Any offense must end in some kind of punishment. However, the sentence must be fully substantiated by the evidence on which the court is based. Often there are cases when the servants of the law are biased against the accused or violate legal rules. Therefore, anyone who encounters such a problem must know what a cassation appeal is in a criminal case or an administrative offense.
Basic concept
So, for starters, consider the term itself. A cassation appeal in a criminal case is a well-founded objection to a decision of a court of first or second instance if it violates the rights of an individual or is unfair.
To consider such a petition, there is a separate type of authority, which was created in order to monitor compliance with the law by the servants of Themis. That is, the cassation courts. Naturally, they are not entitled to sentence. They can only cancel the sentence and send the case back for re-consideration. You can only file a complaint after the appeal has been reviewed.
When is a complaint filed?
There are only a few:
- If there are discrepancies between the conclusions of the court set out in the verdict and the evidence base That is, the defendant’s guilt is not confirmed or the data presented by the witnesses are contradictory.
- Failure to comply with the servants of Themis criminal procedure law. That is, they directly violate the rights of the accused or other parties to the case.
- Incorrect interpretation of the law. That is, the court applied the wrong article or paragraph, and also imposed a more (less) severe punishment than the Criminal Code required.
- Unjust sentence. In this case, the punishment imposed may be too strict (lenient) and will not correspond to the severity of the crime committed.
Who has the right to petition?
A cassation appeal in a criminal case or any other crime may be sent by such persons:
- Justified (convicted) person, his lawyers or legal representatives.
- The victim or his relatives, if the first died as a result of a crime.
- Civil defendant, plaintiff or their representatives.
- Prosecutor (prosecutor).
It should be noted that a cassation appeal in a criminal case can be filed before the sentence comes into legal force or after it. You will learn about the timing of sending the document to the appropriate authorities later. In addition, the submission of this request pushes back the moment when the verdict comes into force.
What should the complaint contain?
Naturally, such an objection should be correctly framed. Otherwise, its consideration may not occur. Appeal on criminal case (example the document must be provided for review during the consultation of the lawyer) should contain such information:
- The name of the authority to which the document will be sent. The name must be complete, without abbreviations. Naturally, you should definitely find out which court you should appeal to.
- Information about the person who is applying. At the same time, the document indicates its procedural status, place of registration or actual residence, as well as personal information.
- The number of the decision or sentence handed down by the previous court, as well as its full name, is mandatory.
- A statement of the evidence that constitutes the essence of the complaint.That is, you must write down in it, with which you do not agree, why you are applying for such a request.
- New evidence that indicates the illegality of the sentence, its injustice. Moreover, they should be as justified as possible.
- Signature of the submitter.
Perhaps the cassation appeal to the court will contain some other information. It all depends on each specific case. Please note that if the submitted document does not meet the requirements of the law, then you will be given time to correct all errors. If you do not meet the deadline, then cassation proceedings will be stopped.
What decision can be made?
A filed cassation appeal (in a criminal case) to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is considered at a certain time. As a result, the following decision can be made:
- Leave the court decision or sentence unchanged. However, the complaint is not satisfied by the court.
- Terminate the criminal case and cancel the sentence.
- case for a new pre-trial investigation. In this case, only the conviction is subject to cancellation.
- Change the decision of the court of first or second instance.
Deadlines for submission and review
As in any other business, it is important not to miss the period established by law. To date, the time limit for filing a complaint is slightly increased. For example, you can send an application within 10 days. At the same time, the possible period for administrative cases is extended to six months, for criminal cases - up to 12 months.
Your application should be considered no more than a month. At the same time, the law provides an opportunity to increase this period, but not more than 30 days. If the indicated period is skipped, then it can be restored by petition.
Decision court of cassation sent to the state body that issued the sentence. This takes 7 days.
Features for filing a complaint
It is advisable to send the application as early as possible. It is better to do this on the day the verdict was announced. Try to file the complaint itself in two copies, while both of them must be with the date of adoption and with the stamp of the court. Keep one copy for yourself so that the original is not accidentally "lost." This will be a brief complaint.
The full version should be made with the help of a specialist only after it will be possible to familiarize yourself with the protocol of the court session. If there are any inaccuracies, they should be corrected immediately. If the deadline is skipped, then it can be restored.
In any case, a cassation appeal in a criminal case (you already know the deadlines) is a rather complicated and troublesome process, so it would be better if you entrust this case to an experienced specialist.
Procedure for investigating a complaint
Now we should consider the question of how exactly the process of investigation of the presented objection against the sentence by the special authority takes place. So, the case is mostly considered openly. On the day of the meeting (the date is announced in advance), all those present will be announced exactly who will lead it, and the names and procedural status of all participants will be announced.
Next, they are surveyed. Then the participants in the process have the opportunity to speak. The court sets the priority of the survey. Here, the convicted person or his representative provides evidence of violations committed during the sentencing. It should be told in detail, not forgetting to back it all up with evidence. In this case, you can use additional materials. Moreover, they cannot be obtained through investigative actions. These materials can be verified. If they are important to the case, it is likely that they will be able to influence the decision. cassation instance.
That's all. Good luck