Goals Of Punishment Research Articles

PROBLEM ASPECTS OF ACHIEVEMENT OF CRIMINAL PUNISHMENT GOALS

The authors of the article consider the key problematic aspects affecting the achievement of the goals of criminal punishment in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The main attention is paid to the issues of the effectiveness of punishment, the problems of the resocialization of convicts and the functioning of the penitentiary system. Nowadays, we are witnessing a constant increase in the crime rate, both in the world as a whole and in Kazakhstan in particular. The criminal community is becoming more organized and professional, their fields of activity are expanding, and more and more people are becoming part of the criminal environment. This trend is accompanied by the low efficiency of judicial institutions for the protection of citizens' rights and the destruction of the crime prevention system, which forces the population to conclude that it is necessary to strengthen repressive measures to counter crime. However, despite the importance of punishment in the prevention of criminal offenses, there are two main strategies in the criminal policy of Kazakhstan: tougher responsibility for serious crimes on the one hand and the use of more humane non-custodial penalties for less serious offenses on the other hand. The authors propose specific mechanisms for improving the goals of criminal punishment and designing a system of types of punishments. When determining punishment, the court should be guided by the norms of the Criminal Code, which define the system and types of punishments, as well as the principles and basic rules for its appointment. The article analyzes the current system of punishments, identifies its shortcomings, and suggests ways to eliminate them. As part of this analysis, it is proposed to amend and supplement a number of norms of the Criminal Code.

ТЕОРЕТИКО-ПРИКЛАДНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ, СВЯЗАННЫЕ С ДОСТИЖЕНИЕМ ЦЕЛИ УГОЛОВНОГО НАКАЗАНИЯ В ВИДЕ ИСПРАВЛЕНИЯ

The article is devoted to the consideration of problems related to the possibility of achieving such a goal of criminal punishment as correction. In the course of the analysis, the definition of the category “correction” is given. An attempt has been made to determine the criteria for achieving the correction of convicts. The question of possible ways to achieve this goal of criminal punishment and the factors hindering this process is being considered. Examples of the negative impact of these circumstances on the correction of convicts are given, which ultimately leads to the ineffectiveness of achieving the stated goal of criminal punishment. The justification is given that the correction of a convicted person is a moral and legal category that takes into account the socio-adaptive capabilities of a particular person.

The effects of a defendant's childhood physical abuse on lay support for sentencing: The moderating role of essentialism.

Research suggests that a defendant's history of experiencing childhood abuse, and its effects on their life and later decision-making, may impact public support for a defendant's sentencing, particularly mitigation. However, no existing research has examined how and why sentencing support may vary based on the time period when the abuse occurs during a defendant's childhood. This experiment, using a sample of the U.S. public (N=400), examines how the age at which a defendant's childhood physical abuse occurs affects lay support for the goals of their sentencing. We hypothesized that participants with higher levels of social and biological trait essentialism would moderate their increased support for more punitive sentencing goals-particularly when a defendant was abused earlier, rather than later, in childhood. Results suggest that social essentialism is associated with increased support for restoration and rehabilitation toward defendants with histories of childhood physical abuse, potentially indicating that the public views the effects of child abuse as more of a social, versus biological, process which may affect support for utilitarian punishment goals.

APPLICATION OF CONDITIONAL AND EARLY RELEASE FROM SERVING A PUNISHMENT IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN: COLLISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION AND CRIMINAL LAW

