Russian legislation provides, in addition to protecting the rights of citizens, the periods during which it is necessary to apply to the courts. Everyone knows that the statute of limitations in criminal cases is a very significant factor. A violation of this paragraph may result in a partial refusal to consider the case, and in some cases a complete refusal.
What is the statute of limitations and the features of its establishment, we learn from this article.
The statute of limitations is the period during which measures should be taken to investigate a crime. If this period has expired, the person must be exempted from criminal prosecution.
Due to the fact that a lot of time has passed since the moment the criminal act was committed, the connection between the person and the act committed by him is lost. It is quite difficult to restore the picture of events; identifying the persons involved in the crime is also not easy. Therefore, the legislation establishes the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution, after which a criminal measure cannot be applied to a person. That is, a citizen is released from punishment. But there are such crimes that do not have a statute of limitations, nor, moreover, exemption from liability. More about this later.
The Russian Criminal Code has the following terms during which an investigation should be conducted:
- 2 years, if the crime was committed with minor harm to health.
- 6 years, if the crime is regarded as a crime of medium gravity.
- 10 years if a serious crime is committed.
- 15 years if the crime is especially serious.
It can be seen from the list that the more serious the crime, the longer the time must pass from the moment it is committed.
The statute of limitations of a criminal case under the law begins its countdown from the moment the crime was committed. If the crime has a protracted nature, for example, the theft of equipment or other valuables for a long time, then the statute of limitations will begin its countdown from the moment of the last proven episode.
The statute of limitations will be calculated from the moment the perpetrator is detained if he has committed a crime of the following nature over a long period: possession of ammunition or firearms.
If the person who committed the crime is already criminally prosecuted, and the statute of limitations in criminal cases is applied to him, then the new crime will have the statute of limitations from the day it was committed. That is, the deadlines for each violation are of independent importance. A person is exempted from criminal prosecution after the statute of limitations, in compliance with procedural rules. A criminal case may be terminated during the preliminary investigation only with the knowledge of the prosecutor, the inquirer or investigator. If the case is submitted to the court for consideration, then only he terminates it.
If a serious crime has been committed, as a result of which a person has died, or murder, when imprisonment is provided for life, the statute of limitations in criminal cases can only be considered by a court. The court has the right to apply the measure of exemption from criminal prosecution to the persecuted person . Or not apply. Then the guilty person will be prosecuted, but imprisonment for life, as well as the death penalty, will not be applied to him. Some term of imprisonment may be determined for him.
There are situations when the statute of limitations in criminal cases does not apply. These include crimes related to the safety of people on a global scale - the outbreak of war, genocide, terrorism. The commission of such crimes will always be prosecuted by law. This is due to the fact that these are acts of increased danger, as well as the fact that disclosing these crimes and exposing the perpetrators is usually very difficult.