Fine as a type of criminal punishment

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A fine as a type of criminal punishment - free answers from lawyers online

Concept of fine

Today, all areas of legislation of the Russian Federation contain such a concept as a “fine”. In the generally accepted sense, a fine is a certain monetary penalty that must be paid by a person who has in any way violated the provisions of a particular law or caused property or other damage.

It is worth noting that in each branch of law the fine is applied differently: for example, in civil law relations the fine acts as a type of civil liability and is collected from the party that violated the contractual relationship. The fine is collected within the time limits and on the grounds established by law. Thus, in civil law relations, a fine is not a punishment, which is the main difference from the concept of a fine in criminal law. Another branch of law where fines are widely used is administrative law. In administrative law, as in criminal law, penalties are a type of punishment applied as a measure of responsibility in order to prevent the commission of similar offenses in the future. For example, administrative fines for violations of traffic rules by drivers act as a type of punishment that is aimed at preventing drivers from violating traffic rules and, as a result, reducing the number of accidents on the roads.

Fine in criminal law

The concept of a fine in criminal law differs significantly from the concept of a fine in other branches of law. Collection of a fine in accordance with the norms of criminal law is a type of punishment, and in accordance with Art. 43 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, such punishment is imposed on behalf of the state only for committing a crime and in order to restore social justice. Article 44 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes the types of punishments that can be imposed on a person who has committed a crime. A fine as a type of punishment in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is established and legislated in paragraph “a” of Art. 44 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The essence of a fine as a type of punishment is revealed in more detail in Art. 46 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Punishment in the form of a fine for committing crimes provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is a fairly mild form of punishment, since for most crimes the criminal law establishes quite serious liability, which, as a rule, consists of imprisonment of the person who committed the crime.

Punishment in the form of a fine can be imposed on a person for committing a fairly wide range of crimes. Thus, if a norm of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for the imposition of a fine, correctional labor or imprisonment in one article, a person, if there are circumstances mitigating responsibility for committing a crime, is assigned a fine. The procedure and terms for paying a fine are set out in the general part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Thus, the collection of a fine in criminal law can serve as both a primary and an additional type of liability for the person who committed the crime.

Types of tax obligations

There are a number of tax obligations for both individuals and legal entities.

Thus, individuals are required to pay taxes:

on income (personal income tax) in the amount of 13% on all types of income, including wages, income from rental property, income from winnings, etc.;
property tax, including real estate tax and transport tax.

Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs bear the following tax obligations, depending on the type and system of taxation:

VAT;
for the profit of legal entities (STS, UTII, OSN, PSN). For individual entrepreneurs – personal income tax;
excise taxes;
social.

Any deviations from the correct fulfillment of tax obligations are punishable (depending on the amount of damage to the state) either through administrative or criminal liability.

Methods for calculating the fine

The provisions of Article 46 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establish methods for calculating the fine imposed by the court for committing a crime. Part 2 of Article 46 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation indicates the maximum amount of the fine, which is provided for by criminal law. This amount ranges from 500,000 rubles to 2 million rubles. Also, this article of the law establishes the method of calculating the fine not in hard monetary terms, but in the form of collecting part of the sum of money, calculated on the basis of the salary of the person who committed the crime. This method of calculating a fine is provided for and secured not only by the norm of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, but also by clarifications of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which indicate that the calculation of a fine in the amount of income (wages) can be applied for a period of no more than 2 to 5 -thirty years old.

It is also worth noting that in this case the law does not establish wages at the main place of work as the only source of funds that can be collected in the form of a fine. The legislator understands a source of income as any active or passive activity that brings a person income in the form of regular cash flow. For example, the source of income may be the rental of real estate or profit from business activities.

Fine

A fine (Article 46 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is a forced monetary penalty to the state, applied by a court verdict to a person convicted of committing a crime.

Thus, the punitive essence of punishment consists of deprivations of a property nature.

A fine as the main punishment may be imposed by the court in cases provided for by the sanction of the applicable norm of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, as well as in the order of imposing a more lenient type of punishment than provided for by law, in accordance with Art. 64 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. As an additional punishment, a fine can be imposed only in cases provided for by the relevant articles of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Methods for calculating the amount of the fine:

in a fixed amount of rubles;
according to the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a certain period.