This study is devoted to the problems of inconsistency and contradictions that exist between the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, international legal acts of the UN in the field of treatment of convicted persons and national criminal legislation in terms of the tools for using the institution of parole from serving a sentence. It is rightly stated that this institution is one of the means of criminal law encouragement and stimulation of socially acceptable behavior of convicts, contributing to the achievement of the goals of punishment. In this regard, certain aspects of the normative design of parole in the current Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan and in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 1997 are touched upon. The author of the study focuses on the application of parole to persons serving a sentence of life imprisonment. In connection with this, the key subject of the study was to assess the validity of such a legal restriction as deprivation of the right to parole of convicts who had previously been sentenced to death by pardon and were replaced by life imprisonment. Based on this, the study examines the features of the content of the death penalty and highlights the prerequisites for excluding this punishment from the national legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The author rightly points out that such a humane manifestation of the criminal policy of the Kazakh state is contradicted by the preservation in the criminal legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the legal impossibility of parole for convicts who have become recipients of life imprisonment as a replacement for the death penalty. Analyzing this issue, the author comes to the conclusion that it is unconstitutional to deprive convicts of the right to parole for whom life imprisonment was the result of replacing the death penalty. Along with this, the inconsistency of this legal restriction with international human rights standards is shown and the need to overcome such a conflict of criminal law is substantiated.

Пробация и проблемы ее реализации в Российской Федерации

Introduction. On February 6, 2023, the Federal Law “On Probation in the Russian Federation” 10-FZ was adopted. The law is aimed at the effective inclusion of persons subject to criminal penalties into a law-abiding society, as well as at reducing the level of recidivism in the country. With the help of the probation instrument, involving a large number of subjects in the sphere of resocialization work with persons leading a criminal lifestyle and subject to criminal punishment, the legislator believes in achieving the goals of punishment: restoring social justice, correcting convicts and preventing the commission of crimes. Theoretical analysis. While not being a full source of penal law, the law on probation, at the same time, provides the prerequisites for expanding the subject of this branch of law and outlines further directions for the development of the science of the same name. The law provides for executive, penitentiary and post-penitentiary probation; all these types should be carried out on the basis of individual resocialization programs. However, a number of issues require resolution; these include the relationship between the goals of punishment and the goals of probation, as well as identification of the legal statuses of participants in probation relations. Empirical analysis. The legal, organizational, and social aspects of the functioning of the probation system in Russia are analyzed, including interaction with various participants, effectiveness of measures for resocialization and social adaptation of convicts. The use of the concepts of social adaptation, resocialization and social rehabilitation in the law causes difficulties in understanding and can create problems in its implementation. It is proposed to develop detailed regulations on the part of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Federal Penitentiary Service to better implement the powers of probation subjects. Results. The positive direction of the law is beyond doubt, but the legal nature of probation requires further reflection. Its legislative definition resembles criminological prevention, but at the same time it is not such. Therefore, in conclusion, proposals are formulated to improve the legal and organizational components of probation in Russia.

Проблемы целей наказания в отношении лица, совершившего преступление в несовершеннолетнем возрасте

The article examines the analysis of the effectiveness of achieving certain goals of punishment in relation to juvenile offenders. The purpose of the study is to identify and consider problems related to the compliance of the goals of punishment defined by the criminal law, the specifics of personal development of this category of citizens, as well as to propose measures to resolve them. The author comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to revise the goals of punishment for juvenile offenders, justifying this by preventing the commission of crimes in the future and the re-socialization of young people in the process of execution of punishment, and proposes the introduction of provisions on this in the chapter of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation regulating the criminal liability of minors.

Об актуализации обеспечения достижения целей наказания средствами исправления в современной уголовно-исполнительной политике и практике

The article deals with the issues of ensuring the goals of criminal punishment through the implementation of certain means of correction of convicts, which are regulated by the penal enforcement legislation of the Russian Federation. The solution of certain tasks assigned to the criminal law is possible through the introduction of amendments to the legal regulation and practice of the use of basic means of correction of convicts. The author actualizes such a means of correcting convicts in the execution of a custodial sentence as vocational training. The analysis of the impact of the considered remedy on the subsequent re-socialization of persons who have served their sentences and the integration of these subjects into civil society is also carried out. The subject of the study is the norms of penal enforcement law regulating the maintenance of means of correction of convicts, as well as the practice of their application. The purpose of the study is to scientifically substantiate and update the priority means of correction of convicts. The current state of the use of means of correction of convicts can be characterized as an institution requiring certain changes. The necessity of strengthening the work of the administrations of institutions and bodies executing punishments within the framework of vocational training of convicts is argued.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ ОСУЩЕСТВЛЕНИЯ КОНТРОЛЯ ЗА ИСПОЛНЕНИЕМ НАКАЗАНИЙ В АЗЕРБАЙДЖАНСКОЙ РЕСПУБЛИКЕ

