Принудительные работы в системе уголовных наказаний: неиспользованные возможности

Abstract

Addressing the problems of developing the criminal punishment system is now natural and predictable. One of the main problems in this field is creation of high-quality alternatives to imprisonment. Having drawn attention to compulsory labor in this regard, the authors set the aim of justifying the development of compulsory labor taking into account the urgent economic needs of the country. The article shows that, despite intensive legislative activities, the system of criminal penalties in the current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is very conservative. For many years, the most prescribed type of punishment has been imprisonment. Meanwhile, the current situation by 2023 has actualized attention to such a specific segment of the workforce as convicts. Sharing the opinion about the possibility of using the labor of convicts to solve economic problems, the authors believe that the solution to this problem can be found in modifying compulsory labor as a type of criminal punishment. To substantiate the hypothesis, the method of content analysis of legal literature on the issue of the system of criminal penalties for the period of 2013–2022 was used; legislative activities in this area and available statistical data on the application of criminal penalties were examined. The location of correctional centers and sites functioning as correctional centers was also analyzed. All this made it possible to infer that the potential of compulsory labor is being insufficiently and inefficiently used. The main proposal of the authors is to supplement compulsory labor with the principle of extraterritoriality, namely, the possibility of its assignment without reference to the convicted person’s place of residence. The new concept will require changes to the existing legal regulation of this type of punishment. Thus, the list of crimes for which compulsory labor may be assigned is also subject to adjustment. Compulsory labor should be applied for careless crimes, regardless of their category, as well as for intentional crimes of minor and medium gravity, or for intentional serious crimes committed for the first time. It is also necessary to review the restrictions established by Part 7 of Article 53.1 of the RF Criminal Code. Possible compulsory labor at the place of residence may be assigned to minors aged 16 to 18, as well as to persons of retirement age who have retained their ability to work and a desire to work. A clear and consistent positioning of compulsory labor in a new form as an “intermediate” punishment between imprisonment and its alternatives will emphasize the independent status of compulsory labor and increase the trust of courts in this type of punishment.