One of the main branches of law in modern civil society is criminal law. His subject is social relations that arose between the person who committed the criminal act and the state. The tasks and principles of criminal law are in direct and close relationship. So, the former set themselves the goal of protecting the freedoms and rights of every citizen and person, a system based on the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as guaranteed security of humanity and the world. In order for all this to work in practice, the Criminal Code establishes the basis and general conditions, as well as defines principles. Let us dwell on them in more detail.
Criminal law: concept, system, principles
The concept of criminal law is considered as a set of legal norms adopted in accordance with the procedure established by the supreme legislative body of the Russian Federation. They contain general provisions, criminal forms of behavior are defined, types and amounts of liability and criminal punishment are established, as well as measures that support or replace criminal law influence. The only source of this industry is the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and all other regulatory acts of the state, decisions of the Supreme, Constitutional Courts, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation, etc., are only auxiliary (orienting, clarifying).
The principles of criminal law were first formalized in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, issued in 1996. This legislative design allowed them to focus on them and orient individuals who apply the criminal law. Any field of activity, whether it is practical or theoretical, defines principles as its directive, basic ideas that reflect the internal content. If you apply this concept to this industry, it turns out the following. The principles of Russian criminal law are leading, key ideas. They are enshrined in law and determine the subject and essence of the criminal law, the practice of its application at the stages of individual tasks and, in general, functions and methods for their implementation. The legislator in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation enshrined the concept and principles of criminal law, there are five in total: equality in the eyes of the law of all citizens, legality, justice, guilt, humanism. Among them there are no auxiliary and basic, all of them create stability, unity and purposefulness of action. A peculiar result is summarized in the eighth article of this code.
Rule of law
Its wording in the modern Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Article 3) is undoubtedly based on a provision that was still known to Roman law: “There is no crime and punishment if they are not provided for by law.” In other words, when the question is to be decided: is a certain act (inaction) a criminal act and whether the person who committed it should be punished, it is necessary to be guided by a single criterion. It consists in the presence in the Criminal Code of the offense, which corresponds to all its signs a committed act. It follows that the principle of legality calls for demanding strict compliance, reasonable qualifications under the articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the Special Part and prohibits the use of the analogy of the criminal law.
All citizens are equal before the law.
The system of principles of criminal law contains a provision on the equality of all people in the eyes of the law and before the court (the fourth article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).It is understood that the grounds and limits of criminal liability are the same and equal for all persons whose actions (inaction) fall under the jurisdiction of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, regardless of the professional, official and personal status of the persons, but this principle does not mean their equality in punishment. So, for example, minors, the presence of minor children, pregnancy are extenuating circumstances, and the official position, which allowed to use the victim's trust, is aggravating.
Guilt principle
He says that only that person is subject to prosecution under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and only for such acts and consequences dangerous to society that have arisen as a result of them, in relation to which his guilt has been established. Her objective attribution is unacceptable. Citizens who caused their actions (inaction) to cause consequences that are dangerous to society in the absence of its fault, for example, those who, due to their insanity or due to psychological overload, could not be aware of and prevent this, should be held accountable.
Principle of justice
His law connects with the individualization of criminal responsibility and punishment, which should be commensurate with the severity of the crime committed. This process rests with justice authorities. First of all, on persons who carry out a preliminary investigation, collecting data on the identity of the offender. Justice is another principle of criminal law, which consists in objectivity and completeness of pre-trial and judicial research of all circumstances included in the subject of evidence in criminal cases. It also provides for the well-reasoned selection of criminalized and decriminalized acts, optimization of the size and types of sanctions in specific formulations, improvement of the basis for sentencing and any other criminal law measures. The significance of the principles of criminal law (including the principle of justice) is the formation of a procedural mechanism that will prevent and eliminate the violation of the rights of the victim and the guilty person.
Principle of humanism
Otherwise, it can be interpreted as the principle of humanity. It is associated with guaranteed human security. Punishment and other criminal legal measures that apply to persons who have committed a criminal act cannot and should not set themselves the goal of inflicting suffering (physical or moral) or humiliating human dignity. It is assumed that the criminal law is aimed at guaranteed protection for all members of society. The implementation of the principle of humanism, like the rest, should provide effective protection of the legitimate interests and rights of citizens from the encroachments of criminals.
All considered principles of criminal law should be implemented continuously by the law enforcer - this is an ongoing process. A lot of it is due to the professional training of the people who use them, starting from the corresponding personnel, resource and organizational support of their activities.
The fact that the principles of criminal law of the Russian Federation are formulated and normatively fixed (3-7 articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is important. They are binding on everyone at the level of law and enforcement. Consistency with his activities, focus on their implementation of the requirements of the law is a prerequisite for making a decision in a criminal case. And only on this basis can it be considered as lawful, expedient, justified in legal and social terms. And on the contrary, if suddenly the principles of criminal law were violated, a derogation was made from them, this could lead to the recognition of the court decision as unlawful.