The article highlights the theoretical and normative features of the implementation of prosecutorial supervision and departmental control over the execution of punishments in the Republic of Azerbaijan, and also provides a translation of article 21 of the Code on the Execution of Punishments of the Republic of Azerbaijan «Participation of the Prosecutor’s Office in achieving the goals of punishment».

Is There a Relationship Between Religious Belief and Regret? Research Among Long-term Prisoners

Aim: To examine what characterises the religiosity of those offenders sentenced to long prison terms who actively participate in religious practice in prison and how these characteristics affect the crime committed and the judgment of punishment.Methodology: With the National Command of the Penitentiary Organisation’s permission, authors interviewed 16 inmates in three penal institutions. All of them have been serving more than 15 years in prison and, according to the prison chaplain, are actively involved in religious practices. The interview questions were created based on preconceived narratives, and then these narratives were analysed. Based on the analyses, authors determined what characterises the religiosity of the interview subjects and their perception of the crime they committed and their punishment. Finally, authors compared the correlations between different characteristics of religiosity with perceptions of the act and the judgment.Findings: Those who live their faith more deeply take responsibility in a typical way, most of them do not even dispute the extent of the punishment. In the case of those who admit their responsibility, the motive of regret also appears, which has a solid religious charge. This is indicated by the fact that all those who admit their actions and show remorse have the motive of a desire for forgiveness. A positive and closer connection between the quality of religious faith and responsibility is indicated by the fact that those prisoners who are characterised by scepticism towards religiosity admit to committing the act but do not show remorse. It also leads to the conclusion that those more characterised by formal faith either denied their act or did not talk about it.Value: Atonement appearing in forgiveness can positively influence the achievement of punishment goals. According to literature data, forgiveness and reconciliation significantly reduce the likelihood of recidivism. This is true for almost all directions of forgiveness. For the forgiveness of the victim as well as the forgiveness of the offender towards others. Therefore, it can be assumed that the motives of repentance and forgiveness in religiosity work against becoming a recidivist.

Current Issues of the Legal Regulation of Administrative Liability of Legal Entities

Introduction: the paper deals with the study of the conceptual rules of bringing organizations to administrative liability in the administrative tort legislation. There is a defect of their developing in the administrative legislation norms, which ultimately leads to the negative results of law enforcement. Attention is drawn to the various approaches of theorists and law enforcement officers on the issues under study. The alternative models of bringing organizations to administrative liability are proposed. Methods: the work uses the general scientific and specific scientific methods of cognition. Among them are the methods of interpreting legal norms, problem-theoretical, comparative law, systemic, structural, formal legal, functional, and intersectoral methods. Results: the contradiction between the conceptual rules governing the administrative liability of organizations and the general provisions of the administrative legislation, as well as their inconsistency with the general principles and goals of administrative punishment is revealed. The specific proposals are formulated to modernize the institution of administrative liability of organizations, which can be perceived by the legislator to improve it. Conclusions: the scientists have been using the term of public legal entity since the pre-revolutionary times. The nature, goals, and processes of creation, reorganization, and liquidation of private and public legal entities differ significantly. In this regard, it is necessary to introduce the concept of a public legal entity into the administrative legislation. Abandoning the behavioral concept of guilt of an organization in favor of a behavioral-psychological one will lead to the possibility of establishing the forms of guilt of a legal entity, as well as allow avoiding objective imputation when bringing them to justice.

