The Russian Criminal Code () 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 January 1, 1997. The new Criminal Code replaced the Soviet analogue of 1960. The main changes deal with economic crimes and property crimes. Most of the other chapters were already amended to correspond to new Russian realities.
On January 8, 1997, President Yeltsin signed the Criminal Correctional Code to regulate the conditions of the sentences. The first Criminal Procedural Code was enacted on December 18, 2001; it has subsequently been amended.
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.
As late as 2002 the principle of non bis in idem seemed to apply to Russian criminal law. In 2009 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 March 16, 2022, ceased to be a party to the convention with effect from September 16, 2022 in accordance with Article 58.
According to some orthodox conmparstivists, lawyers in Russia are substantially concerned with the principle of mens rea, although they may not recognize it as such.
The UGKRF establishes criminality for Trafficking in persons (article 127-1) and Rape (article 131).
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".
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.
Criminal legislation of the Russian Federation In the Russian Federation, in accordance with paragraph "o" of Article 71 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the adoption of criminal legislation is attributed to the exclusive competence of federal state authorities. The authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation do not have the right to adopt acts of criminal legislation.
In accordance with article 105 of the Constitution of Russia, the body authorized to adopt federal laws is the State Duma.
Although the history of Russian criminal law is known for uncodified acts of criminal legislation, since the middle of the XIX century, Russian criminal legislation has been codified. Currently, Russia also has a codified criminal law — the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which entered into force on January 1, 1997.
In accordance with part 1 of Article 1 of the Criminal Code, it is the only criminal law to be applied on the territory of Russia. All other laws providing for criminal liability are subject to inclusion in the Criminal Code. Therefore, all legislative acts of this nature are adopted in the form of amendments and additions to the Criminal Code.
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is based on the Constitution of Russia, generally recognized principles and norms of international law, as well as on the norms contained in Russia's international legal obligations.Criminal law of Russia. Parts General and Special: textbook / Edited by A. I. Raroga. M., 2008. pp. 15-16.
Structure of the Criminal Code The Code is a codified normative act (code), characterized by internal unity and consisting of two parts (General and Special).
The general part includes 6 sections, 17 chapters and articles 1-1045. Its norms define the general principles and provisions of criminal law, the limits of the criminal law in time and space, the concept and categories of crimes, persons subject to criminal responsibility, the concept of guilt, its forms and types, provisions concerning unfinished criminal activity, complicity in a crime, punishment, its types, purposes and the order of appointment, cases when a person can be released from criminal liability and punishment, the specifics of the criminal liability of minors, the concept and content of other measures of a criminal nature.
The special part of the Code consists of 6 sections, 19 chapters and articles 105-361, and describes the composition of specific crimes, as well as lists sanctions (types and sizes of punishments) for their commission. The system of the Special part of the Criminal Code of Russia reflects the priorities of criminal law protection: crimes against the individual are put in the first place in it, and only then crimes in the field of economics, against public safety and public order, state power, military service, peace and security of mankind.
Criminal law norms are contained in articles of the Code, while one article may contain either one or several criminal law norms.Criminal law of Russia. Parts General and Special: textbook / Edited by A. I. Raroga. M., 2008. p. 18. Most of the articles of the code are divided into parts that are separated into a separate paragraph and have a numeric designation (1, 2, 3, etc.). Parts of the articles include paragraphs that have a letter designation. In addition, in some articles of the Special Part of the Code there are notes where criminal law concepts are disclosed or criminal law institutions are formulated.
The Code uses a continuous numbering of articles, chapters and sections. If new articles or chapters are included in the code, the numbering of existing ones does not change, and the added articles or chapters receive the number of the structural unit of the code closest in content with the addition of a digital designation, written with a dot or an upper index: 104.1 or 1041. In case of exclusion of an article, the numbering of other articles also does not change, and a corresponding entry is made in place of the excluded article (Federal Law No. <number>—FZ of DD.MM.YYYY has become invalid).
The effect of the Criminal Code of Russia in time The procedure for the entry into force of the Criminal Code of Russia is set out in the special federal law "On the Entry into Force of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation". According to him, the Criminal Code of Russia entered into force on January 1, 1997, with the exception of some provisions. According to art . 4 of this law, certain provisions on punishments are put into effect as soon as the necessary conditions for their execution are created, but no later than a certain period: the norms on punishment in the form of compulsory labor — no later than 2004, on punishment in the form of restriction of freedom — no later than 2005, and on punishment in the form of arrest — no later than 2006.
Federal laws introducing amendments and additions to the Criminal Code of Russia may also specify a special period for their entry into force. If such a deadline is not specified, the general procedure set out in the Federal Law of June 14, 1994 "On the Procedure for the Publication and Entry into Force of Federal Constitutional Laws, Federal Laws, Acts of the Chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation" is used. According to it, federal laws come into force simultaneously on the entire territory of the Russian Federation after 10 days after the date of their official publication. The official publication is the first publication of the full text of the law in the "Parliamentary Newspaper", "Rossiyskaya Gazeta", "Collection of Legislation of the Russian Federation" or the first publication on the "Official Internet Portal of Legal Information" (www.pravo.gov.ru ). At the same time, the countdown of the 10-day period begins from the date of publication in the "Parliamentary Newspaper" or "Rossiyskaya Gazeta",Paragraph 6 of the Resolution of the Constitutional Court of Russia dated 24.10.1996 № 17-P "In the case of checking the constitutionality of the first part of Article 2 of the Federal Law of March 7, 1996 "On Amendments to the Law of the Russian Federation "On Excise Taxes". or from the date of publication on the "Official Internet Portal of Legal Information" (www.pravo.gov.ru ).
According to Article 9 of the Criminal Code of Russia, the criminality and punishability of an act are determined by the criminal law in force at the time of the commission of this act. At the same time, the time of commission of a crime is recognized as the time of commission of a socially dangerous action (inaction), regardless of the time of the onset of consequences. In continuing crimes, this moment is determined by the moment of the last of the actions, in continuing ones — by the moment of voluntary or compulsory termination of the crime.Criminal law of Russia. Parts General and Special: textbook / Edited by A. I. Raroga. M., 2008. p. 22.
As an exception, a criminal law may be retroactive, that is, its effect extends to persons who committed a crime before the entry into force of such a law, including persons serving a sentence or who have served a sentence but have a criminal record. Article 10 of the Criminal Code of Russia establishes that a criminal law that eliminates the criminality of an act, mitigates punishment or otherwise improves the situation of the person who committed the crime has retroactive effect. In no other cases can the criminal law be retroactive, this is prohibited by Article 54 of the Constitution of Russia.
If the new criminal law decriminalizes (recognizes as unapproachable) any act, from the moment of its entry into force, all criminal cases on such an act, for which a preliminary investigation or judicial review is being conducted, should be terminated, and persons already serving sentences for such an act are subject to release.Criminal law of Russia. Parts General and Special: textbook / Edited by A. I. Raroga. M., 2008. pp. 22-23. According to Part 2 of Article 10 of the Criminal Code of Russia, if a new criminal law mitigates the punishment for an act that is being served by a person, then this punishment is subject to reduction within the limits provided for by the new criminal law.