If, by law, a citizen is required to be in a military unit, but in fact he is absent there, we can even talk about a crime prosecuted under the rules of the Criminal Code. This leads to the unauthorized abandonment of the military unit for a month or more. Such evasion and punishment are described in the fourth part of article 337. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation considers the unauthorized abandonment of part as a serious offense.
general information
So, what can threaten a soldier who has left the unit and has been detained outside it? Not so little: the legal consequences of unauthorized abandonment of the unit - up to five years in prison. True, this is the most severe of the possible options with such misconduct. In recent years, the judicial practice of our country is aimed at mitigating punishments for a variety of types of misconduct, including official misconduct. This does not mean that the punishment will be canceled at all, just often the sentence imposed by the judge will not include the maximum possible option. The unauthorized abandonment of a part by a contract soldier, like a conscript, entails a lot of negative consequences for a soldier. Is it correct?
In fact, criminal liability for the unauthorized abandonment of a unit involves a jail for a month and a half.
What factors determine the decision of a judge? An important role is played by circumstances. What guided the soldier, leaving the service? What reasons prompted him to do this? The legal consequences of the unauthorized abandonment of a military unit directly depend on the aggravating or mitigating features of the court decision. Some soldiers have really important motives that the court takes into account.
Special occasion
There are some soldiers who, according to the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Unauthorized Abandonment of Part", have already been held accountable. If the situation repeats, the punishment will be stricter than the first time. In addition to the period of imprisonment, the court may also appoint a probationary period. A special situation is when there was already a conviction with conditional imprisonment, after which the soldier attempted to leave the territory of the unit. Here, the judge has the power to repeal and retain criminal punishment. The situation is described in more detail in article 74 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
It is important!
Responsibility for the unauthorized abandonment of the unit will fall on the soldier’s shoulders not so heavy if he independently and voluntarily returns to the place where he was assigned. You can report your own evasion to the unit closest to the law enforcement authority. You can come to the military prosecutor's office, ask for help from the police, administration, military commissariat. A voluntary appearance in a specialized court with the intention of returning to service means that a person stops unlawful actions, therefore, the crime ends.
In practice, this works as follows: the soldier leaves the territory without permission, after the discovery of the fact of the loss, the first time the searches do not advertise. Although this happens unequally in any part. A period is allocated so that a person independently thinks whether he needs to hang a crime on himself. It’s not immediately clear what is at stake: desertion? Unauthorized part abandonment? Responsibility under these articles is different.
How to smooth the situation?
As already indicated above, it will help to settle the moment by an independent appearance at any authority related to law enforcement and military authorities. If a soldier is given the unauthorized abandonment of a part or place of service, Art. 337 will be applied when an investigation is opened. If a person manages to appear before the start of the official search, you can confess to the authorities.
And here is how lucky. Some will open the case anyway, while others will try to hush up the situation. In practice, the second is much more. That is, if the case has not yet been given an official move, the article does not threaten to leave the part unauthorized, the soldier will simply be fired - quickly and quietly. Therefore, in any case, even where to give up, it is better to "their".
When and about what?
What is the difference between desertion and unauthorized abandonment of units? The law declares: the distinction is made by analyzing the motives for which the soldier committed the offense. This is established by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (articles numbered 337, 338).
The unauthorized abandonment of a part or place of service implies that the person wished for some time to evade the duties assigned by the country's authorities. But we can talk about desertion when a person tries to escape from service, hoping to “get rid of the load” forever. Jurists insist on distinguishing these concepts by the period for which a person was hiding from the authorities. They argue the position with the fact that it is impossible to determine what the soldier had in mind - to leave for a while or forever. And yet, for the most part, lawyers disagree with this approach.
Causes and consequences
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation obliges during the investigation to carefully analyze the motives and reasons for which there was an unauthorized abandonment of the military unit. It is also necessary to pay attention to how the soldier behaved, leaving the place where he was supposed to be in accordance with the obligations undertaken.
What are the laws talking about?
Let us consider in more detail article 337, which tells in detail what should be assessed as unauthorized abandonment of a military unit and how to punish it. It follows from the text of the law that the punishment can be applied to a soldier whose term of absence is more than 10 days. But depending on the duration, variations are possible. So, suppose a soldier has not been in place for more than 10 days, but still appeared earlier than a full month has passed.
Unauthorized abandonment of a part by law is punishable as with a failure to appear in due time. Contract soldiers, draftees are attracted, punished. The court establishes a 2-year service restriction. You can also put the offender behind bars. For this, disciplinary units are intended. The court has the right to set a term of 3 years.
And if longer?
It may turn out that the soldier still showed up, although he left the unit without permission, but more than a month has passed since then. Then the responsibility will be more serious - freedom can be limited here for a full 5 years.
At the same time, special rules apply to such a military, for whom the wrong was noticed for the first time. He can be completely released from liability, but a similar approach is allowed only when the accused party was able to present evidence of difficult circumstances that compelled him to behave this way.
May award more
In some cases, the court may decide that this is not about the unauthorized abandonment of the unit, but about full desertion. Here, the judge has the right to rule on seven years in prison. They can say about desertion if the soldier did not come to the duty station, left him or simply avoids passing.
Under current law, such a soldier, for whom desertion was first established, can avoid criminal liability. This remains at the discretion of the judge. If the court decides that the person was held hostage by circumstances that were not in his favor, then the punishment can be completely abolished. In any of the cases, the person who has left the duty station should come back as soon as possible. This will determine how the judge assesses the behavior of the offender and the method of approach to the process.
