Topical Problems of Early Release of Convicts under Article 80.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
Babayan S.L. Topical problems of early release of convicts under Article 80.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Penitentiary Science, 2025, vol. 19, no. 1 (69), pp. 48–56. doi 10.46741/2686-9764.2025.69.1.006
The article discusses criminal law issues of the release of convicts from serving their sentences in connection with military service during the period of mobilization, martial law or in wartime in accordance with Article 80.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Purpose: based on the analysis of judicial practice and theoretical research, to identify problems of legislative consolidation of the legal basis and type of release of convicts from serving their sentences in connection with military service during the period of mobilization, martial law or during wartime (Article 80.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), to propose ways to solve them. Methods: formal legal and analytical, theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic, method of interpretation of legal norms. Results: an analysis of Article 80.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Release from serving a sentence in connection with military service during mobilization, martial law or wartime” shows that there is no clarity on the issue of repeated release under Article 80.2 of the Criminal Code if, during military service, a person released from punishment conditionally under Part 1 of this article, committed a new crime. The command of a military unit may reapply to the court with a request for conditional release of a convicted person from punishment under Article 80.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Given the imperative nature of this rule, such situations are quite acceptable. Conclusion: in order to solve the problems that arise in connection with the release from punishment due to military service during the period of mobilization, martial law or during wartime (Article 80.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), it seems advisable to fix an additional condition in the given article that the court should decide on granting repeated release from serving a sentence or exemption from criminal liability (Article 78.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) based on the circumstances of the newly committed crime and taking into account the identity of a perpetrator, that is, to determine the discretionary nature of the application of the specified norm. Besides, Article 80.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation may be formulated as follows: “Release from serving a sentence in connection with the conscientious performance of military duties during mobilization, martial law or wartime”.
Keywords: Convicts; release from punishment; participants in the special military operation; conditional release; military personnel
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