Confession of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

When a criminal repents of his crime, he can cooperate with the investigation and confess to his crime of his own free will. Declaring one's own guilt is a process that involves the subsequent execution of many processes and documents accompanying them. For example, in this situation, it is mandatory to draw up a confession protocol. You will learn how to compose it later in the material presented.

Protocol of surrender

Confession with the participation of a lawyer

For every violation of criminal law, punishment will necessarily follow. When considering a case, law enforcement agencies and the court are obliged to take into account not only all the circumstances of the criminal act, but also factors mitigating the punishment. Their list according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation also includes a confession, which consists of the following:

the guilty person voluntarily and without coercion makes a statement about an illegal action or inaction that entails criminal punishment;
confession means submitting a written statement about a crime or an oral report - in the second case, all circumstances will be recorded in the procedural protocol;
This form of communication will make it possible to mitigate sanctions if the citizen has already been actually detained on suspicion of committing a crime.

Note!
Confession after arrest is not considered as a factor mitigating punishment. However, a detained citizen can actively cooperate with the investigation and help solve the case. In this case, he can also count on a mitigation of his fate.

Since surrender is considered by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation as a procedural event, the citizen must be given the right to defense. To do this, you can choose a lawyer to fill out the confession form or ask for a public defender. A citizen may refuse to invite a lawyer; such a decision is recorded directly in the protocol.

It is best to consult with a lawyer in advance about the consequences of voluntarily reporting a crime. This is necessary because:

Citizens are often mistaken about the nature and consequences of their actions. The act may fall under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation or may not be punishable by law at all;

when appearing, you can declare the commission of several criminal acts, but such a decision must correspond to the chosen defense tactics;
In consultation with a lawyer, you can evaluate the composition of the evidence for possible prosecution. If the prospects for solving the case are unclear, the lawyer will advise against turning himself in to protect the client's interests.

Turning yourself in with a lawyer will allow you to avoid unlawful actions on the part of the inquiry officer or investigator. Often, taking advantage of the applicant’s stressful situation, law enforcement agencies force him to confess to crimes that the citizen did not commit. The presence of a defender will help avoid such situations.

If a confession under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is made in writing, the statement must set out all the circumstances of the crime committed. The lawyer must make sure that such a decision is voluntary and that there are no facts of threats or coercion on the part of the interrogating officer. If an application to appear is issued after the citizen has been detained, he will be able to reduce the punishment only if he reports other crimes that are not yet being investigated.

When filling out the confession protocol form, the lawyer has the right to submit comments and explanations, as well as demand accurate indication of all the information provided by his client. Even if the investigator considers such explanations or additions to be irrelevant to the case, he is obliged to record them in the protocol. Otherwise, the defense attorney will seek to exclude the protocol from the case file.

Mitigating circumstance

Turning oneself in can mitigate the punishment - this is provided for by criminal law, in particular, Article 62 of the Criminal Code, which provides for the court’s obligation to impose no more than 2/3 of the maximum punishment under the sanction of an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Example No. 1 . Maksimov E.P. committed fraud on a large scale, that is, a crime under Part 3 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - a serious category, maximum punishment up to 6 years in prison. Meanwhile, even before his arrest, he wrote a confession, in which he outlined in detail all the circumstances of the theft of funds and admitted to the crime. The court recognized Maksimov's voluntary appearance as a mitigating circumstance, as a result of which the court proceeded from the maximum possible punishment of 4 years of imprisonment (2/3 of 6 years). Since there were additional mitigating circumstances (compensation for damage, the presence of dependent young children), the court sentenced Maksimov to only 2 years in prison.

Thus, the law obliges judges to apply the “no more than 2/3 of the maximum” rule in cases where a formal admission of guilt is admissible evidence. At the same time, refusal by the defendant to turn himself in, in the absence of supporting evidence of the illegality of its registration, still entails a reduction in punishment.

The only exception to the rule “no more than 2/3” is the presence in the actions of the convicted person of recidivism or other aggravating circumstances (for example, committing a crime while intoxicated, against a child, a pregnant woman, etc., according to the list of Article 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ). In such situations, no mitigation is provided.

