Term of bringing to criminal responsibility (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Case Studies

In the Criminal Code there are certain periods during which the person can be held accountable for what he has done. This time period will depend on the degree of severity of the committed evil, after which the criminal is released from criminal liability by the court in the presence of all the conditions specified by law.

Timing

The time frame within which a person can be held accountable for the act committed is specified in art. 78 of the Criminal Code. In this case, this period will depend on the degree of danger of the deed. The terms of prosecution are as follows:

- within two years for atrocities of least severity;

- Six years, if their degree is average;

- 10 years if the act is serious;

- fifteen years in the case of a particularly serious crime.

After the expiration of these time periods, a person must be released from prosecution by law enforcement agencies, which the investigator or investigator issues a reasoned decision. In the event that the issue of exemption from criminal responsibility for the committed act should be resolved only by the court, the termination of the statute of limitations will not be of decisive importance here. The only thing that will be illegal in this case is the issuance of the most severe penalty in the form of lifelong isolation from society or the death penalty. Therefore, such a verdict of the court can be appealed to a higher authority.

Does not apply

In addition to the fact that a person can be punished by a court, when the term of bringing to criminal responsibility has not yet expired, he has the right to be released from it after the end of this time period, if the rules of the Criminal Code do not interfere with this. Although, of course, this rule does not apply to all crimes committed.

For example, for acts against the state authorities, as well as for terrorism and activities related to it, the possession of an aircraft, the taking of people into hostages, the expiry of the statute of limitations is not provided. This indicates that at any time and throughout his life the perpetrator will be responsible for what he has done before the justice.

If the attacker is hiding

A citizen who is running can not hope that in this case he will apply the rule about the expiration of the limitation period for the committed act. Because at this time the investigation into the case is suspended and resumed only after the person is found. That is why a hiding intruder can not hope that the term of bringing to criminal responsibility will pass, and he will be released from legal punishment.

Particularly serious atrocities

If a person faces a death penalty or a life-long isolation from society, then the expiry of the limitation period for bringing to criminal responsibility is not of decisive importance here. Because the fate of a person in this case is determined by the judicial body, which has the right to apply any kind of punishment, except for a rigid and supreme measure.

An example here can be the following. Suppose a citizen intentionally and with particular cruelty deprived the lives of 10 people, for which he faces only the most severe punishment - this is isolation from society until the end of his life, because the death penalty is currently suspended. Therefore, even fifteen years after the deed of his fate will decide only the court. In this case, the appointed punishment may be in the form of a conclusion, but only for a certain period.

The general rule on the end of the time period, after which a person is released from prosecution by law enforcement agencies, does not work here.

Features of counting

The term of bringing to criminal responsibility will be calculated from 00.00 hours of the next day after the deed. If a citizen commits another crime in the specified period, the time for counting for each of the crimes is made separately.

Petition

If a person accused of committing an act whose statute of limitations has expired, wants to be freed from procedural claims on the part of the investigation or the court as soon as possible, then he must apply with the appropriate application to the state body where his case is located. It can also be done by his lawyer, which in this case will be much more beneficial for the citizen himself.

The application should be drawn up as follows.

Petition to Stop Persecution

Due to the fact that the term of bringing to criminal liability has ended.

In the production of ______ (name of the institution, body) is the case of a citizen _______________ accused of committing a crime under Art. ____ Code of Crimes.

This crime belongs to the category of least severity, which is confirmed by _____________. Since the deed took more than two years, according to which, guided by Art. Art. 24, 27 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, I ask:

To stop the criminal prosecution in respect of _________ under Part ._____ of the Criminal Code.

Cancel the measure of restraint in the form ______ (specify).

Counsel ____________ (transcript).

In the event that this statement will be drawn up without violating the rules of the procedural law and considered at the time envisaged for this, the citizen will be able to get rid of the persecution by the law enforcement bodies and the court much more quickly, because the expiration of the term for bringing to criminal responsibility directly points to this fact .

At the same time, one should not forget that this circumstance is not rehabilitating for a person and therefore does not prove its non-participation in the deed. But at the same time he does not admit the possibility of recognizing him completely guilty.

Sometimes in practical activities there are situations where a procedural person proposes a citizen to confess to what was done in order to complete an investigation of the case on this grounds, and this is a gross violation of the law and an occasion for appeal.

Old age

This concept means a certain time period, after the passage of which a person can no longer be held accountable for what he has done. Art. 128 of the Criminal Procedure Code it is defined as follows:

- if the exact date is known, from 00.00 hours of the next day after the commission of the crime to the end of the last day of the statutory limitation period;

- from the beginning of the month until the end of the specified period (depending on the severity);

- in case there are several atrocities, then from the moment of the last.

Here, the stage of the process in the case is also of considerable importance. So, for example, if the expiration of the term for bringing to criminal responsibility occurs before the trial, the case can be terminated during the preliminary investigation, unless, of course, the citizen himself is not against it. Otherwise, the process is completed only after the verdict is pronounced, in which an indication is made that the convicted person has been released from punishment on the grounds provided for in Art. 78 of the Criminal Code.

