Home arrest as a measure of restraint. Restrictions on house arrest

Recently, such a measure of criminal and administrative punishment, like house arrest, is gaining increasing popularity in the legal systems of the countries of the world. Recently, Russia has also begun to actively use this development. But the most widespread home restriction of movement as a punishment has acquired in the US - a country that is confidently leading in terms of the number of prisoners in prisons. In the United States, house arrest can easily replace imprisonment for any criminal charge. In countries of Western Europe and Russia, the punishment of "home" is used exclusively in certain types of offenses.

What is house arrest?

In fact, a house arrest is called a penalty, which can replace a standard prison sentence. The purpose of domestic punishment is to limit the freedom of movement of the offender and prohibit the partial satisfaction of his needs and needs. As an added bonus, house arrest can also mean restricting communication with this or that person or group of people through telephone conversations, Internet correspondence and other communications. Thus, home restriction of freedom implies full or partial isolation of the offender from the society, which allows him to influence him morally, and as a result he will repent and will no longer violate the law.

Home arrest as a measure of restraint is established exclusively by judicial instances. At the same time, house arrest can also replace a written undertaking not to leave the place, but on more simplified grounds.

Restrictions that are found for the offender during home arrest

In legal systems around the world, the restrictions to which the offender is subjected during home arrest differ, depending on the gravity of the crime and the court decision. In addition, some countries have special restrictions on freedom of movement, which also provide for a certain framework for people in eating, sleeping, meeting sexual needs and in many other ways. In general, such measures are used in countries of South-West Asia. Home arrest as a measure of punishment is actively used by all legal structures of the world. Currently, Russian legislation clearly attributes all the restrictions that are imposed on the offender when he is placed under house arrest. Among them:

- a ban on leaving an apartment or other dwelling space at a clearly defined time (often from 20.00 to 6.00);

- Prohibition of movement beyond the boundaries of a settlement, administrative district, region (territory, republic);

- house prisoners are prohibited from attending entertaining and other social events with a large number of people;

- It is prohibited to change the place of residence and stay without authorization, without prior notification to the investigating authorities;

- in some cases, the offender has no right to visit public places (but not all) or objects located in the village;

- It is strictly forbidden to change the place of work and place of study without the written permission of the criminal inspection.

It is worth paying special attention to the fact that only the court can determine such a penalty as house arrest. The decision should clearly explain the reasons for such a decision and all the details and features of serving a sentence.

Additional measures for house arrest

In addition to the basic restrictions related to the lack of freedom of movement and movement, the criminal investigation also introduces additional control measures for offenders under house arrest.

1. The offender must visit the inspection every month (1 to 5 times, depending on the court order) and be noted there. If at least once the convict does not deign to appear, the court can supplement the restrictions and toughen the serving of the sentence, provided that the offender does not provide strong evidence of the validity of the registration pass (certificate from the hospital).

2. Several times a month (in some cases a week) the convict is visited by a supervisory inspector who can also request a description from a job or study place, interview neighbors for offenses and so on. If the conduct of the convict is satisfactory, then the court can mitigate the conditions of house arrest.

3. For exemplary conduct, a convicted person may be encouraged by early removal of the penalty, permission to visit relatives in another city on weekends and holidays, or to receive leave outside the home. The term of house arrest can also be reduced.

4. But for a violation of the established regime, a convicted person may be subject to additional sanctions from the inspection and the court, up to the extension of the term of serving the sentence.

What is considered a violation of the conditions of house arrest?

Our legislation establishes that in certain circumstances a convicted person may be additionally punished if he does the following:

1. Will not appear on the registration or registration with the penal executive commission without a good reason.

2. Will not comply with the court's decision on the limitations of a different nature.

3. Will not come to the criminal commission after written notification to give evidence.

4. Repeatedly commit a crime for which he is already punished. In this case, the court's ruling on home arrest will lose its force, and the convict will serve his imprisonment in prison.

5. Violate public order.

6. Will not comply with the court order on compulsory executive work or will not observe them properly.

Under what conditions will the prisoner be recognized as a malicious violator of the conditions of house arrest?

In some cases provided for by criminal and procedural law, a convicted person can be considered a malicious violator of the mandatory conditions for serving domestic sentences.

1. If the offender arbitrarily changes his place of residence or place of permanent residence and does not notify the criminal commission about this within 1 month.