Example No. 2 . Petrov A.T. committed a serious crime against a person - he stabbed his wife in the back with a knife, who only survived due to timely medical assistance. The crime committed by A.T. Petrov is classified under paragraph “h” of Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and provides for a maximum penalty of imprisonment for a term of 10 years. Petrov A.T. admitted guilt both during the investigation and in court, confirming the voluntariness of his written confession. At the same time, the court did not apply the preferential rule to him, since the outstanding conviction for a previously committed drug-related crime indicated the presence of an aggravating circumstance - relapse.

Question: What is the judicial practice in cases where the appearance is already made under the circumstances of the crime known to the police?

As a general rule, a confession is considered a surrender only when the person reported the crime without knowledge of the crime to law enforcement agencies. But in practice, such appearances are extremely rare. Basically, already upon arrest, the criminal decides that it is better to confess immediately in order to “save the sentence,” and almost always there is enough evidence of his guilt at that time even without an appearance. Theoretically, courts should not recognize such appearances as mitigating circumstances. At the same time, an analysis of the verdicts of district courts indicates that often such “post-confession” is still taken into account as a benefit.

Another mitigating circumstance should be distinguished from confession, which also entails a reduction in the maximum sanction to 2/3. This circumstance is called active assistance in solving a crime. It can take place either separately or simultaneously with the appearance. Facilitation consists in the fact that a person voluntarily talks not only about his criminal actions, but also about the role of other accomplices, points to places where objects are stored (narcotics, weapons, stolen property, etc.).

Confession without the participation of a lawyer

It is possible to report a crime without the presence of a defense lawyer if the citizen voluntarily confirmed such a decision. Law enforcement officials are required to comply with the following formalities:

explain the right to call a lawyer, as well as all the consequences of refusing to do so;
ensure the calling of a defense lawyer if the citizen stated this already at the time of drawing up the protocol;
record in the protocol the applicant’s refusal to call a lawyer, the reasons for the refusal (if they were expressed by the suspect), as well as an explanation of the consequences of such a decision.

Note!
Even if a confession is made without the participation of a lawyer, the citizen will be able to use the services of a defense lawyer during the subsequent investigation of the case. To do this, it is enough to submit a petition to the investigator.

When turning yourself in without a lawyer, the voluntary nature of the citizen’s decision will be of key importance. Subsequently, the initial report of a crime can be withdrawn only if facts of coercion, threats or violence against the complainant are confirmed. In other cases, even if a person refuses to confess, the court is obliged to consider and evaluate the application along with the rest of the case materials.

Is appearance evidence of guilt?

Since a confession, duly documented in the protocol, is the basis for initiating a case, it is considered primary evidence of the commission of a crime. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has long been in its clarifications, in particular, in the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation “On the Judicial Sentence” of 2016, orienting judges to the inadmissibility of using a confession alone as the only evidence. This means that the appearance may well be taken into account by the court and recognized as evidence of guilt in the presence of other evidence (testimony of witnesses, the victim, examinations, identifications, confrontations, etc.).

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation also pays attention to the circumstances under which the appearance was written. So, for example, if a confession was drawn up without a lawyer and the right to use the services of a defense lawyer was not explained to the person, the appearance may be considered inadmissible evidence if the defendant in court asks not to take it into account.

After the publication of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court, the investigative authorities began to formalize appearances on special forms, on which the rights are already printed, under which there is a place for the signature of the person who confessed. By putting his signature, the accused thereby confirms that all his legal options (to invite a lawyer, refuse to testify, etc.) have been explained and understood to him.

Question: Is it possible to refuse to confess?

Yes, and this often happens in practice. For example, a defendant who has not previously denied involvement in a crime subsequently expresses disagreement with the accusation and declares unacceptable methods on the part of the investigator during the reporting process (beating, coercion, psychological pressure and threats of causing harm to property, relatives, initiation of other criminal cases, etc. .d. – the most common arguments of the defendants).