Some periods of criminal prosecution do not apply to certain types of committed atrocities. The articles specified in the crime code and confirming this fact are as follows: 205, 206, 211, 356, 357, 358, 360, 278, 277.

Nuances

In the criminal law there is one feature that allows to release a person from punishment after his conviction, but only if the period of validity of the conviction has ended. This norm is fixed in Art. 83 of the Code of Criminal Acts. If the convict evades from serving his sentence and disappears, then this term is suspended.

Certain period

After the commission of a specific crime, the time limit for bringing a person to criminal responsibility must pass, and they are as follows:

- small weight - not less than 2 years;

- medium - six;

- the heavy ones mean a time period of ten years;

- especially serious - fifteen or more years.

If the atrocities were several, then the calculation of the time period occurs from the moment of the last.

Suspension of the term

In this case, the guilty person should not hope that if you wait a while, you will be able to escape punishment. Here it is so that when the attacker evades the investigation of the case and the justice, the statute of limitation of bringing to criminal responsibility is suspended. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation refers to this circumstance in Article 78.

In such a situation, law enforcement agencies may face some difficulties in the following points:

- in the legal assessment of the reasons for which the person was hiding from the investigation;

- in the case where it is necessary to determine the identity of the offender;

- begin counting of terms after the suspension of proceedings in the case.

Some kinds of atrocities

For each committed crime, its terms for bringing to criminal responsibility are provided. The Criminal Code defines them according to the category of gravity of the deed.

Let us give an example. Theft is a stealing from someone else's eyes stealing someone else's property. Punishment for this type of act can be from two to ten years, depending on the part of the Criminal Code article. It follows that for this crime you can bring a person to justice within two and ten years.

It turns out that for the theft of the phone from the person's jacket or bag, the guilty person will receive a term of two years, and if the atrocity is committed by a group of people in an apartment or shop, with significant damage caused, then up to 10 years. This means that the time period after the deed is increased by the same number of years.

The following example. Possession of another person's property through deception or abuse of trust is fraud. For him, the Code defines punishment in the form of isolation from society, which is between two and ten years. This will depend on the specific atrocity and part 159 of the Criminal Code.

The term of bringing to criminal responsibility for fraud can be as long as two years, and ten if the act is equated with a serious one. Accordingly, if the attacker deceived the grandmother, and the latter gave him 3,000 rubles, he will receive only 2 years of imprisonment, and if he took possession of her apartment, then up to 10 years. Consequently, during the entire period after the commission of an act a person can be held accountable under the law and be punished.

Arbitrage practice

In this case, there are two options for termination of the case in relation to a particular citizen.

In the first case, if the defender of the accused provides in court the written consent of his principal to complete the investigation of the case due to the fact that the time for bringing to criminal responsibility has expired. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for such exemption from punishment in Art. 78. It is not a rehabilitating ground, but it is not considered a confirmation of the person's guilt.

Another option is a conviction by a court, stating that the person is released from punishment, because the terms of bringing to criminal responsibility are considered completed after a certain amount of time.

An example can be given the following. With respect to the citizen, a case was initiated under Art. 158, part 1 of the Code of Atrocities. Punishment on this part provides for up to two years of isolation from society. By the time of the trial, a two-year period has passed since the date of the commission of the act. In connection with the establishment of this fact by the court, the criminal prosecution was terminated.

The following is an illustrative example. The woman worked in the hospital as a nurse in the infectious department. After the ambulance was taken to a patient with a severe form of poisoning with chemicals, he received first aid from a doctor, after which he was placed in the intensive care unit and was monitored by specialists. The person needed to put injections and make droppers with drugs that the defendant did not perform one day, and this led to the fact that the victim was in intensive care in a coma and subsequently died without regaining consciousness. The nurse was charged with art. 109 of the Code of atrocities, punishment for which can not be more than three years of isolation from society, since it belongs to the category of least severity.

The accused, after conducting a number of examinations, fully acknowledged her guilt.

By the time of the trial the defender of the defendant had submitted her written consent to stop the case in connection with the expiration of the statute of limitations. The basis for filing this petition with the court was Art. 78 of the Code. Because in its first part it is accurately written about what terms of limitation of bringing to criminal responsibility exist for acts of small gravity, after which the person is released from punishment.

The prosecutor did not object to this statement. The court, after listening to all the arguments of the defense, came to the conclusion that it would satisfy the lawyer's request and release his principal from responsibility for what he had done. Because since that fatal moment has passed already more than three years, on the basis of what he made a motivated decision.

The following example. In the world court, a case was brought against a citizen in the atrocity provided for in Art. 159 CC. At the same time, the investigator did not indicate the fact that the statute of limitations for this crime had already expired. This fact was established by the court independently. The state prosecutor in the process expressed his position on recognizing the person as guilty and passing a verdict in which to point out that the citizen is absolved from responsibility, which would not be entirely justified.

The court terminated the criminal prosecution against the citizen after the expiration of the statute of limitations, which he prescribed in the relevant resolution.