In Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, the grounds are established on which criminal cases cannot be instituted or the proceedings begun are terminated. The norm defines the circle of subjects to which the stipulated rules apply, as well as authorized persons whose competence includes the adoption of relevant decisions. Let us further consider the main provisions of this article.
General rules
Part 1, Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation determines that criminal cases cannot be instituted, and proceedings initiated must be terminated when:
- The absence of a fact (event) of a crime (an unlawful act was committed).
- Failure to detect in the subject's behavior signs of a criminal act.
- The expiration of the statute of limitations for prosecution.
- Death of suspect / accused. The exception is cases when the initiation of proceedings is carried out with the aim of rehabilitating a person.
- The absence of a statement from the victim. This rule shall apply if the initiation of proceedings cannot be carried out on other grounds. Exceptions to it are provided for in Part 4 of Art. 20 of the Code.
- The absence of a court opinion indicating the presence of signs of a criminal offense in the behavior of the subject, as defined by paragraphs 2 and 2.1 of the first part of article 448, the consent of the State Duma, Federation Council, Constitutional Court, the qualification collegium to initiate proceedings or to involve one of the persons from the list provided for in paragraph 1 and 3-5 of the above norm.
Additionally
According to Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, the case should be terminated on the basis established in paragraph two of the article under review if the punishability and criminality of the subject’s actions were eliminated by the newly adopted law before the sentence entered into force. This procedural action entails the end of the criminal prosecution. The proceedings shall be terminated upon completion of the investigation in respect of all accused / suspects, except in cases established by the first paragraph of paragraph 1 of article 27.
Comments
If there are grounds specified in Part 1 of Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the inquirer / investigator is obliged to refuse to initiate proceedings in the case. If it has already been started and the normal facts have been identified during the investigation, the prosecution should be stopped. This rule applies not only to cases provided for in Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, but also referred to in Articles 443, 439, 28, 431 and 25. The termination of proceedings and prosecution, as well as the refusal to institute proceedings against subjects endowed with diplomatic immunity, shall be carried out in accordance with the rules of Article 3 of the Code.
Lack of fact (event)
This basis is given in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Art. 24 Code of Criminal Procedure. The absence of a fact (event) of an unlawful act takes place when the commission of a crime, which was reported to the law enforcement agency, was not revealed. It must be taken into account that in a number of cases the fact itself may exist, but not as a consequence of human actions, but as a manifestation of the elemental forces of nature (avalanches, lightnings, earthquakes, etc.). In this case, the inquirer / investigator also terminates the investigation under paragraph 1 of paragraph 1 of Art. 24 Code of Criminal Procedure. This basis is applied if there was no act that served as the reason for the statement about the commission of a crime. Art. 24, para. 1, para. 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure applies, in particular, to cases of knowingly false data.
Nuance
Cited in paragraph 1 of Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the basis applies according to general rules only to a decision to terminate proceedings, but not to refuse to institute proceedings. This is due to the following. In order to make a conclusion about the unprovenness (non-establishment) of an event, it is necessary to carry out all the investigative actions prescribed by law. And this, in turn, is possible only if the case has already been opened.
Lack of composition
This basis is established by paragraph 2 of Art. 24 Code of Criminal Procedure. The proceedings are terminated or refused to be instituted if:
- In reality, one or all of the signs of a crime provided for in the Articles of the Special and General Parts of the Criminal Code were not found.
- The behavior was recognized as lawful in connection with the presence of circumstances that exclude its punishment. Such a situation is possible with the implementation of the necessary defense, damage to health during the detention of the subject who committed the crime, acts of emergency and other cases established by Chapter 8 of the Criminal Code.
- The act does not qualify as a crime due to insignificance. Its features are established in article 14.
- After the commission of an unlawful behavioral act, a law was passed that eliminated its punishability and crime.
For example, the basis in question is applied if it is revealed that the cause of the victim’s application for the theft or theft of his car was the actions of his relative, who moved the vehicle without another owner’s knowledge. In this case, it cannot be said that there was no event in which there were signs of a crime. Accordingly, take advantage of the grounds contained in paragraph 1 of Art. 24 Code of Criminal Procedure, it is impossible. In this case, the termination of the case is carried out under paragraph 2 of the commented norm.