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation explained that these circumstances must be checked - whether there were complaints to the prosecutor's office about the actions of police officers, whether beatings were recorded, etc. Often the court summons the investigator on duty to the court hearing to ask him in detail about the circumstances of writing the confession. If the defendant's arguments about illegal actions of police officers are confirmed or not refuted, the appearance may be excluded from evidence of guilt.

Meanwhile, an appearance written with the participation of a lawyer is always recognized as acceptable evidence of guilt in court , since it will no longer be possible to refute the authenticity of the events described in it, refer to a misunderstanding of the laws and philistine illiteracy in legal matters, as well as illegal methods on the part of the police. In addition, an official’s explanation of certain mitigating benefits in the event of a confession cannot be considered pressure from the police

Confession of a minor

If an adult citizen has the right to choose the methods and options for his own protection, then for minors this possibility is excluded. All procedural events involving children can only be carried out in the presence of a defense attorney and legal representatives. Violation of this rule will entail the recognition of protocols and statements as invalid, as well as their exclusion from the case materials.

The confession of a minor occurs according to the following rules:

when a child makes an oral or written request, a lawyer may be invited by his parents or other legal representatives;
if a minor comes to the police without a lawyer, the interrogating officer is obliged to call a public defender;
Until the lawyer appears when called, carrying out any procedural actions with the child is unacceptable, even if his parents insist on it.

Note!
A confession issued after the child was detained at the crime scene will not be considered as a mitigating factor.

If, upon verification of the application, it is determined that the child is not subject to liability due to age, a decision is made to terminate further procedural actions. This does not deprive victims of the opportunity to go to court for compensation for material or moral damage from the child’s legal representatives.

Preliminary investigation stage

An appearance may be submitted to a law enforcement agency, both before the stage of preliminary investigation and during the investigation of a criminal case. So, upon surrender, if the crime is not known, the fact is recorded in the book of registration/accounting for reports of a crime (KRSP, KUSP). Within three days, in accordance with the law, a check is carried out on the report, and a decision is made on the VUD or refusal to VUD. If a confession is made, the criminal case is factual, until the verification establishes evidence pointing to this person, the VUD will be factual (based on the fact of committing an unlawful act).

After the VUD, the inquiry officer conducts the investigation of the specified criminal case for one month, and the investigator for two months. This stage is called preliminary investigation. After this, a decision is made to transfer the case to court, to extend it, or to terminate the criminal case.

Sample statement of confession

How to write a confession, and is there a sample of this document provided by law? The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not contain a sample for registering a confession, since the general rules for drawing up statements about crimes are taken into account. The text of the written application must indicate the following information:

name of the official or body to which the citizen applies;
information about the applicant, indicating his personal data and age;
information about the legal representatives of the minor (parents, guardians, etc.);
circumstances of the crime committed, which is reported by the citizen: place and time, nature of the illegal actions, information about the victims and damage caused, etc.;
information about other participants in the criminal act;
personal signature and date.

The application is registered according to the general rules and entered into the KUPS. The citizen is informed of the registration number of the application, and police officers have the right to decide to detain the applicant for up to 48 hours. Upon the fact of a written or oral report of a crime, a protocol is drawn up in which additional circumstances regarding the application are established.

A sample surrender protocol is filled out by a police officer or investigative agency. The applicant must ensure that his information is recorded in the protocol in strict accordance with the application and personal testimony. If violations or inaccuracies are identified, the citizen and his lawyer have the right to indicate all additions and comments in the protocol form. After the application is accepted and the protocol is drawn up, a decision will be made to initiate a criminal case.

How to write?

The header of the application must contain the name of the body to which the application is sent and the official authorized to consider this application. Next, it is indicated from whom the document was drawn up.

In the middle of the sheet the type of document is indicated, that is, the word “Application”.

Subsequently, the applicant provides all the information about the crime committed, information about the time, place, participants and circumstances.

It is mandatory to indicate the date and signature at the bottom of the document. The applicant may keep a copy of the confession for further use as evidence.