Since the law says it’s necessary
In accordance with the current laws, in our country every adult male citizen is obliged to serve if he has no contraindications for health reasons, if he does not undergo training at a higher educational institution or has other circumstances that impede the enlistment of Russian soldiers. There are several federal laws that describe in detail the specifics of service, regulating liability provoked by various offenses, not the least in frequency among which is the unauthorized abandonment of a part. In addition, when serving, it is necessary to be guided by military charters having the force of legislative acts.
Each drafted person must arrive in the territory where he was sent by the responsible authorities in a clearly regulated period of time. Distribution is handled by the county government.
Why is law important?
The military men, known for the unauthorized abandonment of units, are dangerous social elements. This is connected with the following: such behavior is contrary to the law, violates the established procedure for military service and complicates the execution of daily tasks for the entire unit. That is, the simplest failure to appear creates great difficulties, especially serious for such a disciplined society.
In addition, a person who does not appear at the duty station, thereby undermining the defenses of his native state. You could say it's ridiculous - what will change the presence of just one soldier? But as soon as dozens follow, hundreds and thousands will go there, and there will be nobody to defend the Homeland, except for the most responsible and patriotic, which are definitely not enough for such a large territory. Therefore, it is important for the combat readiness of naval, air and ground forces to carefully monitor compliance with discipline and punish those who violate it.
Crime must be punished.
Since it follows from current laws that failure to appear at the duty station is a crime, it means that there must be punishment. This is what military justice deals with - it searches for those who violate the law and punishes them in accordance with the degree of misconduct and the circumstances that provoked such a situation. Evasion is one of the most frequent types of violations of law in the armed forces of our country. How to deal with maximum efficiency is still unclear - responsibility is regularly introduced, advertising campaigns are conducted to improve the image of the aircraft, and improve the quality of duty stations. Woz, as they say, is still there.
In addition to the already described 337, 338 articles, it is important to mention also 339. It decrypts evasion from service by an attempt to simulate a disease. Under this pretext, the military may try to leave his unit - pretending to be sick. However, more often such simulations are used in order not to be called up.
Is there any difference?
It is mentioned above that the law applies equally to those who undergo contract service, and to those recruited into the armed forces as part of seasonal appeals. But the application of the standards is somewhat different for both groups of military personnel. This is due to signs of a crime.
If a soldier is brought to service by the draft seasonal program, the following behavioral strategies will be considered an offense:
- failure to appear on the territory on time;
- unauthorized abandonment of the territory.
Responsibility "catch up" in two days. This applies to situations of appointment, transfer of an employee, his exit from the sick-list, and some other circumstances.
A person who came as part of a draft campaign lives in a barracks in a designated area, without leaving the designated territory, except for obligations imposed by the command. You can also get permission to leave the unit. You can leave by leaving the army. This procedure is regulated by the current charter of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Objectively and subjectively
So, a crime is any situation when a military man left the territory where he should be under the current law without the right and permission, or did not appear on this territory at the time in which he was obliged. But a situation is possible where he simply could not do it, subjectively or objectively. The first option is when the person himself believes that he did not have the opportunity to arrive at the place or stay there. The second is when the law recognizes the right to leave a unit or not to arrive on time in its territory.
When can you count on the fact that liability does not threaten, they will not be brought to court, and if they are, they will be fully justified? The following reasons are considered valid:
- illness, death of a close relative;
- extreme need;
- detention by authority;
- natural disaster.
Irresistible circumstances are possible that are independent of the person himself.
How will the judge evaluate it?
Punishment is prescribed if the court ruled: failure to appear, part abandonment occurred intentionally. The accused himself may insist: misconduct through negligence. It will turn out to prove your position, then you will be able to protect yourself from punishment. Will not work - UK.
A person who is considered serving in the Armed Forces can commit a crime. This includes not only people who live directly in the barracks, who get up early in the morning at the sergeant's whistle. The status of those studying in a military educational institution is similar. These people do not serve in the generally accepted manner, but upon completion of training they conclude an agreement with the state.
Similarly, the situation before the law expelled due to lack of discipline, poor performance before concluding a contract, those who refused to sign a contract within the time period given by law.
And if under the contract?
If draftees are given only 2 days, then contract soldiers have more opportunities to "walk". According to the established standard, prosecution begins when absence, delay is 10 days.
Contractors, by law, must remain on the territory of the military unit a working day. They can live anywhere, choose a place that they like, and if necessary, leave a place during the day if circumstances arise that contribute to this. In a word, the most usual work with the usual rules of behavior. This complicates the application of lawful standards to contractors, which are quite simple with respect to draftees. When does a person shy away from service, and when did he simply retire on his own business? The court will have to prove that the military had a clearly defined and conscious goal to evade, only then can be brought to justice under the Criminal Code. Therefore, they introduced a standard of 10 days.
Responsibility: always or not?
Incidentally, in our country, criminal legislation with respect to the military was somewhat different. There was no opportunity to dodge - under no "sauce"! But now the current standards are as follows: liability can be avoided even if the military tried to evade. Laws have become softer, and trends are such that legal requirements are further softened.
About the situations in which relief is possible, says the note, supplementing article 337 of the Criminal Code. Here we consider those military men for whom the “sinner” was first discovered, that is, earlier they were not held accountable under this article. But a direct indication is given that only then can responsibility be removed when really difficult circumstances led to the misconduct. The situation a la "so wanted" still does not work, you need a more serious explanation.
What difficult circumstances is the law talking about? There is no complete list of conditions classified in this way in legal acts, the nature of the circumstances is different, a lot remains at the discretion of the judge. For example, if violence was used against a military man, he was abused, then leaving the duty station is considered to be within the framework of difficult circumstances. This includes a violation of the rights of both colleagues and the commander. In the army, the violation of human rights and their dignity is unacceptable. If this happens, a person can leave the unit for up to 10 days, and for the first time, by law, nothing will happen to him. But note: only in the first, in the future, criminal liability for such misconduct cannot be removed.