The last stage of the proceedings is considered, according to general rules, the decision of the sentence. This document formulates the conclusions of the court regarding the guilt or innocence of the defendant, sentencing or release from him. The verdict is passed by the first or appeal court.
Distinctive features of the document
The Constitution stipulates that no one can be considered guilty until it is proved in the manner prescribed by federal law and confirmed by a court order that has entered into force. This constitutional norm allows defining a sentence as a basic act of justice. In this regard, the courts are entrusted with the duty of strict observance of the requirements for the sentence.
The decision is made on behalf of the Russian Federation.
The meaning of the sentence
A court ruling issued as part of a criminal proceeding performs several tasks. It has great legal, social, educational value.
Even if the sentence does not establish punishment for the subject, this act establishes the state censure (conviction) of the offender. If the citizen’s guilt has been proven and punished, then, in this way, the state and society assess the gravity of the deed, the level and nature of the responsibility of this subject. That is why in criminal proceedings, a sentence is considered the only procedural document of an authoritative and administrative nature, approved on behalf of the Russian Federation.
Key principles
Sentencing - a procedure carried out strictly in accordance with the law. The courts should be guided by the principles of:
1. Legality. This means that the court makes a decision in compliance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, based on the correct application of criminal and other norms, including civil, family, labor and other legislation.
2. Feasibility. This principle assumes that the conclusions contained in the sentence are consistent with the circumstances considered during the proceedings. The court's opinion should be based on verified, investigated and assessed admissible evidence, the reliability and objectivity of which should not be in doubt.
3. Justice. This principle relates mainly to the characterization of decisions on the type and amount of punishment. From the content of Art. 60 of the Criminal Code, it follows that the court in determining the sanction must take into account the level and nature of the danger of the offense, the individual characteristics of the perpetrator, the facts aggravating and mitigating responsibility, and, of course, the impact of punishment on the living conditions of the convicted person's relatives and his correction. In accordance with Art. 398.18 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a sentence in which a sanction is fixed that does not correspond to the gravity of the act, the degree of danger of the perpetrator, or punishment, although not beyond the relevant norms of the Criminal Code, but in terms of size and type of guilt, is unfair because of excessive softness, and excessive rigor.
Secret meeting of judges
The sentence is decided in the deliberation room. Only judges included in the composition of the court considering this case are entitled to be present in it. Security of the room is entrusted to the bailiff. He is obliged to prevent and suppress the unauthorized entry of strangers into the room.
All judges must keep the meeting secret. In case of violation of the confidentiality of information, the sentence is subject to cancellation (Article 398.17, paragraph 8, part 2).
At the end of the working day or during it, judges may interrupt their work and leave the deliberation room. Of course, they are forbidden to divulge the opinions that were voiced during the discussion, or otherwise disclose confidential information.
In the deliberation room, judges must answer a number of questions, the list of which is enshrined in Art. 299 Code of Criminal Procedure. Let's consider them in more detail.
Matters to be resolved by a court during sentencing
Article 299 enshrines a fairly extensive list. In the deliberation room, the judges need to find out:
- Was it proven that the assault in which the subject was charged was involved.
- Is it proved that the defendant committed this act.
- Whether the act is recognized as a crime, which article of the Criminal Code, its part, paragraph provides for it.
- Is the defendant's guilt proven?
- Is a citizen subject to punishment for his deed.
- Are there facts toughening / mitigating the liability.
- Are there any grounds for transferring a crime from an established category to a less serious one, according to clause 6 of article 15 of the Criminal Code?
- What sanction should be imposed on the subject.
- Are there grounds for replacing imprisonment with forced labor in accordance with Art. 53.1 of the Criminal Code.
- Does the subject need drug treatment or social / medical rehabilitation in the manner prescribed by article 72.1 of the Criminal Code.
- Does the court have a reason to order a sentence without imposing sanction or with exemption from it.
- What type of institution and regime should be determined by a defendant sentenced to imprisonment.
- Whether a civil action is subject to satisfaction, to what extent, in whose favor.
- Is it proved that the objects to be confiscated were obtained as a result of an unlawful method or were recognized as criminal proceeds, were intended for use or were used as a tool for committing an encroachment or financing of terrorism, an illegal formation, an organized group.
- What should be done with property seized in order to secure a civil action or confiscation.
- What is the fate of material evidence.
- To what extent and to whom are the procedural costs charged.
- Should the court, in the cases enshrined in article 48 of the Criminal Code, deprive the defendant of a military, special, honorary title, state award, or class rank.
- Can coercive measures be applied to a person in cases stipulated by articles 91 and 90 of the Criminal Code.
- Can medical measures be applied in cases established by Art. 99 of the Criminal Code.
- Whether it is necessary to cancel or change the measure of restraint chosen by the defendant.
If the subject is accused of several acts, the court must resolve the issues referred to in paragraphs 1-7 of Part 1 of Art. 299 Code of Criminal Procedure, separately for each of them. If there are several defendants, it is necessary to determine the degree of participation and the role of each of them. Accordingly, the issues enshrined in paragraphs 1-7 of Part 1 of Art. 299 Code of Criminal Procedure in relation to each person.
