Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Grounds for refusing to initiate a criminal case or to stop a criminal case

In Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure establishes the grounds on which criminal cases can not be instituted or the proceedings commenced. Normally, the circle of subjects to which the provided rules apply, as well as authorized persons, whose competence includes the adoption of appropriate decisions, is determined. Let's consider the main provisions of this article.

General rules

Part 1 of Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation determines that criminal cases can not be instituted, and commenced proceedings must be terminated when:

1. Absence of a fact (event) of a crime (unlawful action was not committed).
2. Uncertainty in the behavior of the subject signs of a criminal act.
3. The expiry of the statute of limitations established for the prosecution.
4. Death of the suspect / accused. The exception is cases where the commencement of proceedings is carried out for the purpose of rehabilitation of the person.
5. No statement from the victim. This rule applies in the event that the commencement of proceedings can not be carried out for other reasons. Exceptions from it are provided for in Part 4 of Art. 20 of the Code.
6. Absence of the court's conclusion indicating the presence of signs of a criminal offense in the conduct of the subject specified in paragraphs 2 and 2.1 of the first part of article 448, the consent of the State Duma, the Federation Council, the Constitutional Court, the qualification collegium to initiate proceedings or the involvement of one of the persons listed 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 must be terminated on the basis established in the second paragraph of the article in question, if the punishability and the criminal nature of the act of the subject were eliminated by the newly adopted law before the enactment becomes effective. This procedural action entails the end of the criminal prosecution. The proceedings are subject to termination upon completion of the investigation with respect to all accused / suspects, except in the cases specified in the first paragraph of Part 1 of Article 27.

Comments

If there are grounds defined in Part 1 of Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the investigator / investigator must refuse to initiate proceedings in the case. If it has already been started and the facts have been revealed in the course of the investigation, the prosecution should be terminated. This rule applies not only to cases provided for in Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, but also those specified in Articles 443, 439, 28, 431 and 25. The cessation of proceedings and prosecutions, as well as refusal to initiate proceedings against subjects vested with diplomatic immunity, is carried out according to the rules of Article 3 of the Code.

Absence of fact (event)

This reason is given in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Art. 24 CCP. Absence of the fact (event) of an unlawful act takes place in the event that the commission of a crime reported to the law enforcement agency has not been identified. It should be taken into account that in a number of cases the fact itself can exist, but not as a consequence of human actions, but as a manifestation of the elemental forces of nature (avalanches, lightning, earthquakes, etc.). In this case, the investigator / investigator shall also terminate the investigation under cl. 1, part 1, Art. 24 CCP. This basis is used, if there was no act, which was the reason of the statement about the commission of the crime. Art. 24, part 1, paragraph 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure extends, in particular, to cases of providing knowingly false data.

Nuance

Cited in paragraph 1 of Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is applied according to general rules only to the decision to terminate the proceedings, but not to refuse to initiate it. This is due to the following. To conclude that the event is unproved (unidentified), it is necessary to carry out all the investigative actions provided by law. And this, in turn, is possible only if the case is already initiated.

Lack of composition

This basis is established by item 2 of Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The proceedings are dismissed or rejected if:

1. In the actual deed, one or all of the signs of the crime provided for in the articles of the Special and General Part of the Criminal Code were not found.
2. Behavior was recognized as lawful due to the existence of circumstances that exclude its punishability. Such a situation is possible when carrying out the necessary defense, causing damage to health during the detention of the subject who committed the crime, actions in extreme necessity and other cases established by Chapter 8 of the Criminal Code.
3. The act does not qualify as a crime because of insignificance. Its signs are established in Article 14.
4. After the commission of an illegal behavioral act, a law was passed that eliminates its punishability and criminality.

For example, the basis under consideration is applied if it is revealed that the actions of a relative acting as a reason for filing a petition for the victim to steal or steal his car changed the vehicle without the owner's knowledge to another place. In this case, it can not be said that there was no event in which signs of a crime were present. Accordingly, use the grounds contained in paragraph 1 of Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it is impossible. In this case, the termination of the case is carried out under the item to the second commented norm.