When imposing a fine (within the limits specified by law), the court determines its specific amount, taking into account:

the nature and severity of the crime committed;
the property status of the convicted person (so as not to put him and his family in a difficult financial situation).

For the same reasons, the law gives the court the right to grant payment of a fine in installments in certain installments for a period of up to three years to a convicted person who is unable to pay the fine at once.

In accordance with Part 2 of Art. 46 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the fine is established in the amount of five thousand to five million rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period from two weeks to five years, or is calculated as a multiple of the value of the item or the amount of commercial bribery or bribe. A fine in the amount of five hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of more than three years may be imposed only in cases specifically provided for by the relevant articles of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, with the exception of cases where the amount of the fine is calculated based on an amount that is a multiple of the amount of commercial bribery or bribes. The fine, calculated on the basis of a multiple of the amount of commercial bribery or bribe, is established in the amount of up to one hundred times the amount of commercial bribery or bribe, but cannot be less than twenty-five thousand rubles and more than five hundred million rubles.

In accordance with Part 5 of Art. 46 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the case of malicious evasion of payment of a fine imposed as the main punishment, it is replaced by any of the types of punishment provided for by the sanction of the article under which the person was convicted, within the limits established by this sanction.

Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated December 22, 2015 No. 59 “On amendments to certain decisions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on criminal cases” explains that the mere fact of a convicted person’s lack of funds cannot be recognized as a valid reason for non-payment of a fine in term. Valid reasons may be considered to be those circumstances that arose after the sentencing, as a result of which the convicted person is deprived of the opportunity to pay the fine on time (for example, loss of legal capacity, being treated in an inpatient medical institution, loss of earnings or property due to circumstances that did not depend on the person).

2.25

Types of fines in criminal law

The Criminal Code establishes 3 types of fines for committing crimes:

A monetary penalty in the form of a fine in a fixed amount. When applying this type of fine, the court, when imposing punishment, states in the operative part of the sentence that the person who committed the crime is sentenced to a fine in a fixed sum of money. It is worth noting here that if the fine exceeds the amount of 500,000 rubles, then such a punishment can be imposed by the court only if the criminal code allows such a fine for committing a particular crime.
Imposing a fine in the amount of the monthly salary of the person who committed the crime. Collection of a fine in this manner is possible only for a certain period, and by criminal law such a period is strictly established from 2 weeks to 5 years. Important: withholding the funds of a person who has committed a crime in the amount of monthly income or a share of such income received for a period exceeding 3 years is strictly possible only when such withholding is directly provided for by the sanction of a specific article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for the commission of a particular crime.
Imposition of a fine in an amount that is a multiple of the cost of any thing, the amount of a bribe or commercial bribery. As a rule, this type of fine is applied to the category of crimes that infringe on economic security (crimes in the field of commercial activity).

FAQ: Imposing a court fine with exemption from criminal liability

This material has been prepared in the form of answers from practicing lawyers to the most frequently asked questions about the possibility of releasing an accused person from criminal liability with the imposition of a court fine as a measure of a criminal law nature.

Publication date: 09/02/2019

Question: What is a court fine and in what case is it imposed on the person who committed the crime?

Lawyer's answer: First of all, you should understand that a judicial fine (Article 104.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and a fine (Article 46 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) are different legal concepts.

A court fine is not a criminal punishment, but refers to other measures of a criminal legal nature. When a court fine is imposed, the person is released from criminal liability. A fine is applied to a person found guilty of committing a crime by a court verdict as a punishment and entails legal consequences in the appearance of a criminal record. When a court imposes a judicial fine, a person is considered not to have a criminal record.

A court fine in the form of the obligation to pay a sum of money established by the court in favor of the budget of the Russian Federation may be imposed on a person who has committed a crime of minor (maximum punishment - up to 3 years of imprisonment) or moderate (up to 5 years of imprisonment) crime for the first time, if it compensated for the damage or otherwise made amends for the harm caused by the crime.

Question: Can the accused be released from criminal liability with the imposition of a court fine if the crime did not cause property damage to anyone?

Lawyer's answer: Yes, it can. A judicial fine may be imposed by the court even if, as a result of the commission of a crime, no material damage was actually caused. For example:

if the guilty person voluntarily returned the stolen property;
if the crime was not completed by the accused;
when the crime committed (according to the disposition of the article of criminal law charged to the accused) does not imply the occurrence of material consequences.