Summary

According to Art. 61 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a confession is considered as a mitigating circumstance if it was formalized voluntarily and before the actual detention of the citizen. The report can be submitted orally or in writing, and a procedural protocol is drawn up to record the applicant’s testimony. When filling out a sample confession, you must take into account the provisions of Art. 141-142 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

An adult citizen has the right to refuse the services of a lawyer if such a decision is made voluntarily and without pressure. When dealing with the appearance of a minor child, this rule does not apply, and the participation of a lawyer will be mandatory.

The main point

In the legislative acts of the Russian Federation in criminal cases there is no definition of surrender as such.
However, the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Economics and Law considers this appeal as a person’s desire to notify (in the form of a statement) police officers of a crime he has committed. features stand out

of this statement:

written or oral form is allowed;
law enforcement officers are obliged to find out the true motives for filing a report;
coercion to write this document is categorically unlawful;
You can only submit a confession in person, without the participation of third parties (you can come with a lawyer, but you cannot send a lawyer alone with a document in hand);
if it is impossible to appear in person at the authorities (for example, illness), it is allowed to voice the text of the appearance by telephone, send a telegram and in other ways;
advice from a friend or persuasion by others (not coercion/pressure) to make this statement is acceptable.

Due to the fact that the statement is extremely important evidence of the applicant’s guilt (in context, it means the perpetrator of the crime), it stands out from many other reports of offenses.
If there is such a confession, there is no point in wasting time and energy on solving the crime - the culprit himself confessed to everything. That is why such requests are considered first. This appearance also greatly influences the severity of the punishment, significantly mitigating it. This action is defined in the criminal code as a mitigating factor (subsection “I”, paragraph 1, article 61 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). In some cases, turning yourself in can completely get rid of punishment.

However, the statement helps reduce the punishment only when a criminal case has not been opened (there is no evidence of guilt, etc.). It will not be possible to come to the police station with a confession when the investigation has serious and reliable evidence. In such circumstances, a confession statement will have absolutely no force.

More precisely, the statement will not affect the court’s decision in the following specific situations:

when the appearance was drawn up after the accused was provided with indisputable evidence of his participation (when it is clear that punishment cannot be avoided);
when a person is detained as a suspect;
at the time of opening a criminal case against a specific person (and it does not matter whether he knows about it or not);
when a person deliberately hid from trial and investigation.

However, there is an important exception to these rules. This is the moment when the accused of one crime decided to make a confession for another (others), about which the investigation is unknown. In such conditions, you can count on a mitigation of punishment for such offenses, but not for the main one.

The influence of appearance on a court decision

The court's decision is always legal, reasonable and motivated. You can't argue with that. When making a decision, the court relies on the indictment drawn up by an authorized law enforcement officer (inquirer, investigator) and verified by the prosecutor. After reviewing the indictment, the judge may disagree with some aspects and return the criminal case for additional investigation or to correct errors in the indictment. If the court sets a date for consideration of the case on the merits, the accused is obliged to appear in the courtroom along with a lawyer to testify and hear the verdict. Copies of the verdict are issued to all persons participating in the case. The verdict will contain information about the act committed, the progress of the investigation, and also characterize the personality of the accused. Confession and its influence on the determination of punishment are obvious.

The court has the right to request references from the place of work, study, or place of residence. After receiving complete information about the accused, the court indicates the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of the case. Thus, aggravating offenses include relapse (re-committing a crime), when the unlawful act was committed while intoxicated (alcohol, drugs), and so on. Mitigating circumstances include: confession, good references from places of work, study, residence, active contribution to the detection and investigation of a crime, the presence of young children.

In addition, it can be noted that often mitigating and aggravating circumstances differ in the indictment and the court verdict.

In addition to confessing, they are very attentive to the state of health of the accused. Thus, at the stage of choosing a preventive measure, the court must make sure that the accused does not have diseases that would prevent him from being kept in prison.

Why is this right given?

As stated above, confession helps not only the state prosecution to prove guilt, but also the accused to reduce the sentence. For example, if a person is involved in a corrupt deal, but turns himself in and compensates for the harm caused in full, the preventive measure will be relaxed and the court will pass a sentence taking into account these circumstances. If there is no information about aggravating circumstances in the criminal case, the penalty will exceed 70% of the maximum. This is what giving a confession to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation gives.