Social conditionality and legal problems of penitentiary prevention

The execution of criminal penalties in the form of imprisonment traditionally belongs to the most problematic form of social activity. The main issue to be resolved is the effectiveness of isolating a criminal from society in order to change his legal consciousness. For this purpose, in conditions of closed social education, penitentiary prevention is applied to convicts, designed to realize the goals of punishment stated by the legislator. The authors of the article raise a logical question: how much does the modern system of execution of punishment in the form of imprisonment correspond to those social goals that are most in demand in society. Two independent problems are manifested here: the first is directly related to the social demand for the return of a law-abiding person after serving his sentence, and the second is related to the problem of legislative regulation of the entire process of execution of criminal punishment in the form of imprisonment. The main methodological issue, according to the authors of the article, is the change in the nature of the application of specialized penitentiary practices. To date, they continue to retain the law enforcement component, which significantly reduces its social conditionality, increasing the recidivism of punishment in the form of imprisonment. The authors propose, through penitentiary prevention, to change the nature of the activities of the domestic penal enforcement system from law enforcement to social. In part, this approach can be traced in the context of recent legislative innovations that have established the priority of social activity over law enforcement. The social conditionality of penitentiary prevention should be understood from the standpoint of the social significance of the process of execution of criminal punishment in the form of deprivation of liberty. This is necessary to understand the expediency of isolating a criminal from society.

Соразмерность наказания: ad deliberandum

In this article, the author addresses the classic issue of criminal law about the proportionality of punishment to a criminal act. Using comparative legal and historical legal methods, the author examines the evolution of approaches to resolving this issue, noting that the criterion of proportionality is evaluative and the problems of its determination depend on the deeper problem of the theory of criminal law — the criteria for criminalization and the choice of the optimal set of criminal legal measures. On the face in order to achieve the declared goals of punishment. The author concludes that three participants in the criminal legal relationship perceive the proportionality of punishment differently: the perpetrator, the victim and the state. Hence, it seems important when constructing criminal law norms, as well as when working with existing provisions of the criminal law, to try to achieve a balance of taking into account the interests of these subjects, as well as the beginning of justice (Part 1 of Article 6 “Principle of Justice” of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Humanization of the penitentiary system as the promotion of nonviolent practices

The humanization of society as a voluminous, complex process is revealed through the humanization of individual institutions. In the modern civilized world, one of the important indicators of the progressiveness of society is measured through the state of its penitentiary system. According to Nelson Mandela's famous thesis, society should be judged not on the basis of how it treats representatives of high society, but by what attitude it has towards those who are at the lowest level. The institution of prison, as a fundamental element of the penitentiary system, implements the functions of correction and punishment and is one of the controversial ones, since the phenomenon of punishment itself actualizes various ethical discourses. Within the framework of the institution of prison, such concepts as «justice», «freedom», «value», etc. acquire special sensitivity. Being a kind of indicator of the moral state of society, the institution of prison highlights the state of civil society, its economic and political potential. This article examines the issues of the emergence and development of the penitentiary system with a focus on the Kazakh penitentiary system. Attention is focused on the moral principles of punishment. The research focuses on the criteria of retribution and the ultimate goals of punishment. By systematizing and distinguishing different approaches to punishment, the potential of alternative practices to prison punishment is understood.

Новая концепция уголовной политики в сфере защиты национальной безопасности России