In the latter cases, in order to impose a judicial fine, the guilty person is obliged to take actions aimed at smoothing out the consequences of the crime committed, which will indicate a reduction in the degree of public danger of the unlawful act and/or neutralization of the harmful consequences of the crime. Methods of compensation for damage and making amends for the harm caused by a crime are not limited by law in any way, but they must be legal in nature and not infringe the rights of third parties. In each case, the type and amount of compensation measures must be determined individually by both the accused himself and his lawyer (defender).

The court, for its part, evaluates whether the measures taken by the culprit are sufficient to be released from criminal liability with the imposition of a court fine.

Question: If the accused does not have funds and sources of income, the court will not be able to impose a fine on him?

Lawyer's answer: No, that's not true. The law does not impose such restrictions. At the same time, when resolving the issue of the amount of the imposed judicial fine, the court pays attention to the property status of the guilty person, and also takes into account the possibility of the culprit receiving wages or other income to pay the judicial fine.

Sample petition for release from criminal liability with the imposition of a court fine

Question: How much is a court fine?

Lawyer's answer: The amount of the court fine cannot exceed half the maximum amount of the fine provided for by the article of the criminal law under which the accused is charged. If the incriminated article does not provide for punishment in the form of a fine, then the court fine should not exceed two hundred and fifty thousand rubles. The minimum amount of a judicial fine is not regulated by criminal law, which is why the court has the authority to assign minimum amounts of money.

Question: If the accused has committed several crimes of moderate gravity, can he be released from liability with a court fine?

Lawyer's answer: Yes, it can. The presence of such a possibility in the court is evidenced by the content of the paragraph “Review of judicial practice of exemption from criminal liability with the imposition of a judicial fine (Article 76.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)”, approved by the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on July 10, 2019.

Question: Can a court impose a judicial fine with exemption from liability if the victim in a criminal case or the prosecutor is against it?

Lawyer's answer: According to the current law, the consent of the victim to the application of the provisions on a judicial fine is not required. If the material damage to the injured party is compensated in full, the court may impose a judicial fine even if there are relevant objections. When considering the case, the court must find out the reasons why the victim objects to the termination of the criminal case with the imposition of a court fine, and also evaluate, at its discretion, the sufficiency of the measures taken by the culprit to compensate for the damage or make amends for the harm to the victim.

The consent of the prosecutor, who, by virtue of the requirements of the law, expresses his opinion on the legality and validity of releasing the accused from liability with the imposition of a court fine, is also not obligatory for the court.

Lawyer Pavel Domkin

Determining the amount of the fine

If a person is sentenced by a court to a fine for committing a crime, then the amount of such punishment (fine) is also determined by the court based on the results of consideration of the materials of each specific criminal case. It is worth noting that the size of the fine must be commensurate with the gravity of the crime committed. Thus, the more serious the category of crime committed by a person, the larger the monetary penalty imposed by the court will be.

In addition, the amount of the fine is also affected by the degree of danger of harmful consequences that occur after the commission of the crime. Here, when assigning the amount of a fine, the following rule also applies: the less harm caused to public interests or a specific person, the less will be the monetary penalty imposed by the court.

Another of the main principles when determining the amount of a fine is the principle of reasonableness and enforceability - that is, for each person for committing a crime, a fine amount should be assigned that, in accordance with the norms of a specific article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, at the same time is enforceable in reality for the person who committed such a crime.

Fine as primary and additional punishment

Criminal legislation allows the imposition of a fine as both a primary and an additional type of punishment. The main punishment in the form of a fine is imposed in the following cases:

This punishment is provided for by a specific article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation as the main punishment
Imposing a fine as a lesser measure of punishment than provided by law for committing a specific crime
For persons of certain categories (for example, pregnant women) in case of impossibility of immediate prosecution established by a specific article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The unfulfilled part of the imposed punishment may be replaced by a fine.

As for a fine as an additional type of punishment, its imposition is possible only when it is directly provided for by a specific article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation regulating liability for committing a particular crime.

The judicial act (sentence), in addition to the amount of the fine and the procedure for its payment, also establishes the time frame within which the fine must be paid. According to the law, funds to pay the fine must be transferred within 30 days from the date the sentence enters into legal force. However, a court verdict may establish other deadlines for paying the fine - for example, in installments for up to 5 years.