2. The intruder did not appear in the commission at the place of residence in accordance with the court order several times in a row without valid reasons.

3. Repeated violation of the punishment condition during the first year, even after the court has applied an official warning about the convicted person about not fulfilling his obligations to the law.

4. The intruder refuses to use the technical means of supervision without notification and permission from the executive committee and the courts.

Economic activity: what needs to be done to get a sentence in the form of house arrest?

While committing some unlawful actions in the field of economic activity, the court may punish the infringer by restricting freedom. But at the same time, this measure of restraint is not applied to violators of the tax legislation. In this case, the perpetrator will pay a substantial fine and go to public works, but if the violation is multiple, then he will not be able to avoid the restriction of movement.

At present, in the sphere of economy, freedom can be restricted in the following cases:

- if the perpetrator conducts illegal business or commercial activities (Article 171 of the Criminal Code);

- a person tries to legalize money and other material benefits that he received illegally due to violation of current legislation and criminal way, including blackmail, threats, etc. (Article 174 of the Criminal Code);

- purchase or sale of property that was obtained by criminal methods (art. 175 CC);

- coercion of third parties to conclude a transaction or refuse to perform it on the original terms (Article 179 of the Criminal Code);

- falsification of securities for the purpose of their further sale to third parties and smuggling activities (Article 186, 188 CC);

- illegal sale and purchase of precious metals, stones, jewelry and antiques (art.191 UK). This item is considered to be one of the most serious, and in this case the court decision on home arrest will instantly lose its validity;

- deception of state executive bodies about bankruptcy of the enterprise, concealment of real incomes, information about property, including its location, cost and quantity, etc. (Art.195 of the Criminal Code).

Historical aspects of the development of conditions for restraint of freedom in Russia

Despite the fact that as a measure of punishment, the home restriction of freedom is used not so long ago, this punishment was provided for by the Russian legal system for many centuries.

Thus, in the Russian Empire, a house arrest was provided in the assembly of laws "On Corrections and Penalties". It was short-term and did not exceed half a year, it was applied exclusively to noblemen, officer ranks and state officials of different stripes. The decision on the adoption was taken by the body that considered the violation (disciplinary commission or criminal committee), he also determined the condition of such a legal phenomenon as house arrest. Punishment, by the way, was not very strict.

After the October Revolution of 1917, this measure of punishment was excluded from the legal system of Russia. However, already in 1923 the house arrest returned again. And in the Soviet era, house arrest was very popular. By the way, it should be noted that not all the republics of the USSR had a rule on compulsory restraint of freedom, and in some cases it was not applied at all. As history shows, most often this measure of restraint was used for residents of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic and the Caucasus. Central Asia practically did not use house arrest.

Home arrest was a popular measure of punishment for Soviet citizens who violated the law until the 1960s. Then this legal norm was excluded from the criminal procedural legislation. At the same time, the court could apply home arrest only in those cases when no one was injured, mostly gangsters and slanderers sat in the home confinement in the USSR.

The modern development of procedural law in Russia and the introduction of home arrest

Since 1960, the Russian society has forgotten about home arrest, and this lasted until 2010. Then, the Law "On Amendments to the Criminal and Procedural Legislation" No. 377, which was actively supported by the Ministry of Justice and the President of the Russian Federation, came into force. And on January 10 of the same year the Russian court for the first time in its independent history decided to recognize the punishment of the offender as limiting his freedom and house arrest. In our country, control over domestic prisoners is carried out with the help of special tracking devices, made in the form of bracelets.

By the way, the Ministry of Justice suggests that active introduction of this type of punishment will allow to unload prison and colony by almost 30%. Statistics show that every year about 150 thousand violators can be deprived of the possibility of free movement. This will significantly relieve the places for serving sentences and, consequently, will save budget resources well.