Limitation period
The rules for calculating it are established by Articles 78 and 94. The statute of limitations may only be suspended if the accused / suspect evades the trial and investigation. It resumes from the moment of detention of the subject or surrender. It cannot interrupt the duration of the commission of a new crime, since the periods are calculated for each act separately. Termination of production on the basis established by paragraph three of Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in respect of entities accused of crimes for which a life sentence has been established, falls within the exclusive competence of the court. The termination of the prosecution is not allowed if the suspect or the accused object to this.
Face death
In the direct sense of the fourth paragraph of Art. 24 of the CPC, this event is the basis for the completion of proceedings, and not for refusal to initiate proceedings. This is due to the fact that under Articles 46-47 of the Code, the accused / suspect appears in the process after the start of the investigation. An exception is the case of detention of a subject according to the rules of Articles 91-92, if he died before the initiation of proceedings. It seems that the meaning of the reservation, according to which the number of persons with respect to whom a decision is made on the basis of the fourth paragraph, is only accused / suspected, is that the inquiry officer / investigator and the prosecutor should have time to establish the need for rehabilitation of the deceased. If there is evidence of the existence of relevant circumstances, production should be continued according to general rules. Moreover, it may end on the grounds established by paragraph 1 of part 1 of the commented article, as well as paragraph 1 of Art. 27, including in cases where the guilt of a person, despite all the measures that have been taken, has remained unproven.
Important point
According to the decision of the Constitutional Court of July 14, 2011, if there is an objection from the relatives of the accused / suspect against the termination of the proceedings due to the death of the subject, the representatives of the preliminary investigation or the court must continue the proceedings or investigation. At the same time, these persons are granted the rights that are provided for the deceased, as defined by Art. 42 (part 8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure in relation to deceased victims. If the relatives of the accused / suspect are not identified, their absence of objection is presumed. The death of the subject in custody must be immediately informed by the prosecutor, the authority or the person in whose proceedings the case was transferred.
Additional issues resolved
Upon termination of proceedings in respect of the deceased suspect / accused, uncertainties arise in determining the fate of property that could have been stolen by him when committing a deliberate crime. Interested parties in such cases are given the right to file a civil lawsuit to recover material assets from the unlawful possession of other persons and to compensate for unjust enrichment. If the fact of the death of the only accused is revealed during the trial after the declaration, but before the verdict comes into force or after the legal force has been enforced, he, as well as the decisions of the cassation and appeal instances (if they have considered the case) should be canceled in a supervisory order.
Lack of application from the victim
The legislation provides for cases when the initiation of proceedings is possible only at the request of the affected subject. The absence of a statement from the victim acts as the reason for the refusal to initiate or terminate the investigation not only on the basis of materials of private-public and private indictment, but also in the cases specified in Article 23 of the Code, which regulates the procedure for prosecuting according to a message from a commercial or other company. Part of the second art. 20 provides one more reason for the completion of the proceedings. It is the reconciliation of the victim (his representative) with the accused in the case of a private prosecution.
Diplomatic immunity
Its presence also acts as a basis for refusing to start production or terminating an investigation that has already begun. This is the rule of Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure applies to entities listed in article 448. A procedure is being implemented either in the form of a lack of a court opinion on the revealed signs of an unlawful act or the consent of the State Duma, the Constitutional Court, the Federation Council, the qualification judicial collegium to initiate proceedings or to attract these persons as accused.
Conclusion
Refusals to initiate proceedings against entities listed in Article 448, including due to the lack of evidence of a crime, may be made by inquiry officers / investigators authorized to accept and consider applications / reports of unlawful acts under the rules of jurisdiction. In exceptional cases, this right is granted to the court. Before making the appropriate decision, authorized persons are required to verify the received data in accordance with the rules established by the CPC. If necessary, investigative actions of an urgent nature are carried out. The decision to terminate the proceedings or to refuse to institute proceedings is documented. The decision shall indicate the basis on which it is issued. This decision is taken if there are no objections from the entities involved as accused / suspects, as well as petitions from the relatives of the deceased citizen who was involved in the case. Participants in the production, as well as interested parties, should be explained their responsibilities and rights, as well as the consequences of certain actions taken by them.