The confession of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is the right of any citizen and is regulated by the federal law (Criminal Procedure) of the Russian Federation. It is made out in writing. An act is drawn up under the supervision of a defender.
Confession Turnout
A citizen who has committed a crime has the right to report an act orally or in writing. Such a statement must be initiated by the person himself, that is, a statement made voluntarily. A confession with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation 61 takes place only in the case of an initial report. If the investigation already has information and evidence about the crime and the person who committed it, as well as after the decision to institute criminal proceedings (hereinafter referred to as the “Wood”), the confession will not be taken into account.
The motivation for the confession is the following factors: the court takes into account the assistance and imposes a milder sentence, and also has the right to exempt from applying punishment to a person in accordance with federal law. In addition, turnout is taken into account when prescribing preventive measures (mild form). Appearances of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, one might say, and a way of protection.
If a person confessed to committing an unlawful guilty act after his arrest, the court only considers this as a mitigating factor.
Confession - a document written in person, which is executed by the citizen who committed the crime.
Sample confession statement under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The turnout is written in legible hand, indicating the place and time of the crime. A person must describe all the elements and conditions, as well as indicate accomplices and witnesses. The more information a perpetrator of an illegal act provides, the easier it is to investigate a crime.
Upon sentencing, the court will pay attention to every fact indicated in the appearance.
Preliminary investigation stage
A turnout can be filed with a law enforcement agency, both before the preliminary investigation stage and during the criminal investigation. So, when confessing, if the crime is not known, the fact is recorded in the book of registration / accounting of reports of crime (KSPP, KUSP). Within three days, in accordance with the legislation, a check is carried out according to the message, and a decision is made on the wood or on the refusal of the wood. In case of confession, the criminal case is factual, until the verification establishes evidence pointing to this person, the wood will be factual (upon the commission of an unlawful act).
After VUD, the investigator within one month, and the investigator within two, investigate the specified criminal case. This stage is called the preliminary investigation. After that, a decision is made to transfer the case to court, to extend it or to terminate the criminal case.
Confession: Theory and Practice
If the person didn’t turn up voluntarily, pressure was put on him and threats were applied, the turnout is not registered, however, the report of the officer can be drawn up and the information recorded. This statement will help the investigation, and will subsequently be taken into account in court.
Separate evidence
If the suspect or the accused refused to confess during the preliminary investigation, the information in the application does not lose its meaning. In accordance with judicial practice, in case of refusal to appear in court, they still use it as evidence, since the statement of a crime is a document similar to the protocol, and cannot be disposed of freely, and is also not taken into account by the court. Article 142 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (surrender) defines a document as evidence.
A turnout drawn up in a letter is read out in court, because the document is of a procedural nature and, in addition, the judge must make sure that the document is drawn up and that all circumstances of the case are adequately stated.
Turnout requirement
The document is drawn up in accordance with federal law (part 2 of article 141 of the Code of Criminal Procedure), and also necessarily includes a voluntary basis. In accordance with the analysis of this issue, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation expressed the opinion that the general rules for drafting documents, as well as the rules on the right to refuse to testify, should not be clarified by a defense lawyer for a document that is voluntary, thus the presence of a lawyer not necessary. Judicial practice has established that turnout is a mitigating factor when a decision is made by a higher authority. A sample of the confession according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation can be found on stands in law enforcement agencies.
How to write?
The application heading should contain the name of the body to which the appearance is sent, and the official authorized to consider this application. The following indicates who the document was drawn up from.
In the middle of the sheet indicates the type of document, that is, the word "Application".
Subsequently, the applicant lays out all the information about the crime committed, information about the time, place, participants and circumstances.
Mandatory is the indication of the date and signature at the bottom of the document. The applicant may keep a copy of the confession with him for further use in the form of evidence.
Turnout and sincere recognition
There are two concepts that should be distinguished. Confession and frank confession are two different concepts.
Recognition is a statement of a person whose procedural status in a criminal case has already been confirmed by documents. That is, the suspect or accused confesses to a crime.
A confession shall be made prior to the issuance of a decision on wood or before the registration of a report of a crime, while the person has no procedural status. Only after conducting an appearance check can a person be recognized as a suspect or accused. A confession (Article 61 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is an action of a person established by law.
