Amnesty and pardon; criminal convictions.

Amnesty and pardon in criminal law are legal measures of mercy for criminals serving their sentences in prison.

They will probably remain relevant for a long time in our country, where the number of prisoners has long exceeded half a million.

Despite the fact that both concepts refer to the manifestation of humanism, they still differ from each other.

What is amnesty?

Amnesty is a legislative act carried out by authorities in relation to criminals, easing their fate.

Here you can learn more about the types of circumstances mitigating punishment.

This act does not display specific people, but lists the potential characteristics of the subject necessary for the application of mercy.

Amnesty is translated from Greek as oblivion or forgiveness. This is the essence of the concept.

It must be taken into account that such a measure of humanism is not rehabilitation.

Therefore, you should carefully weigh your decision to agree to its use in cases where release from criminal prosecution is expected before sentencing.

Read more in this article about existing preventive measures in criminal proceedings.

Because in such a situation, a criminal record will remain. You need to understand that an amnesty is not an acquittal .

Types of amnesty

There are the following types:

1. exemption from criminal liability or imputed punishment;
2. removal of liability for additional punishment;
3. mitigation of prescribed legal measures;
4. replacing punishment with a more merciful form;
5. expungement of a criminal record in cases where the offender has already served his sentence;
6. abolition of administrative liability of persons who committed violations in this area.

For information on existing types of criminal penalties, see here.

One act of amnesty may consist of several mitigating measures.

The following types of legal forgiveness are also used: political, tax, criminal, amnesty of migrants and capital.

Pardon: definition, types

Pardon is the supreme act of the head of state, mitigating the punishment of one or more specific prisoners.

In this case, forgiveness is individual.

The Federal Law “On Pardon” distinguishes the following types of this act:

• complete liberation;
• partial release;
• reduction of term;
• replacing punishment with a milder form.

Part of the legal measure applied to the criminal that falls under pardon may be replaced by a suspended sentence.

Just as with an amnesty, a person who has already served a prison sentence has his criminal record removed by the act.

Comparison

Thus, a pardon is a one-time act of humanism towards a certain person, caused by personal reasons (advanced age, mercy, serious illness, etc.). The amnesty applies to a wide range of criminals (for example, all minors serving sentences for theft) for a certain period of time. Pardon is an act of law enforcement practice, while amnesty is normative in nature.

Amnesty, like any other law, needs to be implemented by a specific government body. The pardon is subject to execution after it is promulgated by the official. It is impossible to grant amnesty to a certain group of people: this applies to criminals serving sentences for serious and especially serious crimes. But they can be pardoned if there is the appropriate will of the official.

Who has the right and how to apply for a pardon?

The Constitution of the Russian Federation states that any convicted person can apply for a pardon or a mitigation of a legal measure, regardless of the category of the offense he committed, the assigned term and the prescribed conditions for the execution of the sentence.

This is what is said in Article 19 of the Constitution: no one can be infringed upon in this right .

The regulations relating to this measure do not provide for the possibility of pardon without the request of the convicted person.

But nowhere is the question of who exactly should file the petition regulated.

But in practice, there are cases of refusal of a request to relatives, justified by the absence of a request from the prisoner.

Conclusion : the best option would be a joint (relatives + convict) submission of a “petition” for clemency.

The path that the petition takes:

1. the convicted person submits a written request through the administration of the body executing the punishment. It must be registered. No refusal is allowed here;
2. this governing body notifies the prisoner with a receipt that the application has been sent to the territorial system institution;
3. The petition is accompanied by the necessary documents relating to the person who has applied for a pardon: a copy of the sentence, a notice of its entry into force, a medical certificate, a biography of the convicted person, a character reference and other materials that have at least some relation to the pardon case;
4. further, the request is sent from the territorial body to the pardon commission, which issues a resolution on the appropriateness of the act.
5. the next destination is the highest official representing the subject of the Russian Federation in which the prisoner is located;
6. he submits an idea about the reasonableness of forgiveness to the head of state, attaching to it the decision of the commission and other documents attached to the petition by the administration of the body that carries out the legal measure against the convicted person;
7. and the last point is the president. Only the head of state makes the final verdict.

