ALTERNATIVE TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION IN FOREIGN LAW

Abstract

In this article, alternative methods of criminal prosecution are considered using the example of foreign countries. The Institute for the Exemption from Prosecution of the person who committed the crime is provided for in foreign legislation in criminal and criminal procedural law. There are many legal institutions serving as alternatives to criminal prosecution. Most of them are called upon to reconcile the conflicting parties - the victim and the perpetrator. Conflict resolution entails the termination of prosecution, which is possible both at the pre-trial stage and after the start of the trial. As a rule, the use of such alternatives is allowed in cases of crimes with a low degree of public danger, and in the event that the consequences of such acts can be eliminated or material damage is compensated. Law enforcers in foreign countries most often refer to the following measures, which are alternatives to criminal prosecution: mediation, payment of a fine, transaction and refusal of criminal prosecution in view of its inexpediency. It seems that there are several options for classifying foreign countries depending on the institutions that are characteristic for them, allowing legitimate avoidance of criminal prosecution. The existence of a variety of alternatives to criminal prosecution, as well as conciliation procedures in the legislation of some countries of Western Europe and the United States are aimed at maintaining a reasonable balance between the punitive potential of criminal law and incentive standards, which is expressed in the ban on the refusal to prosecute certain categories of crimes, including on those where there is a public interest. The application of alternatives to criminal prosecution makes it possible to exclude the consequences of criminal acts outside procedural ways, to find the best means of combating crime, and to facilitate the resocialization of the perpetrators of the crime.