Criminal liability is imposed for incorrect information provided in a lawsuit or during an investigation. Not only the fact of perjury is considered, but also its motives, since the final goal can reveal a lot of hidden information.
Articles for false testimony: when and against whom are they applied?
What is perjury? A similar term explains the facts of the provision of incorrect information in court, in the process of investigation or during inquiry. In this case, it is necessary to be able to distinguish knowingly false testimony from false testimony. False testimony is when the person involved made inaccuracies in the information on forgetfulness, for health reasons or because of any unintended reason.
Obviously false testimony - attempts to provide information in a conscious way. The punishment for such an act is regulated by article 307 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
There are cases in which giving evidence may not be possible from a moral point of view. For example, when a citizen passes a witness in the case of the prosecution of his close relatives. In this case, we should recall the constitutional rights of citizens who allow abstinence from testimony.
Exceptions
Exceptions should be considered in detail, as they are based on constitutional human rights. In the framework of the current Code of Criminal Procedure, this moment is recorded in article 308. According to it, a citizen is not obliged and, therefore, is not responsible for the reluctance to give any evidence in relation to the following persons:
- spouses in relation to each other;
- citizen in relation to himself;
- in relation to close relatives.
If the question arises as to how much the application of the article “False testimony” is considered legal in the above situations, then you should refer to the main provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.
Who are close relatives?
The circle of close relatives is established in the framework of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Code of Civil Procedure. According to established laws, the following persons are included in the circle of close relatives who are not covered by article 307 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:
- grandparents cannot be forced to testify against their grandchildren;
- sisters and brothers are also on this list;
- parents - regardless of whether the relatives or adopted children, have the right not to interfere with the investigation;
- officially married spouses are also on the list of persons from the immediate circle of relatives.
Witness immunity
The circle of exempted persons also includes those who have witness immunity. Applies to the following entities:
- members of the Federation Council and the State Duma;
- judges and other jurors;
- the person to whom the accused has requested protection. First of all, these are lawyers. In other cases, these may be representatives of independent organizations, observers, representatives of civil society and the media;
- religious ministers who have access to personal information of citizens by virtue of religious canons. In particular, these are priests who accept the confession of visitors to the church.
Subjects
False information may be exculpatory or accusatory. Facts are distorted or denied. Before interrogation, interrogation or court session, all persons who are responsible for providing information, familiarize themselves with the article (for false testimony).
The subjects are:
- witnesses to the crime;
- experts from all areas working on case studies;
- translators
- technical specialists;
- the victims.
Responsibility extends not only to false testimony and perjury, but also to conceal important facts. In general, cooperation with the investigation is mandatory for everyone, regardless of age, occupation or other reasons. Similarly, every person involved in a crime is required to testify.
Punishment for false testimony in court
The punishment for false information in court or during the investigation is determined depending on the severity of the guilt:
- arrest up to 2 years;
- payment of a fine of up to 80,000 rubles;
- deprivation of the amount of income in the amount of 6-month wages;
- community service forced up to 480 hours.
The consequences are taken into account when the witness gave false evidence. If the information significantly affected the procedural or judicial process, then the terms of imprisonment can be increased to 5 years or forced labor for a similar period is appointed.
Motives
Despite the severity of punishment for false testimony of an expert, witnesses and other persons involved in the case, facts of concealing information or distorting it are very common in practice. A reasonable question arises: what pushes people to such a step? Judicial practice shows that the motives in each case are different. But there are 4 most common types:
- Fear. During the trial, there are often cases of intimidation or blackmail of one of the defendants in order to obtain false testimonies. In this case, the citizen should fully rely on the help of law enforcement agencies and tell the whole truth. Otherwise, the article will be applied for false testimony.
- Material interest. When it comes to the trial, and close and relatives of the accused want to ease his fate, such a step as bribing other persons involved is used. This can be any of the parties to the case: the victim, the accused, witnesses, and most often technical specialists.
- Interest. It is human nature to worry about his loved ones, especially when it comes to imprisonment. The right to emotional empathy was reflected in the Constitution of the Russian Federation in article 51. If there is a similar motive, then criminal liability for giving false testimonies is not applied to such citizens.
- Personal reasons. There is a reverse case when one of the accused’s relatives has a personal dislike. The trial platform can serve as an excellent opportunity to harm a person through his testimony. But usually judges and lawyers carefully examine the relationships of court members. If personal hostility is revealed, then the court admits the facts of the stipulation and accepts the evidence for their consideration.
Types of False Testimony
As mentioned above, the punishability of false information is due to their public danger. Articles on false testimony of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation proceed from this principle. Perjury occurs in two forms:
- Providing information with the aim of misleading the investigator or judge is a denunciation.
- Providing information with partial or complete information in order to create an alibi to one of the defendants in the case.
The fact of punishment will follow regardless of the type of false testimony. Additional circumstances may either strengthen the measure or simplify.
Arbitrage practice
In judicial practice, various cases and precedents for false testimonies are known. In general, the reasons are different. But the most common of these are attempts to drag out the lawsuit. There is also such a thing as self-talk. This aspect is always taken into account in judicial practice.
Under the article, criminal liability is more often used for false testimony than an administrative case. If the court considers that the evidence is false or distorted, it sends the case to the previous court.
For example, in 2013, a case was recorded in the city of Barnaul. The judge of the city court noted that there are inconsistencies in the testimony of the witness. The case was returned to the district court. The re-investigation revealed that there was in fact no phone call that played a significant role in the acquittal of the court. As a result, the false witness received a fine in the amount of 1,000 rubles.
Incorrect testimony is given not only by witnesses or the accused, but also by the victims. They can put forward one version of what happened during interrogation, and another in court. The victim’s false testimony has very dramatic reasons - pity for the accused, especially if a severe sentence is imposed. Another reason is bribery or an agreement with the relatives of the accused in order to influence the course of the trial.
Features
Responsibility for false testimony under article 307 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation comes from 16 years. Of fundamental importance is the time to detect false readings. If the facts are discovered before the trial, then relatively light penalties are taken. For false evidence found after a court decision, the maximum preventive measure is applied.
It is worth remembering that there are cases when incorrect information was provided without any selfish intent, and the reason is objective factors related to memory impairment due to health or age. If such a fact has already been admitted, and the medical evidence is on the person, then the appropriate medical certificate should be submitted in a timely manner.
In other cases, the maximum truthfulness of all testimonies, information and information from all sources is important for judicial practice. If there is a desire to influence the course of the trial, then any illegal methods can only aggravate the situation. There is a legal and reliable way to do this - seek the help of a lawyer.