Only the head of state makes the final verdict. The pardon decree is sent to all necessary authorities within two days after its release. The refusal is communicated in writing to the convicted person.

You can't count on a pardon if:

• Half of the term has not yet passed;
• This is not the first time the convicted person has been convicted of intentional crimes;
• the prisoner has a parole record;
• with poor characteristics from the colony.

Every convicted person has the right to reapply for pardon . But not earlier than a year after the first one.

The exception is cases when circumstances arise in the case that can change the situation towards forgiveness.

In what cases can amnesty and pardon be applied?

The issuance of an amnesty act may be justified by the following purposes:

1. alleviation of the fate of persons whose crime is minor;
2. reconciliation of communities opposing the state;
3. resolving an interethnic conflict and/or its consequences;
4. reducing costs for the penal system;
5. eliminating the difficulty associated with overcrowding in colonies.

In Russia, the application can be criminal or political (for example, amnesty for those who participated in the rebellion).

Depending on what problem the amnesty solves, the subjects whose offenses are subject to forgiveness and oblivion are determined. It is important that this act does not have an individual direction, and entire groups of people who are united by some characteristic may fall under it.

For example, minor prisoners or single mothers, or those serving their sentences for moderately serious crimes may be amnestied.

A high probability of approval of a pardon application is possible in the following cases:

• the person who filed the petition was convicted for the first time;
• the prisoner's age is more than 50 years;
• the offense committed did not entail serious consequences;
• the convicted person received disability in prison;
• presence of young children.

Particular attention is paid to the severity of the crime, behavior in the colony, term, number of convictions, whether there was an amnesty, pardon or parole in the past, etc.

Procedure for considering an application for pardon

The procedure for considering applications and the mechanism of action of the powers of the President of the Russian Federation are regulated by the relevant Decree and Regulations. Pardon is applied to persons: convicted by courts and serving the corresponding sentence on the territory of the Russian Federation. We have already completed an essay

Statehood of Russia. more details ; convicted by courts of other states serving sentences in the Russian Federation in accordance with international treaties; those who have served their sentences in relation to persons with an unexpunged criminal record.

Pardon does not apply to convicted persons who:

• committed an intentional crime while on probation during the probationary period;
• maliciously violated the order of serving the sentence;
• were previously released on parole from serving their sentence;
• were previously released from serving their sentence under an amnesty;
• were previously released from serving their sentences by an act of pardon.

Note 2

Pardon does not apply to convicts in respect of whom one punishment was replaced by another, more lenient punishment.

When considering an application for pardon, the following circumstances are taken into account: the degree and nature of the public danger of the crime; length of sentence served; behavior of the convicted person while serving his sentence; committing a criminal act during the probationary period, when a suspended sentence is provided; application of earlier acts of pardon, amnesty, parole; compensation for material damage caused by the crime; information about the convicted person (age, marital status, number of convictions, health status, etc.).

Note 3

If the President rejects the request for pardon, you can re-apply for pardon no earlier than 12 months later.

Main differences between the concepts

Amnesty, pardon, criminal record - these concepts are united by Chapter 13 of the Criminal Code for a reason.

They are interconnected. The first two are similar in that they are an act of mercy, but they still differ in their inner essence.

The latter is an indirect reason for the emergence of humanism.

Without a criminal record, the question of easing the fate of those convicted would not have arisen.

The difference between amnesty and pardon is that:

• Amnesty:

1. does not imply specific persons;
2. publication of the act is the responsibility of the State Duma.

• Pardon:

1. is individual in nature;
2. is the prerogative of only the President of the Russian Federation.

And also both of these concepts have completely different conditions of application, consequences, and implementation procedures.

An important point is that the considered measures of humanism in relation to convicts are in no way their rehabilitation. Neither amnesty nor pardon changes the laws, they are just acts of mercy.

Criminal amnesty in the Russian Federation in 2022

In 2022, the State Government has not yet made statements on making a decision on a criminal amnesty. For example, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov, said in one of his interviews that at the moment the decision on amnesty was not considered by the authorities at all. However, he admitted that consideration of such an issue could take place at any time in the near future.

