Judicial fine as a measure of criminal law nature

Section 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is devoted to punishment (sometimes in the legal literature and in the guiding explanations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation the concept of “criminal punishment” is found). According to Part 1 of Article 43 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, punishment is defined as a measure of state coercion, imposed by a court verdict. The types of punishments are listed in Article 44 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (the mildest type of punishment is a fine).

In addition to punishment as a measure of state coercion, imposed only by a court verdict, the criminal code contains section 6, which specifies other measures of a criminal legal nature (not related to criminal penalties). These are measures such as:

compulsory measures of a medical nature (Chapter 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation);
confiscation of property (Chapter 15.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation);
court fine (Chapter 15.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

A new basis for exemption from criminal liability with the imposition of a judicial fine as a measure of a criminal legal nature was first introduced by Federal Law No. 323-FZ of July 3, 2016 “On amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation on issues improving the grounds and procedure for exemption from criminal liability.” Since then, this basis has proven both its relevance in judicial practice (both on the initiative of any of the parties to the criminal process, and on the initiative of the court), and expediency (time spent on judicial procedures is saved; compensation for damage from crimes occurs with greater completeness and much faster; the person involved does not suffer adverse consequences from receiving a criminal record by a court verdict).

According to Part 1 of Art. 46 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a fine as a type of punishment is a monetary penalty imposed within the limits provided for by the Criminal Code. In turn, Article 104.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation established that a judicial fine is a monetary penalty imposed by the court when releasing a person from criminal liability in cases provided for in Article 76.2 of the Criminal Code. Well, Article 76.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation defines the legal grounds for imposing a judicial fine: a person who has committed a crime of minor or medium gravity for the first time may be released by the court from criminal liability with the imposition of a judicial fine if he has compensated for the damage or otherwise made amends for the harm caused by the crime.

For the correct resolution of issues of applying a judicial fine, the explanations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, contained in the following resolutions, are extremely important:

dated June 27, 2013 No. 19 “On the application by courts of legislation regulating the grounds and procedure for exemption from criminal liability”;
dated December 22, 2015 No. 58 “On the imposition of criminal punishment by the courts of the Russian Federation”;
dated February 1, 2011 No. 1 “On the judicial practice of applying legislation regulating the specifics of criminal liability and punishment of minors”;
dated December 20, 2011 No. 21 “On the practice of courts’ application of legislation on the execution of sentences.”

In addition, many issues of the application of a judicial fine were resolved in the 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, 2022.

In order to obtain a complete picture of a judicial fine as a measure of a criminal legal nature, the author of the publication, without pretending to be exhaustive, tried to provide features that distinguish it from a fine as a type of punishment (what they have in common is that they are defined by law as a monetary penalty) :

in contrast to a fine as a type of punishment, a judicial fine is imposed not according to sentences, but according to court decisions with the simultaneous termination of the criminal case and criminal prosecution;
the application of a judicial fine does not entail a criminal record as a legal consequence;
the application of a judicial fine is possible only in relation to persons who have committed crimes of a certain category for the first time, while a fine as a type of punishment can also be applied in relation to persons who have previously been convicted (who should be considered to have committed a crime for the first time is indicated in paragraph 2 of the above Resolution Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of June 27, 2013 No. 19);
a judicial fine is applied only when accused of crimes of minor or medium gravity, while a fine as a form of punishment can also be imposed when accused of serious and especially serious crimes;
For judicial fines, other amounts are provided. At the same time, the minimum amount of a court fine imposed in accordance with Art. 76.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, in Art. 104.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has not been established;
rules art. 46 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (in case of malicious evasion of payment of a fine imposed as the main punishment) do not apply to the assignment and execution of a judicial fine;
a judicial fine is applied only to persons who do not object to its imposition (whereas when imposing a fine as a form of punishment following a court verdict, the courts do not ascertain the opinion of the person being prosecuted).

In order to develop common approaches to issues of law enforcement, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has approved some legal positions that are mandatory for application by lower courts. These positions, of course, did not answer all the questions that arose, so judicial practice should provide the remaining approaches. I believe that sooner or later it will be summarized in a single resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court, since the institution of a judicial fine requires it.