Statute of limitations

Rules for its calculation are established by Articles 78 and 94. The course of the old-age period can be suspended only if the accused / suspect evades the court and the investigation. He resumes from the moment of detention of the subject or appearance with confession. The committing of a new crime can not be interrupted during the period, since the periods are calculated for each act separately. Termination of production on the grounds established by the third paragraph of Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in relation to the subjects who are accused of crimes for which life imprisonment is established, belongs to the exclusive competence of the court. It is not allowed to end the persecution if the suspect or accused object to it.

Death of a person

In the direct sense of the fourth paragraph of Art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure this event is the basis for completing the proceedings, and not for refusing to initiate proceedings. This is due to the fact that according to articles 46-47 of the Code, the accused / suspect appears in the process after the investigation begins. The exception is the case of detention of a subject under the rules of articles 91-92, if he died before the commencement of proceedings. It seems that the meaning of the reservation, according to which the number of persons to whom the decision on the basis of the fourth paragraph is decided, only by the accused / suspects is limited, is that the investigator / investigator and the prosecutor have time to determine 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. In this case, it may end on the grounds established by the first paragraph of Part 1 of the article being commented, as well as Cl. 27, including in cases when the person's guilt, despite all the measures that have been taken, remained unproven.

An Important Moment

According to the decision of the Constitutional Court of 14.07.2011, if there is an objection from the relatives of the accused / suspect against the termination of proceedings due to the death of the subject, the representatives of the preliminary investigation or the court must continue the investigation or investigation. In this case, these persons are granted the rights that are provided for the deceased, as defined in Art. 42 (h. 8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure concerning dead victims. If the relatives of the accused / suspect are not established, the absence of objections on their part is presumed. On the death of a subject in custody, the procurator, body or person whose proceedings have been transferred must be immediately informed.

Solving additional questions

At the termination of proceedings with respect to the deceased suspect / accused, ambiguities arise in determining the fate of property that could have been stolen by him in the commission of an intentional crime. Interested parties in such cases are granted the right to file a civil action for the demand for material values from the illegal possession of other persons and for compensation of unjust enrichment. If the fact of the death of the sole defendant during the judicial proceedings after the proclamation is established, but before the entry into force or after obtaining the legal force of the sentence, he, as well as decisions of the cassation and appellate instances (if they considered the case) must be canceled in supervisory procedure.

No statement from the victim

The legislation provides for cases when the initiation of a case is possible only upon the application of the injured subject. The absence of a statement from the victim serves as a reason for refusing to start or stop the investigation, not only on the basis of private-public and private indictments, but also in cases defined in Article 23 of the Code regulating the procedure for prosecuting a commercial or other company. Part of the second art. 20 provides another basis for completing the proceedings. They are reconciliation of the victim (his representative) with the accused in the case of private prosecution.

Diplomatic immunity

Its presence also serves as a basis for refusing to begin the production or termination of an investigation that has already begun. This rule of art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure applies to entities listed in article 448. The procedure is implemented either in the form of absence of the court's conclusion on the revealed signs of an unlawful act or the consent of the State Duma, the Constitutional Court, the Federation Council, the Qualification Judicial Board to initiate proceedings or the involvement of such persons as defendants.

Conclusion

Investigators / investigators authorized to receive and consider applications / reports on unlawful acts under the rules of investigation may refuse to initiate cases against subjects listed in article 448, including in view of the absence of signs of an offense. In exceptional cases, this right is granted to the court. Before making the appropriate decision, authorized persons are obliged to verify the incoming 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 initiate the decision shall be documented. The decree should indicate the basis on which it was rendered. This decision is made in the absence of objections on the part of the subjects involved as accused / suspects, as well as petitions from relatives of the deceased citizen held in the case. Participants in production, as well as interested parties, should be explained their duties and rights, as well as the consequences of any actions taken by them.