Features of house arrest in Russia

In Western Europe and the United States, virtually every offender can be subject to house arrest, regardless of the severity of the crime. In Russia, such a measure is only permissible for violations to an average degree of severity (provided that there are no serious consequences). In our country, the restriction of the freedom of a citizen who commits a violation can not be more than 2 years. And despite constant criticism from European countries, in Russia home arrest as a preventive measure is considered the most liberal in the world. We have not introduced absolute restrictions, when a convict can not even leave his apartment, as in the United States and France, or total restrictions in food and the satisfaction of primary and physiological needs. But at the same time, we are severely punished by violators of the conditions of serving their sentences. In the United States, for example, a convicted person may violate his stay under house arrest many times, and at the same time he will not be subjected to severe sanctions, in Russia the convicted person will be obliged to report on his actions (for example, participation in an unsanctioned rally), and in the absence of respectful The reasons for his house arrest (which in fact is virtual) can become quite real with prison robes, balancing and "sky in a box." By the way, the world practice of house arrest showed that more than 80% of the prisoners no longer violate the legal foundations of their states.

Against which categories of citizens in Russia do they apply home restraint of freedom?

Lawyers and human rights activists in Russia believe that the most effective punishment for house arrest will be for minors. In fact, lawyers note that since 2010 almost every third minor offender in Russia is serving a sentence in the form of house arrest. In addition to minors, the penalty in the form of restraint of liberty applies to politicians and public figures who, in their words or actions, encroach on the fundamentals of constitutional law and the structure of Russia.

Also, home arrest as a measure of restraint is widely used in accusations of libel, financial embezzlement, fraudulent activity, robbery and theft (provided that the crime was not committed on a particularly large scale). In fact, any punishment that does not exceed a two-year period can be replaced by house arrest.

The advantages of home arrest before serving sentence in special institutions

In Russia, and throughout the rest of the world, home arrest has a number of significant advantages before serving a sentence in a prison or colony. In our country, the number of correctional facilities is relatively small, so almost all prisons and colonies are overcrowded. This leads to the fact that 8 people are sitting in a 4-seater cell. Consequently, hygiene is disgusting, and prisoners often get sick. At the same time, the state allocates a certain amount of money for the provision of the offender, his food and clothing. Currently, the state spends about 300 dollars a month on the maintenance and food of the offender. The transfer of some of the criminals who commit non-trivial crimes to the home restriction of freedom, allows the budget to save up to 4 billion rubles. In addition, each defendant can pay a bail, and home arrest for him will end, but on condition that his wine is small.

And for criminals, the advantages are obvious. Instead of sitting in a cell with a crowd of "sworn brothers" and strictly obey all the prison rules and duties, they will comfortably serve their sentence at home.

Foreign Experience of Restricting Freedom: Israel

In Israel, home arrest as a preventive measure is applied when solving family problems. In fact, all family brawlers will serve their sentence at home. However, the decision to apply this legal norm is made not by policemen, but by social workers, who in some cases are equalized in law with law enforcers. In parallel with the serving of punishment, the offender must meet regularly with psychologists in order to suppress his aggression. By the way, at home restriction of freedom the offender is essentially isolated from a society. He must attend his work or educational institution, after which he must immediately return to his home. The truth at the same time provides for shopping trips 2 times a week, a visit to the doctor if necessary and a trip to relatives, in case of their serious illness. And the term of house arrest for Israelis should not exceed 3 months.

Spain: house arrest on weekends and holidays

Spaniards are hot and emotional people. Therefore, they suffer mainly because of their incontinence. In the legislation of this country the concept of house arrest is completely absent, but here there is a so-called temporary forced placement outside the prison. This penalty is provided for those violators who committed a non-trivial crime, which provides for imprisonment for up to 12 days. In this case, the violator may require the court to be allowed to serve a sentence on weekends and on holidays. By the way, almost 95% of cases of such punishment belong to football fans. Home arrest as a penalty is used to suppress protest movements.

Historical personalities: famous domestic prisoners

In Russia, the most famous people placed under house arrest are:

- Andrei Sakharov, who was put under house arrest for 7 years for trampling on communism;

- Nikita Khrushchev, who spent his last years under house arrest;

- the royal family of the Romanovs, who were in full force under house arrest in 1917-1918.

Among the famous foreigners can be identified:

- the Scottish monarch Mary Stuart, who spent almost 19 years in the home prison;

- Galileo Galileo, who was at home for about 10 years for "blasphemy against the church";

- Serbian secular lioness Svetlana Razhnatovich, who served a sentence for 1 year for financial fraud;

- director Roman Polanski, placed under house arrest on charges of intimate relations with a teenage girl. Then he paid the bail, and the house arrest for him was over;

- Chinese political figure Ziyang, former Secretary General of the PRC, he spent 15 years in the home confinement.