Цитаты
Спасение человечества заключено в сердце человека, в способности человека к самопознанию, в человеческой кротости и в человеческой ответственности. Вацлав Гавел |
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Statement in connection with putting new amendments into the CC of RF in force
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 On December 7, 2011 the President of RF signed an important law intended to humanize the criminal code – so-called “third package” of amendments into the CC. New provisions in the law first of all touch upon mitigation of punishment for economic crimes (in particular the businessmen accused of causing economic damage got possibility not to be subject to criminal punishment after compensation of this damage). “Forced labor” appeared as a new kind of punishment, and clauses “insult” and “calumny” are considered to be administrative infringements now. At last, and this is also most important, the court got a possibility to change the category of crimes, i.e. with availability of mitigating circumstances and absence of aggravating ones, to the less grave.
Introduction of such amendments was brewing long ago. Russian places of imprisonment are literally overcrowded with people convicted for economic crimes (and often very insignificant ones) or those expecting trial. People often go to crime under conditions of unemployment, hard economic situation, complicated family circumstances and sometimes literally because of hunger. Certainly this is also a crime, and it should be punished, but taking such circumstances into account the court must undoubtedly show humanity – the more so if the crime was committed for the first time. Besides, some imbalance exists now in punishment for crimes – when it became a practice to pass very lenient or suspended sentences for really grave crimes committed due to ideological motives (like attacks motivated by racism), and to sentence to imprisonment for pilfering.
Besides, Moscow bureau for human rights stated more than once that prisons are overcrowded in Russia, level of medical service is low there and many of them do not correspond to sanitary norms. As a result, for thousands convicts or those expecting trial the punishment actually becomes more severe than it is categorized by the CC clause. And one should recall that health of many prisoners is aggravated abruptly due to hard conditions and some of them die in investigatory isolation ward never managing to live till the court decision. It even happens that after death of the convict the court comes to conclusion about his guiltlessness.
The amendments introduced by the President were intended to ease the lot of convicts for economic crimes, restore the balance in categorizing of more grave and less grave crimes, unload places of imprisonment by introduction of new, more lenient kinds of punishment requiring no isolation of the convicts. And these amendments may be but greeted. According to the press information, they already started to be really applied. Thus, in Nizhniy Novgorod region father having many children who stole a bathtub from his neighbor’s house with the purpose of sale and was accused of committing a grave crime, was finally convicted under clause on committing a crime of medium gravity and got suspended sentence.
Some experts and human rights activists make a suggestion to follow the way of further humanization of legislation considering the amendments already in force to be obviously insufficient. Thus, for example, the government experts advise the prime-minister V. Putin to introduce amendments according to which loan-defaulters would not be deprived of liberty as well as those tried within the cases where it was a failure to ascertain the aggrieved. There are also more radical suggestions of general character – for example, those of fundamental revision of the CC, modernization of its general part as well as of chapters devoted to crimes against property and crimes in the sphere of economic activity. It is suggested to make all the infringements during conflicts of managing subjects including those where the state is one of the parties, a subject of civil procedure.
Director of Moscow bureau for human rights Alexander Brod: “All these measures can’t be acknowledged but reasonable. They would obviously promote not just improvement of sphere of lawfulness proper but would improve the business climate, lead to much more understandable and clear regulations of interaction of economic subjects. At the same time it’s impossible to admit getting more freedom of actions for real criminals within humanization of legislation. Under conditions of aggravation of interethnic relations, growth of xenophobia corresponding crimes should not be categorized as less grave basing upon formal signs – for example, availability of minor children and sick parents can’t justify murders and beatings of labor migrants. It’s also impossible, under conditions of mass Russian corruption, to give a chance to corrupt officials who committed serious delinquencies to avoid real punishment and escape with minor one. Only balanced and well thought-out approach towards humanization of legislation in force that is necessary indeed would enable real changes to the better in this sphere”. |
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