Chairman of the State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation Pavel Krasheninnikov also said in his interview that it is pointless to expect an amnesty in 2022, although such an initiative is theoretically possible. Krasheninnikov noted that he personally supports such an initiative, however, before making a specific decision, many factors will need to be considered so that the decision made is as balanced as possible.

Moreover, according to him, it is incorrect to carry out an amnesty only for the same criminal articles. He states that citizens, including prisoners, should not forget about the government’s decision, according to which the time spent in a pre-trial detention center began to be counted as a term. Krasheninnikov emphasizes that thanks to such a decision, there has been a significant improvement in the situation with terms of imprisonment, and therefore the issue of amnesty is not so pressing.

In addition, it is emphasized that the danger of holding an amnesty under the same articles leads to the fact that the population ceases to be wary of certain articles of the criminal code, since they know that they will be subject to a quick amnesty. At a medium distance, such decisions can lead to the decriminalization of some articles and a significant deterioration in the criminal situation in the state.

In 2022, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin initiated the May amnesty, which included the following categories of citizens: pensioners, pregnant women, disabled people, minors, military personnel, police officers, victims of the Chernobyl disaster.

At the same time, to be included in the list of persons subject to amnesty, certain conditions must be met, namely, the period of restriction of freedom should not exceed 5 years, moreover, this should be the first imprisonment for a citizen. In addition, citizens who participated in organizing riots and attacks on police will not be able to count on amnesty.

This resolution was unanimously adopted by the State Duma of the Russian Federation, although the consideration of this document took 2 plenary meetings. According to rough estimates, such an amnesty will allow the release of 3-3.5 thousand people from places of detention.

FAQ

What is an amnesty act and what criminal legal consequences does it entail?

The criminal legal regulation of the amnesty institution is given in Art. 84 of the Criminal Code. The amnesty act does not change or repeal the law establishing criminal liability for certain socially dangerous acts recognized as crimes, and does not call into question the legality and validity of the court verdict that imposed the punishment (if it took place at the time the amnesty was proclaimed).

Amnesty only softens the situation of those who committed crimes . As an act of mercy and humanism, it primarily applies to minors, women, persons who have committed minor crimes, persons who have served the Motherland or are of advanced age, and is declared in relation to a personally unspecified circle of persons.

The amnesty act entails certain criminal legal consequences provided for in the criminal law.

Such acts may contain the following instructions listed in Part 2 of Art. 84 CC:

1. on the release from criminal liability of persons who have committed crimes;
2. on the release from punishment or from serving it of persons convicted of crimes;
3. on replacing the imposed punishment with another milder type of punishment;
4. on reducing the term of the imposed sentence;
5. on exemption from an additional type of punishment; about expunging a criminal record.

The specific content of the amnesty is determined in the amnesty acts themselves. Usually they are complex in nature and contain several types of regulations from those provided for in Part 2 of Art. 84 of the Criminal Code and in relation to several categories of persons.

As a rule, amnesty acts are timed to coincide with significant events in the country, holidays.

General information

Amnesty can be considered as a manifestation of humanism on the part of the state towards citizens who have committed a crime. Its essence lies in the release of such persons from punishment. Amnesty should be distinguished from pardon. A pardon is targeted and is aimed at a specific prisoner, while an amnesty is aimed at a whole group of people.

The amnesty applies to persons who have committed crimes of minor and medium gravity. For serious crimes, criminals are not eligible for amnesty. It also usually applies to criminals who have been convicted of corruption. Typically, the category of citizens who can count on amnesty includes women, disabled people and other persons.

In addition to demonstrating an act of humanism, the amnesty has another goal - to relieve congestion in places of detention.

Usually amnesties are timed to coincide with some important events, in particular, Victory anniversaries . They are held once every 5 years. The last amnesty was timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Second World War and was held in 2015. As a result of the last amnesty, 232 thousand people were granted amnesty, 34 thousand of them were released from the colony. After this, no official amnesties were held.