Role of the lawyer

Criminal proceedings are a very complex process, therefore the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation implies the mandatory participation of a lawyer as a defense attorney. Thus, a citizen can defend his rights and interests. A lawyer is provided free of charge and advises the person during the preliminary investigation, as well as in court. If a person decides to write a confession, the lawyer must talk with the person and discuss all the issues. In many cases, surrender is not voluntary, which completely contradicts its meaning.

In the case of appointing a paid lawyer, the procedure is similar, however, as practice shows, a lawyer on a contractual basis provides better services and does not lead to writing a confession.

The lawyer is paid by the client himself. In addition, confession will not require complex actions by the defense lawyer, only coordination in court and giving precise explanations. Therefore, the cost of such a lawyer will not be high. Criminal proceedings always involve defense, since it is difficult for an ordinary citizen or a stateless person (foreigner) to defend their rights. In addition, upon appearance, the defense attorney requests a court hearing in a special manner for the speedy resolution of the criminal case and sentencing.

The legal adviser is given the right to file motions and challenges. Investigative authorities do not have the right to interrogate a lawyer or conduct searches in his home and work premises. A lawyer does not have the right to refuse to provide services free of charge, since the regional chamber of lawyers sets quotas for each defender to provide free legal assistance and pays for it in accordance with the budgetary funds of the organization.

Is it possible to refuse testimony if a citizen has confessed?

Even if you refuse your testimony, it will form the basis of the indictment and, later, the sentence. In theory, you can explain the reasons that forced you to take on non-existent guilt, but the case will be checked. True, in the event of a citizen turning himself in and later refusing to testify, the court will take into account the initial desire to cooperate.

Did you sign the paper under pressure? It will be difficult for a lawyer to eliminate the negative consequences, so immediately ask for a lawyer. At the same time, back in 2022, the European Court of Human Rights drew the attention of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to the fact that documents drawn up without the presence of a defense lawyer cannot be considered valid. After all, Art. 6 of the relevant Convention says that a person has the right not to incriminate himself. The absence of a lawyer implies that there may have been pressure from the police, so such confessions are considered unreliable in theory.

What does this mean? In addition to the confession of the person , other evidence must appear in the case. For example, the Samara court considered a case of robbery committed by N. and V. by prior conspiracy. The defendants signed a confession protocol, but later announced that they had testified under pressure. The court took into account that the incriminating evidence was confirmed by witnesses and the results of examinations carried out at the crime scene. The claim of self-incrimination was rejected because the testimony was given in the presence of lawyers, was consistent, logical and did not contradict the body of evidence. Nevertheless, the court took note that minors N. and V. confessed, and commuted the sentence: the term was reduced by six months.

You can find out more about how to refuse a violator’s confession from the video:

Appearance and sincere confession

There are two concepts that must be distinguished. A confession and a sincere confession are two different concepts.

A confession is a statement by a person whose procedural status in a criminal case has already been confirmed by documents. That is, the suspect or accused admits to committing a crime.

A confession must be made before a decision on criminal justice is issued or before a report of a crime is registered, while the person does not have any procedural status. Only after an appearance check has been carried out can a person be recognized as a suspect or accused. Confession (Article 61 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is an action of a person enshrined in law.

If, when a citizen turned himself in, pressure was exerted on him

If a citizen’s confession statement was signed under duress, contact your lawyer. In such cases, the law provides the following:

The lawyer files a motion with the court to exclude the paper from evidence. It must be motivated, so the text describes threats from the investigator. If physical impact was allowed, it is advisable to go to the hospital to relieve the beatings. Also, the petition, if necessary, indicates the absence or presence of other evidence of the defendant’s guilt.
The actions of the investigator are subject to appeal in court or in the prosecutor's office. You can also make a complaint to his superior.

Keep in mind that it is difficult to cancel a person’s signed confession, so contact a lawyer immediately. The sooner you take action, the higher the chances of a favorable outcome.