Nuances
Considering Art. 299 of the Code of Criminal Procedure with the comments of lawyers, one cannot but pay attention to the fact that experts especially emphasize the importance of a comprehensive study of evidence. The court should study all the materials presented, give them a legal assessment. This, in particular, is not only about evidence confirming conclusions on issues resolved by a court of the Russian Federation under article 299, but also refuting them. The sentence, according to the norms of the procedural legislation, should indicate the reasons why some facts were accepted and others were rejected.
Recognition of Insanity
According to part 1 of article 299 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, the court must determine whether the defendant needs to apply medical measures to him. This question arises if, at the stage of the investigation or already during the proceedings, the need arose to determine the sanity of a person.
If the court recognizes that when the crime was committed, the citizen was in a state of insanity, or after the act he developed a mental disorder, as a result of which he lost the ability to recognize the danger and the nature of his own actions / inaction, to control his behavior, the court answers this question in the affirmative. In accordance with Art. 51 and article 299 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a decision is made on the use of compulsory medical measures.
Procedural moments
Regardless of whether the case was collegially or single-handedly examined, the issues set forth in Art. 299 Code of Criminal Procedure. At the same time, the legislation imposes a number of requirements on authorized persons.
The issues referred to in Article 299, resolved by the court, are discussed by all those present. No one may abstain from voting, except in some cases.
So, the judge who voted for the acquittal of a citizen and remained in the minority may abstain from discussing issues relating to the application of the criminal law.
If opinions on the qualification of the act or the punishment differ, the vote cast for acquittal shall be added to the vote cast for applying the norm establishing a less serious act and for imposing a less severe punishment.
Special opinion
By no means always judges unanimously make decisions on issues enshrined in article 299. Some may have a dissenting opinion. It must be stated in writing. When fixing a dissenting opinion, the judge cannot indicate information about the judgments that took place during the discussion and the decision, the position of the other judges present in the court, or otherwise violate the secrecy of the meeting.
Types of Sentences
Depending on the answers to the questions provided for in Article 299 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the decision may be guilty or acquittal. The latter is decided if:
- The court did not establish the crime event.
- The participation of the defendant is proved.
- In the act of the person there are no signs of a crime.
The acquittal, regardless of the grounds for its adoption, fully rehabilitates the citizen. Based on it, the rehabilitation procedure is provided for in Chapter 18 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.
In Art. 299 contains issues related to the imposition of sanctions. If the defendant is sentenced in a sentence to be served, then he shall be found guilty. In such a decision, the subject may be charged with sanction, but without serving. In addition, the conviction may not contain information about sentencing.
When solving quite complex issues, fixed in Art. 299 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, it must be borne in mind that a sentence with an appropriate sentence, but with release from duty to serve it, is decided if, at the time of pronouncement:
- An amnesty act was passed according to which the convict is no longer required to serve his sentence.
- The period of a citizen's detention in this case absorbs the term of the sanction imputed to him. In this case, the procedure for offsetting punishments enshrined in article 72 of the Criminal Code.
In accordance with Art. 299 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, when an indictment is imposed with the imposition of sanction, the court must establish its exact appearance, specific size and the beginning of the period of serving.
Conviction
The issues referred to in Art. 299 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, should be allowed only after examination of all materials submitted to the court. The verdict cannot be based on false evidence.
In the analysis of Art. 299 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation with comments from higher courts, it can be noted that the courts especially focus on the need to clarify and eliminate all contradictions. If the defendant pleaded guilty, but this fact is not confirmed by the complex of evidence collected and investigated at the hearing, he cannot serve as the basis for the approval of the indictment. Courts must be guided by the presumption of innocence, which provides that all doubts about a person’s involvement in an act are interpreted in his favor, if it is impossible to eliminate them in the manner established by the criminal procedure law. The relevant provisions follow from article 14 of the Constitution and 49 norms of the CPC.
According to the meaning of the law, the defendant should be interpreted in favor of not only fatal doubts about his involvement in the act in general, but also relating to specific episodes of the charged charge, the established form of guilt, the nature of his participation and his role in the crime, mitigating and tightening responsibility.
General sentencing rules
After receiving answers to the questions recorded in article 299, the court begins to draw up a final decision. The sentence must be decided in the same language in which the proceedings were conducted. All judges who participated in the proceedings must sign the decision. If corrections need to be made to the decision, they must be specified and certified by the signatures of the judges in the meeting room before the text is announced.
The sentence distinguishes introductory, descriptive-motivational and resolutive blocks. The content of the former is the same for all decisions. As for the descriptive-motivational and resolutive blocks, they are composed, depending on the type of sentence.
If a citizen is charged with several criminal articles at once, the operative part clearly indicates which of them he was convicted of and which of which he was acquitted of. If a person is exempted from serving a sentence, the verdict must contain information about this.
The final decision is proclaimed in the courtroom by the presiding judge.
The defendant, who is in custody, must be immediately released upon delivery of:
- Justification of the decision.
- Indictment without imposition of sanction.
- An indictment with the establishment of punishment, but with the release of the obligation to serve it.
- An indictment with the imposition of a sanction not related to being in prison, or with the imposition of a suspended sentence.
Copies of the sentence shall be handed over to the prosecutor, acquitted (or convicted) and his lawyer within five days. Also, copies of the decision can be obtained by civil defendant and plaintiff, as well as their representatives. To do this, they need to submit an application to the court.