These positions include the following:

the law does not contain a prohibition on the possibility of release from criminal liability with the imposition of a court fine, subject to compliance with the provisions of Art. 76.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, conditions and in those cases when the disposition of the corresponding article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not provide for causing damage or other harm as a mandatory sign of the objective side of the crime (crime with a formal element);
methods of compensation for damage and reparations must be legal and not infringe the rights of third parties. At the same time, possible ways of compensating for damage and making amends for the harm caused by a crime are not limited by law;
the return of stolen property to the victim may be recognized as compensation for damage or reparation, provided that the person voluntarily returned the property stolen by him;
the property status of a person and the lack of a source of income do not prevent him from being released from criminal liability and the application of a criminal law measure in the form of a court fine;
in the descriptive and motivational part of the judge’s decision to satisfy the petition to terminate the criminal case and assign a criminal law measure to the person in the form of a court fine, in particular, circumstances indicating the existence of the provisions provided for in Art. 25.1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation grounds for termination of a criminal case and (or) criminal prosecution; an indication of the consent of the suspect or accused to terminate the criminal case and (or) criminal prosecution on this basis;
The criminal law does not provide as a mandatory condition for the release of a person from criminal liability on the grounds provided for in Art. 76.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, consent of the victim;
in accordance with Art. 104.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the amount of a judicial fine cannot exceed half the maximum amount of the fine provided for by the corresponding article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. If the fine is not provided for by the relevant article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the amount of the court fine cannot be more than two hundred and fifty thousand rubles. Thus, the law determines only the maximum amount of a court fine. The minimum amount of a judicial fine imposed in accordance with Art. 76.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, in Art. 104.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has not been established;
Currently, the criminal law does not contain provisions regulating the procedure for imposing a court fine, as well as determining its final amount in relation to persons who have committed several crimes of minor and (or) medium gravity (forming their totality). Therefore, in paragraph 16.1 of the Plenum Resolution No. 19 of June 27, 2013, it is noted that the commission of several crimes of minor and (or) moderate gravity by a person for the first time does not prevent his release from criminal liability with the imposition of a court fine. In this regard, the courts reasonably proceed from the fact that a court fine is not a punishment imposed for a specific crime, but another measure of a criminal legal nature applied to a person, and the provisions of Art. 69 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for the imposition of punishment for a set of crimes;
the consent of the suspect is a mandatory condition for the termination of a criminal case in connection with the imposition of a criminal law measure in the form of a court fine;
the participation of the prosecutor in the consideration of the petition to terminate the criminal case with the imposition of a criminal law measure in the form of a court fine is mandatory (his opinion must be taken into account by the court, but it is not decisive for the court);
When releasing a minor from criminal liability on the basis of Article 76.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the court must take into account the features provided for by the norms of Chapter 14 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, concerning, in particular, the calculation of the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution, the deadline for expunging a criminal record, the amount of a fine that can be imposed on a minor as punishment , etc.

According to the observations of the author of the article, courts treat the opinion of victims with special reverence when deciding on the application of a judicial fine. At the same time, many courts mistakenly believe that the question of whether the damage to the victim is repaid or not is decided only by the victim himself. This is certainly true, but only in cases of release from criminal liability due to reconciliation with the victim. The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized in its legal positions that the decision as to whether damages are compensated or not is up to the court (in order to avoid all sorts of abuses of law by victims of crimes). Cases with a judicial fine, for example, were terminated even when the victim, guided by some of his own motives, returned the money received from the guilty person.

In my personal practice, more than once or twice I have encountered the principled position of judges who dismissed cases with a judicial fine, even though the victims and sometimes the prosecutor actively objected to this. After all, the main thing is the existence of legal grounds for the use of this institution in a specific case.

Annual judicial statistics show that the institution of a judicial fine has turned out to be extremely popular. It is especially actively used (of course, if there are grounds for it) by the defense, because very often those brought to criminal liability are ready to pay the victims and the state, just to avoid receiving such an extremely unpleasant legal consequence for themselves as a criminal record. And the courts willingly use this institution, freeing up judicial time for a thorough analysis of more complex and controversial criminal cases.

