the state Duma has adopted on second and final reading of a bill which would prohibit “transactions with justice” to those accused of serious crimes. According to statistics of the Supreme court, in recent years, in a simplified manner without a detailed review in a public process to receive sentences of more than 50% of defendants in such cases.
the Russian equivalent of the American “plea bargain” is called a “special order of the trial”, and he appeared in the code of Criminal procedure in 2002. Originally this order, which promises to have agreed to it to the accused not more than two thirds of the maximum possible for the prosecution in exchange for cooperation with the investigation, was possible only in the case if it was about the crimes of medium gravity, that is, those where the terms of imprisonment do not exceed five years. But in 2003, this option became available and accused of serious crimes, with a maximum term of imprisonment to 10 years.
Now in the Meshchansky court of Moscow considered extending for three years the high-profile case, “the Seventh Studio”, and the prosecution for a “serious” article 159 of the criminal code against the Director Kirill Serebrennikov and those whom the consequence considers as his accomplices, was based mainly on the testimony of the accountant of the project Nina Massieu. She pleaded guilty and agreed to a special order of the proceedings, but the court for some reason refused to consider it in simplified procedure, and now her case is pending in the same court, big process, but separately. Generally, this practice is very popular: one of the accused, “the weakest link”, gives the necessary corollary evidence in exchange for a quick trial and lenient punishment and then on the basis of these indications is based charges against the other defendants.
By the spring of 2019, when the Supreme court in the Duma introduced a bill referred to a special judicial procedure in Russia has become, in fact, essential. In 2018, according to the Judicial Department, thus was considered about 70% of all criminal cases.
In 2019, against a wide application of this very convenient for the investigation of practice was made by the Plenum of the Supreme court and Prosecutor General’s office, the number of cases handled in a special order criminal cases decreased by 23% and amounted to 55% of the total number of cases. But it’s still very much. In the explanatory Memorandum of the armed forces recalls that initially all introduced for the sake of saving time and effort of participants of process it is not representing a great social danger, that is correct. But serious cases “are particularly complex and concern a significant number of victims, causing great public interest and covered by the media,” and special procedure does not allow for fair justice��s special order.
And so, to rectify the situation, it was decided to limit the list of cases that can be considered in a simplified manner, the Affairs of small and medium gravity (with a possible sentence up to 5 years), as well as cases about the crimes committed by negligence. The Deputy head of the Duma Committee on state construction and legislation Daniil Bessarabov (“ER”) in conversation with “MK” confirmed: “Yes, indeed, it is about to return to the order that existed prior to July 2003.”
appreciated substantially reduce the number of cases that can be treated without a complete process, the first Deputy head of the Committee, former first Deputy Prosecutor of Moscow Yuri sinelshchikov (CPRF). “When serious criminal cases, where we are talking about imprisonment, are treated without examination of evidence when the procedure takes 20-30 minutes – it’s not justice,” he said “MK”. Because, the MP explained, “it happens that in the course of a full consideration of the court it appears that the circumstances of the offence were others that were accomplices, and the investigator made it easy to get the case went to trial, and agreed to the simplified taxation”.
the Lawyer, Igor Pastukhov in conversation with “MK” said the against the bill had “dual”. “On the one hand, as a theorist, I know that this rule was invented specifically for actors for serious compositions (because it allows in exchange for mitigation of punishment to obtain evidence and investigate complex criminal cases – “MK”). But as a practitioner I understand that now its use is so perverted that I support constraint”, he said. “This may help those who agree with the incorrect charges just because not willing to fight for themselves. Often people are inclined to special order, in spite of real evidence. Although the exception of the special order would not allow to hope for mitigation of punishment, but in practice, now on special order are assigned punishment, a little different from the punishment of the partners in a General manner”,- explained the lawyer. Of course, the timing of consideration of cases in courts and the workload of judges will increase, recognises g-n Shepherds, but “to use a special procedure has turned justice into a mockery of him.”
the Third reading is expected on July 7th and by the end of July the new rules can become law.