Why give such a right?
As mentioned above, confession helps not only the prosecution to prove the guilt, but also to the accused to mitigate the term. For example, if a person is involved in a corruption transaction, but has given himself up, has fully compensated for the damage, the preventive measure will be mitigated, and the court will pronounce the sentence in the light of these circumstances. If there is no information on aggravating circumstances in the criminal case, the amount of punishment will exceed 70% of the maximum. Here is what the confession gives the Criminal Code.
Active remorse
Repentance is the moral attitude of a person to a crime committed. In accordance with Art. 75 of the Criminal Code, the basis for exemption from liability may be repentance, but only if the crime is committed for the first time.
A lawyer must be present at the delivery of truthful information to clients.
The role of a 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 in the role of counsel. Thus, a citizen can defend his rights and interests. A lawyer is provided free of charge, advises a person during a preliminary investigation, as well as in court. If the person decided to write a confession, the lawyer must speak with the person, discuss all issues. In many cases, the confession is not voluntary, which completely contradicts its meaning.
In the case of the appointment of a paid lawyer, the procedure is similar, however, as practice shows, the lawyer on a contractual basis provides better services, does not lead to a written confession.
The lawyer is paid by the client himself. In addition, the confession does not require complex actions of the defender, only coordination in court and giving accurate explanations. Therefore, the cost of such a lawyer will not be high. The criminal process always implies protection, since it is difficult to defend one’s rights to an ordinary citizen or stateless person (foreigner). In addition, at the appearance of the defense counsel petition for a hearing in a special manner for the speedy resolution of the criminal case and sentencing.
The legal adviser is granted the right to file motions and challenges. Investigative bodies 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 bar chamber quotes each advocate for the provision of free legal assistance, pays for it in accordance with the budgetary funds of the organization.
Effect of turnout on judgment
A court decision is always legal, reasonable and motivated. This can not be argued. In making the decision, the court relies on the indictment drawn up by an authorized law enforcement officer (interrogating officer, investigator) and verified by the prosecutor. After studying the indictment, the judge may disagree with some aspects and return the criminal case to an additional investigation or to correct errors in the conviction. In case of setting the date of the court’s consideration of the case on the merits, the accused must appear in the courtroom together with the lawyer to testify and hear the verdict. Copies of the verdict are issued to all persons involved in the case. The verdict will indicate information about the committed act, the progress of the investigation, and also characterize the identity of the accused. The confession and its influence on the determination of punishment are obvious.
The court has the right to demand characteristics from the place of work, study, place of residence. After receiving full information about the accused, the court indicates the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of the case. So, relapse (repeated commission of a crime), when an unlawful act is committed in a state of intoxication (alcoholic, narcotic) and so on, is aggravating. Mitigating circumstances include: confession, good performance from places of work, study, residence, active assistance in the disclosure and investigation of crime, the presence of young children.
In addition, it can be noted that often extenuating and aggravating circumstances diverge in the indictment and court verdict.
In addition to confession, they are very attentive to the state of health of the accused. So, at the stage of electing a preventive measure, the court must make sure that the accused has no diseases that impede detention in places of deprivation of liberty.
Appearance without a lawyer
A document drawn up without a lawyer will not be accepted by the court, since all evidence obtained without a lawyer must be reliable. Thus, the accused should be informed of his rights and obligations, as well as the possibility of taking advantage of free legal assistance, writing or refusing to write a confession.
Lawyer - a person who carries out legal actions in the interests of the client. If a person is interested in a positive outcome, he will be responsible for hiring a good specialist.
In addition, there is an act explaining the free implementation of work and services by a lawyer (Federal Law on Free Legal Aid in the Russian Federation). In case of confession (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the punishment by the court may be reduced, for a full understanding of the situation, you should contact your counsel.
At the regional level, there are similar by-laws that apply the rules of law in a narrow profile. Thus, layers of the population may vary for which the provision of free legal assistance is possible. However, in criminal proceedings there are slightly different rules for providing a free lawyer to protect the rights and interests of citizens. A sample statement of guilty plea (according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) can be found in this publication. If required, a lawyer will help to draw it up.
One of the very common codes of practice is the Code of Lawyers Ethics. This document was developed relatively recently, but its introduction helps to solve many issues.