Mikhail Sleptsov, lawyer, managing partner of the law firm "Sleptsov and Partners", Candidate of Legal Sciences, Associate Professor, Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation

The procedure for imposing a fine in enforcement proceedings

For failure to pay a fine after the initiation of proceedings, the bailiff may hold the debtor to additional liability. This applies only to sanctions previously imposed under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The grounds and procedure for bringing additional liability can be found in Art. 20.25 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

Reasons and article

The bailiff may apply Article 20.25 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation if the debtor does not pay the fine voluntarily within 5 days after the initiation of proceedings. If the bailiff's demand is not fulfilled for good reasons (for example, due to being on a business trip or being in a hospital), then prosecution is not allowed. The bailiff must be notified of valid reasons and relevant evidence must be provided.

In order not to receive an additional penalty, we recommend that you submit a supporting document to the FSSP immediately after paying the fine. This may be a payment receipt, a written or electronic check, or other documents. Based on the document presented, it will be easier for the bailiff to find the payment.

If you don't pay, what are the consequences?

They are spelled out in Part 2 of Art. 104.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Thus, if payment is not received at the appointed time, the court fine is canceled and the citizen may be subject to real criminal prosecution. Accordingly, he has a criminal record.

Technically, everything happens as follows. If the sanctions are not paid, then 10 days after the deadline, the bailiff sends to the court a proposal to cancel the fine and resolve the issue of bringing the person to criminal liability. Such actions are prescribed in Part 6 of Art. 103.1 “Federal Law on Enforcement Proceedings”.

The issue related to the abolition of the fine is resolved in a court hearing with the participation of the bailiff, the debtor and his representative, the prosecutor. In particular, it becomes clear why the money was not deposited. Attention is drawn to this in paragraph 19 of Resolution No. 19. And if it turns out that the reasons for the delay were valid - hospital treatment, loss of earnings, sanctions will remain in force.

When the decision to impose a fine is cancelled, the court, in accordance with Art. 446.5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation sends the case materials to the investigator or prosecutor's office. Well, then the proceedings in the existing criminal case are conducted according to the general rules of procedural law.

Where to get details for debt repayment

When paying through official services and mobile applications, all details will be entered automatically. You can also find out the current details for debt repayment:

from the bailiff's resolution;
from the contents of a judicial act or writ of execution, if debts to the budget are being collected;
at a personal reception at the FSSP.

Using the details, the payment is identified and distributed on the FSSP deposit. If the data is entered incorrectly, it may take several days or weeks to verify the purpose of the unknown payment.

Application problems

Despite the fact that the opportunity to avoid liability by paying a certain amount of money, called a court fine, exists for a fairly long period, some uncertainties remain. Among them are the following:

The most unclear provisions in the law relate to the uncertainty in establishing the amounts and timing of payment. Only the maximum size is regulated; no minimum is specified at the legislative level. There is also no clarification regarding the deadline.
The next difficulty is the possibility of avoiding punishment for persons who have committed acts dangerous to society. Their correction without the use of punitive measures raises reasonable doubts. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation includes a significant number of acts, after the commission of which (subject to a number of requirements) it is possible to avoid real punishment. For example, crimes such as “Force to perform acts of a sexual nature” (Part 1 of Article 133), involvement or organization of prostitution (Article 240, Article 241), “Receiving sexual services of a minor” (Article 240.1) and many other.
Next, the question arises whether such termination is possible in cases in which one of the conditions cannot be met: absence of damage or inability to make amends. For example, this is illegal trafficking in weapons (Article 222 and others), drugs (Article 228), porn materials (Article 242), forgery of documents (Article 327), cruelty to animals (Article 245), etc.

How to find out the exact amount of debts to pay

If you intend to immediately pay off the entire amount of the debt, you can find out it from a judicial act or a bailiff’s order. We recommend using these documents, since the information on the FSSP website is for informational and reference purposes only. Also keep in mind that in addition to the main debt, additional obligations may arise:

for collection of court fees;
to collect legal fees;
according to the enforcement fee assessed by the bailiff;
for reimbursement of other performance expenses.

The fee and expenses collected by order of the bailiff will not be reflected in the writ of execution. Therefore, after the principal amount of the debt has been repaid, collection may continue.