There are certain periods in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation during which a person can be held liable for what he has done. This time period will depend on the severity of the committed crime, after which the offender will be released from criminal liability by the court if all the conditions specified by law are available.
The timing
The time frame during which a person may be held liable for a committed act is specified in Art. 78 of the Criminal Code. Moreover, this period will depend on the degree of danger of the deed. The terms of prosecution are as follows:
- for two years for crimes of the least gravity;
- six years, if their degree is average;
- 10 years if the act is grave;
- Fifteen years in the case of a special serious crime.
After the expiration of these time periods, the person must be exempted from prosecution by law enforcement authorities, about which the investigator or inquiry officer shall issue a reasoned decision. In the event that the issue of exemption from criminal liability for a committed act should be decided only by the court, the end of the statute of limitations will not be decisive here. The only thing that will be unlawful in this case is the imposition of the most severe punishment in the form of life isolation from society or the death penalty. Therefore, such a court verdict can be appealed to a higher authority.
Does not apply
In addition to the fact that a person can be punished by the court when the period of criminal prosecution has not yet expired, he has the right to be released from it after the end of this time period, if this is not hindered by the norms of the Criminal Code. Although, of course, not all crimes committed are subject to this rule.
For example, for acts against state power, as well as for terrorism and activities related to it, taking possession of an aircraft, taking people hostage, no statute of limitations is envisaged. This indicates that at any time and throughout his life, the offender will be responsible for what he has done before justice.
If the attacker is hiding
A citizen on the run cannot hope that in this case a rule will be applied to him on the expiration of the statute of limitations for a committed act. Because at this time, the investigation in the case is suspended and resumed only after the person is found. That is why the hiding attacker cannot hope that the period of criminal prosecution will pass, and he will be released from legal punishment.
Especially grave atrocities
If a person faces the death penalty or life imprisonment from society, then the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal liability is not decisive here. Because the fate of a person in this case is determined by the judicial authority, which has the right to apply any kind of punishment, except for harsh and capital punishment.
An example here could be the following. Suppose a citizen intentionally and with particular cruelty killed 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, only the court will decide his fate. Moreover, the sentence imposed may be in the form of a conclusion, but only for a certain period.
The general rule about the end of the time period after which a person is released from prosecution by law enforcement agencies does not apply here.
Countdown Features
The period of criminal prosecution will be calculated from 00.00 hours the next day after the deed. If a citizen commits another atrocity during the indicated period, then the time for counting off for each of the crimes is done separately.
Petition
If a person accused of committing an act whose statute of limitations has already expired wants to get rid of procedural claims by the investigation or court as soon as possible, then he needs to apply to the state body where his case is located. His lawyer can also do this, which in this case will be much more profitable for the citizen himself.
The statement should be made as follows.
Request for an end to the persecution
due to the fact that the period of criminal prosecution is over.
In the proceedings ______ (name of the institution, body) is the case of the citizen _______________ accused of committing an atrocity stipulated by Art. ____ Code of Crimes.
This crime belongs to the category of least gravity, which is confirmed by _____________. More than two years have passed since the deed, in accordance with which, guided by Art. Art. 24, 27 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, I ask:
Terminate the criminal prosecution in respect of _________ for hours ._____ of art .______ of the Criminal Code.
Cancel the measure of restraint in the form of ______ (indicate).
Lawyer ____________ (transcript).
In the event that the said application is drawn up without violating the rules of the procedural law and is considered within the time stipulated for this, the citizen will be able to free himself much more quickly from prosecution by law enforcement agencies and the court, because the expiration of the period of criminal prosecution directly indicates this fact .
At the same time, one should not forget that this circumstance is not rehabilitative for a person and therefore does not prove his non-involvement in the deed. But at the same time does not allow the possibility of finding him completely guilty.
Sometimes in practice, there are situations when a procedural person invites a citizen to confess to having done what is done in order to complete an investigation of the case on this basis, and this is a gross violation of the law and a reason for appeal.
Prescription
This concept means a certain time period after which a person can no longer be held liable for what he has done. Art. 128 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it is defined as follows:
- if the exact date is known, then from 00.00 hours of the next day after the commission of the crime until the end of the last day of the established statute of limitations;
- from the beginning of the month to the end of the specified period (depending on severity);
- if there are several atrocities, then from the moment of the last.
Here, the stage of the trial is of considerable importance. So, for example, if the expiration of the period of criminal prosecution occurs before the trial, then the case can be terminated during the preliminary investigation, unless, of course, the citizen himself is against it. Otherwise, the process ends only after a sentence has been passed, which indicates that the convicted person has been released from punishment on the grounds provided for in Art. 78 of the Criminal Code.
