices". Article 228 concerns “Illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, manufacture, processing of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues, as well as illegal acquisition". Article 228.1 concerns “Illegal production, sale or transfer of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues, as well as illegal sale or transfer of plants containing narcotics". Article 230.1 concerns "Inducing an athlete to use substances and/or methods prohibited for use in sport", while Article 230.2 targets "Use of substances and/or methods prohibited for use in sport against an athlete". Article 234 “Illegal turnover of strong or toxic substances for the purpose of sale”.[10]

Article 359 states that “Recruitment, training, financing, or any other material provision of a mercenary, and also the use of him in an armed conflict or hostilities, shall be punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term of four to eight years”, so in theory to organize a private military company is in Russia fraught with danger.[11][12]

Modifications

2013

Was modified in October 2013 Article 208, outlawing the "Organization of, or Participation in, Illegal Armed Units" in foreign countries. The penalty is a six-year incarceration.[13]

2022

In March 2022, the Russia fake news law was added to the criminal code, as Article No. 207.3, titled "Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation." The new law provides for a prison sentence of up to 15 years for knowingly disseminating false information about the Russian Armed Forces.[14][15] The Washington Post interpreted section 207.3 to have the effect of criminalising the use of the term "invasion" to describe the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and forcing journalists and citizens using online social networks to use the official term "special military operation" to refer to the invasion.[14]

On 13 December occurred the first reading of a bill in the State Duma that would remove criminal liability for actions by Russian forces and their proxies in the occupied territories of Ukraine so long as said crimes were committed ‘aimed at protecting the interests of the Russian Federation'.[16]

See also

References
  1. Butler, William E. (October 19, 1999). Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (1st ed.). Springer.
  2. "CRIMINAL-PROCEDURAL CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION NO. 174-FZ OF DECEMBER 18, 2001". World Trade Organization. March 1, 2012.
  3. "THE CRIMINAL CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION NO. 63-FZ OF JUNE 13, 1996" (PDF). International Money Laundering Information Network. December 28, 2004.
  4. "THE CRIMINAL CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION NO. 63-FZ OF JUNE 13, 1996" (PDF). World Trade Organization. December 6, 2007.
  5. Andreev, Boris (2002). "Russia non bis in idem principle in internationaland russian law". Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal. 73 (3): 1065. doi:10.3917/ridp.733.1065.
  6. "The Russian Federation is excluded from the Council of Europe" (Press release). Strasbourg: Council of Europe. March 16, 2022.
  7. "Russia ceases to be party to the European Convention on Human Rights". Council of Europe. September 16, 2022.
  8. Vashkevich, Alla Vasilyevna; Nikishkin, Aleksander Vladimirovich; Epifanov, Boris Vasilyevich; Ramazanov, Ramin Anatolievich; Smorodina, Victoria Anatolievna (2021). "Problems of determining the mental element in crime under article 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation". SHS Web of Conferences. 108: 02010. doi:10.1051/shsconf/202110802010. S2CID 236720131.
  9. "Country: Russian Federation". UN Women. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  10. "CRIMINAL CODE". RUSADA. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  11. Perovic, Zarko (March 23, 2021). "What Laws Constrain This Russian Private Military Company?". The Lawfare Institute.
  12. Doxsee, Catrina (September 15, 2022). "Putin's Proxies: Examining Russia's Use of Private Military Companies". Center for Strategic & International Studies.
  13. Weiss, Michael (November 21, 2013). "The Case of the Keystone Cossacks". Foreign Policy.
  14. Oremus, Will (March 11, 2022). "In Putin's Russia, 'fake news' now means real news". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  15. Richter, Andrei (March 2022). "[RU] CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR "FALSE REPORTS" AND "HARMFUL CALLS" EXPANDED". European Audiovisual Observatory.
  16. "Russia: Proposed bill that removes criminal liability for war crimes is 'impunity made law'". Amnesty International. December 16, 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.