In this article, the author examines the criminal policy of the Russian Federation in the field of national security protection in the context of the special military operation. The latest changes to criminal legislation, as well as Federal Law No. 270-FZ dated June 24, 2023, On the Specifics of Criminal Liability of Persons Involved in the Special Military Operation, are analyzed. Over the past two years, due to the current socio-political situation in the world, the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation has been rapidly updated with a list of norms related to ensuring the security of the state and its sovereignty, as well as protecting the national interests of the country. The “military” amendments to the criminal law were caused by the need to adapt criminal legislation to the modern realities of de facto wartime. In this regard, it also became necessary to form a new concept of criminal policy in the specified conditions. The methodological basis of the research is the application of general scientific and specific scientific methods of cognition, including historical and formal legal ones. The author concludes that the contemporary concept of criminal policy in the field of protection of national interests should be based on an ideological component, and countering attacks on national security should be based on a uniform terminological basis. The concept of contemporary criminal policy in the field of national security protection in military conditions must be based on the placement of the correct accents of its functioning in the future. This means that superficially researched yet, despite this, adopted changes in criminal and criminal procedure legislation in the future may be a problem for other more global areas of public policy. In this regard, the author points out that the legislator must immediately respond to phenomena that form acutely negative sentiments in society, increase the crime rate and infringe on the fundamental norms of morality and the rule of law. Such a concept should take into account the positive results of many years of experience in criminal law impact on crime and optimize criminal justice, since it is justice that is a factor in the realization of a citizen’s right to protection from criminal encroachments. The author states that the public danger of persons convicted and pardoned in connection with the special military operation is not reduced, the prerequisites for this are not presented in the future, and the goals of punishment provided for by criminal law are not achieved. Recognition of problems and, as a result, their relief will allow the state to declare and consolidate the fundamental theses about the need to ensure the security not only of state sovereignty, but also the security of man and citizen as a result of decisions taken by the state. The strategic goal of the new concept of national security protection should consist of several main elements: first of all, it is the unconditional protection of statehood, economic relations and the optimal protection of society as a whole and each citizen individually from criminal encroachments. Only taking into account all the main components, the principles of criminal policy will correspond to the concept of the legal state, legality and the rule of law.

A penology for Europe

On 22 March 2016 Belgium suffered a severe terrorist attack on its national airport, in Zaventem, close to Brussels, and the Maelbeek metro station. Thirty-two people were killed that day. Another 340 victims, some of whom suffered particularly serious injuries, will carry the scars for the rest of their lives. Such terrorist attacks, in the heart of Europe, pose an enormous challenge, one that goes beyond the role of the police and the judiciary or questions about the design and security of open or semi-open spaces, such as markets, metro stations, concert halls, nightclubs or airports. In addition to prevention and criminal investigation, there is also the question of the appropriate response when the perpetrators or their accomplices are caught. What is an appropriate punishment in such a context, for such awful offences? How long do we need to punish? And for what purpose do we punish? In this article we offer some reflections on these questions. We argue that the question of how to respond to crime – crimes of all kinds – should not be narrowed down to how we can impose “deserved” pain or how we can reach the goals of punishment more effectively; no, we should rather broaden it to the question of how we can strengthen and affirm our values and ideals through our response. “In figuring the equations of punishment … we cannot hold the punisher constant”, as James Whitman (2003) wrote in “Harsh Justice”. Punishment is not just about the defendants in the dock: it concerns us all, it affects us all.

Окремі питання санкції кримінально-правової норми

The sanction of an article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine reveals the legal aspect of criminal punishment. It determines the type and amount of punishment for a criminal offense. Depending on the degree and nature of the public danger, the sanction of a criminal law provision sets out what restrictions a person is subjected to, which may relate to specific personal, property, and other human and civil rights and freedoms provided for by the Constitution of Ukraine. The protection of human rights and freedoms is a priority for the state. The fight against crime is carried out through the imposition of punishment necessary and sufficient to reform the convicted person and prevent the commission of new criminal offenses. In the sanction of the article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code, the type and limit of punishment are established to achieve the goals set out in Article 50. Accordingly, the sanction should correspond to the social danger of the act, provide opportunities to individualize the punishment, consider the principles and general principles of sentencing, etc. The content of the sanction determines the achievement of the goals of punishment, including punishment, correction of the convicted person, and prevention of new criminal offenses. The degree of the socially dangerous act committed, the ability to individualize the punishment, considering the principles and general principles of sentencing, and being consistent with sanctions for crimes of a similar type and nature play an essential role in the design of sanctions. An analysis of the controversial issues is necessary to further improve the sanction of criminal law provisions. The issue of a large amplitude between lower and higher limits of punishment, lack of consistency in the central and qualifying elements of a criminal offense, and many main punishments in the sanctions for one criminal offense are discovered. Keywords: sanction of criminal law provision, crime, individualization of punishment, content of sanction, combating crime.