Some types of atrocities are not subject to the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution. Articles specified in the Code of Crimes and confirming this fact are as follows: 205, 206, 211, 356, 357, 358, 360, 278, 277.
Nuances
In criminal law, there is one feature that allows you to free a person from punishment after his conviction, but only if the validity period of the conviction has ended. This norm is enshrined in Art. 83 codes of criminal acts. If the convicted person evades serving the sentence and disappears, then this period shall be suspended.
Certain period
After the commission of a specific crime, the statute of limitations for bringing a person to criminal responsibility must pass, and they are as follows:
- minor severity - at least 2 years;
- medium - six;
- severe mean a time period of ten years;
- especially severe - fifteen or more years.
If there were several atrocities, then the calculation of the time period occurs from the moment of the last.
Suspension
In this case, the perpetrator should not hope that if you wait some time, you will be able to get away from punishment. Here the situation is such that when an attacker evades the investigation of the case and justice, the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution is suspended. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation reads this circumstance in article 78.
In a similar situation, law enforcement agencies may have some difficulties in the following points:
- in a legal assessment of the reasons why a person was hiding from the investigation;
- in the case when it is necessary to determine the identity of the offender;
- start the timing after the suspension of the proceedings.
Some types of atrocities
Each crime committed has its own time limits for criminal prosecution. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation defines them by the category of severity of the deed.
We give an example. Theft is the theft of another's property hidden from prying eyes. The punishment for this type of deed can be from two to ten years, depending on part of the article of the Criminal Code. It follows from this that for this crime one can be held accountable for two and ten years.
It turns out that for stealing the phone from the jacket or bag of the person the guilty person will receive a term of two years, and if the crime was committed by a group of people in an apartment or store, with significant damage, 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. Taking possession of another person’s property through fraud or breach of trust is fraud. The Code defines punishment for him in the form of isolation from society, which in time is from two to ten years. This will depend on the specific crime and part 159 of the Criminal Code.
The term for criminal prosecution for fraud can be either two years or ten, if the act is equated to serious. Accordingly, if the attacker deceived his grandmother, and the latter gave him 3,000 rubles, he will receive only 2 years in prison, and if he took possession of her apartment, then up to 10 years. Consequently, during the entire period after the commission of the act, a person may be held accountable under the law and be punished.
Arbitrage practice
In this case, there are two options for terminating a case against a specific citizen.
In the first case, if the defendant's defender provides the court with the written consent of his principal to complete the investigation of the case due to the expiration of criminal prosecution. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for such exemption from punishment in Art. 78. It is not a rehabilitative basis, but it is not considered a confirmation of the guilt of a person.
Another option is a conviction by the court indicating that the person is released from punishment, because the terms of criminal prosecution are considered to be over after a certain amount of time has passed.
An example is the following. A case was brought against a citizen under Art. 158 part 1 of the Code of Atrocities. The punishment in this part provides for up to two years of isolation from society. By the time of the hearing, two years passed from 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 illustrative example. The citizen worked in the hospital as a nurse in the infectious diseases ward. After a patient with a severe form of chemical poisoning was taken by ambulance, he was given first aid by a doctor, after which he was placed in the intensive care unit and was under the supervision of specialists. The man had to give injections and make droppers with drugs that the accused did not perform on 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, the punishment of which cannot be more than three years of isolation from society, since it belongs to the category of the least gravity.
The accused after a series of examinations fully admitted her guilt.
At the time of the hearing, the defendant's defense counsel submitted her written consent to dismiss the case due to 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 precisely spelled out what periods of limitation of criminal prosecution exist for acts of minor gravity, after which a person is released from punishment.
The prosecutor did not object to this statement. The court, after hearing all the arguments of the defense, came to the conclusion that it would satisfy the petition of the lawyer and relieve his client from responsibility for the deed. Because more than three years have passed since that fateful moment, on the basis of which he issued a reasoned decision.
The following example. A case has been filed with the world court on charges of committing a crime to a citizen under Art. 159 of the Criminal Code. However, the investigator did not indicate the fact that the statute of limitations for this atrocity had already expired. This fact was established by the court on its own. In the process, the public prosecutor expressed his position that he would convict the person and pronounce a sentence stating that the citizen was exempted from responsibility, which would not be entirely legitimate.
The court stopped the criminal prosecution of a citizen for the expiration of the statute of limitations, which is prescribed in the relevant decision.