Criminal Executive Law: General Principles
The presence of such is one of the indicators of the independence of law as an industry.The PEC of the Russian Federation for the first time formulated in domestic legislation, in article eight, a provision on enforcement, the rules for serving criminal sentences, and principles. It is worth noting that they are only listed, but not disclosed. Among them are general legal, intersectoral (legality, humanism, equality of citizens in the face of the law) and principles of criminal executive law, which are of a specific nature. Let's consider each in more detail. Rule of law in the sphere of execution of punishments, demands that:
- only the law determined the conditions and regime for the execution of criminal punishment;
- convicted persons performed their duties and used the rights established by law;
- a court sentence that has entered into legal force, or a decision (determination) repealing it, is the basis for the execution of punishment in relation to convicted persons;
- the activities of bodies and institutions, officials and other entities that participate in the execution of sentences rested solely on mandatory compliance with the law.
The principle of humanism implies the strict observance of guarantees of protection against violence, torture and other cruel or degrading treatment of prisoners.
The equality of convicted persons before the law is one of the industry principles specified in criminal executive law. It implies that all persons serving a particular type of punishment or who are on the same regime in a correctional institution have equal legal status.
The principles of criminal executive law (specific) include:
- differentiation and individualization of the execution of sentences; consists in the different application of coercive influence and restriction of rights to different categories of convicts depending on certain factors: the gravity of the crimes they committed, their past unlawful acts, the form of guilt and behavior at the time of serving the sentence; one of the methods is, for example, distribution among various types of correctional institutions;
- the rational use of coercive measures, as well as the means that contribute to the correction of convicts, and stimulation, inclination to subsequent law-abiding behavior;
- combination of punishment and corrective action (educational measures).
Procedural criminal law: concept, principles, objectives
Criminal procedural law implies a system of rules governing the investigation, consideration and adjudication of criminal cases. This is an integral part of the legal system of any state. Main him methods: dispositive and imperative.
Criminal procedure legislation has the closest connection with criminal law. In its most general form, this is manifested in the interaction of the principles of these two industries. In addition, signs, corpus delicti and the subject of proof, grounds for termination of the case and release from liability (criminal). The interconnection of these two disciplines is in principle difficult to overestimate; they have a very significant effect on each other.
The main task of this branch of legislation is the creation of conditions and guarantees necessary for the implementation of the criminal law. It should provide protection from unreasonable prosecution and conviction, provide rehabilitation for everyone who nevertheless suffered from this.
The principles of criminal procedure law are the initial, basic legal provisions that are general in nature and due to the development of society. Together, they reveal the nature, essence and content of criminal proceedings and form the basis for the organization and functioning of the stages, both of special proceedings and of all institutions of this branch of law. All of them are independent and equivalent.
Classification of the principles of criminal procedure law
To systematize the principles, domestic forensic scientists and processualists use various kinds of classification features. We list the most recognized of all.
1. Depending on the source of consolidation of the principles:
- constitutional (for example, the equality of all citizens in the eyes of the law and before the court);
- unconstitutional, formulated in the norms of industry law.
2. Depending on the degree of use of the general position:
- branch, that is, functioning in a particular branch of law (principle of humanism);
- intersectoral, operating in several branches of law (for example, the principles of legality, humanism).
3. Depending on how the general provisions influence the formation and operation of the structure of the prosecution bodies, as well as the court:
- judicial systems - ensure the functioning of the system of judicial and other bodies that implement the criminal process (for example, the independence of judges);
- legal proceedings (functional) - determine the functioning of officials and the participation of other entities (for example, the principle of competitiveness).
It should be borne in mind that the proposed classification is very conditional. The system of principles in the Russian criminal process is set forth by the legislator in the second chapter of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation (Articles 7-19).
A few words about the principles of international criminal law
It is inextricably linked with the law of states and imposes certain obligations on them. International law (criminal) includes not only universally recognized principles, but also those contained in specific agreements. The first include those defined by the Charter and the verdict of the Nuremberg Tribunal, they are exclusively imperative.
- Ban aggressive war. The principle contains an exhaustive list of unacceptable actions in relation to one state to another.
- The inevitability of punishment for the commission of any act considered an offense under international law.
- If the state does not establish penalties for actions that international law classifies against humanity and the world, then this circumstance does not absolve the guilty person from liability.
- For war criminals and crimes aimed at violating the world and against humanity, the statute of limitations does not apply.
- The official position of a person does not exempt him from personal responsibility in the commission of an international crime.
- If a person executed the criminal order of his command or government, this does not relieve him of responsibility if an actual conscious choice of actions was possible.
- Everyone who is accused of committing an international crime has the right to a trial.
- The principles of international criminal law, proclaimed by the Universal Declaration (Articles 7-11) in 1948. For example, the prohibition of propaganda and popularization of war, torture, presumption of innocence etc.