Optymalny poziom przestępczości w świetle celów polityki kryminalnej

Many research are devoted to the goals of punishment’s issue. Some authors are in favor for the aggravation of a penalty, while others are in favor for the penalties of a more lenient type that are aimed at rehabilitating the offender and enabling him to return to society. Still, the superiority of punitive or liberal criminal policies has not been scientifically proven. In economic analysis of law the concept of the optimal level of crime becomes more popular nowadays. This concept depreciates the perception of the objectives of criminal law, which are combating and preventing crime. The aim of the article is to demonstrate that a given concept is based on the incoherent assumptions vitiating aims of criminal law and policy, thus cannot be implemented.

IMPOSING A SENTENCE IN CASE OF CUMULATIVE CRIMES

Following the principles laid in foundation of Criminal Code adopted in 1960 Georgian legal scholars have always been very cautious to issues of criminal punishment. Remembering bloody consequences of soviet repressions, they always tried to follow the principle of proportionality. So did the legislature. Criminal Code of Georgia adopted in 1999 was largely based on that principle. Yet, in 2004 Georgian Parliament declared policy of zero tolerance which led to number of legislative innovations. Rules on imposing a sentence in case of cumulative crimes were substantially affected. Despite high expectations in just eight years it became apparent that something went wrong. In 2012 newly elected Parliament faced a necessity to declare a significant amnesty for vast number of prisoners and rethink the policy overall. Present article attempts to analyze these legislative tendencies through the prism of theories of goals of punishment. Author argues that above mentioned issues were mostly consequence of superficial approach to the subject. The chase for statistics made government less mindful towards fundamental categories of criminal punishment. Namely, the goal of restoration of justice was almost entirely sacrificed for the sake of general prevention while special prevention was to a great extent misinterpreted as well. In 2013, thanks to further legislative innovations, general radicalism was largely overcome, but there is still much room for improvement.

Practical Problems Of The Criminal Law Institute Arising During Exemption From Punishment On Parole In The Republic Of Armenia

The article is devoted to the expediency of further serving of punishment in the context of realization of the goals of punishment, the problems of the criminal law institution arising during the exemption from punishment on parole, the need to review the mechanism for reporting submitted by the competent authorities in the context of assessing the likelihood of proper behavior of the convicted person and the commission of a new crime. Considering that the Government of the Republic of Armenia has adopted a strategy for reforming the penal enforcement system, which, among other things, also represents a transition from the traditional ideology of deprivation of liberty to resocialization and restorative justice, therefore, aimed at achieving this goal, should be more substantive. The Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (adopted on May 5, 2021) and the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (adopted on April 18, 2003 and in force starting from July 1, 2022) have a certain difference in terms of the goals of punishment in the context of the re-socialization of a person who has been punished; however, the measures aimed at achieving the goals of punishment are identical, since such measures should be aimed at ensuring the safety of society, restoring social justice to victims, and by resocialization providing convicts with the opportunity to abandon criminal behavior. The article presented the problems identified in law enforcement practice by the competent authorities in the process of compiling reports on the exemption from punishment on parole, proposals for their solution, which will make it possible to form a more complete and comprehensive picture of the personality of the convicted person, the behavior shown by him in the process of serving a sentence, the absence of the need to serve the remainder of the sentence, standing in the way of correction, the probability of behavior subordinate to the law and the realization of the goals of punishment.

Probation in the Russian Federation: subjects of resocialization

Based on a study of the current stage of penal policy, the goals of the probation institution, the legal normative provisions of the Federal Law “On Probation in the Russian Federation” are analyzed. A list of functions and forms of resocialization influence of subjects of probation influence on persons under probation control is given: provision of services, client-centric approach, support for society institutions. The authors determine the essence of the basic categories of the problem under study with an emphasis on today's socio-criminological assessments. The main conclusions of the study are the need to supplement the list of probation subjects; the importance of a multi-level system of normative legal regulation of the probation in resolving issues of resocialization; openness of functioning of the probation institution with the support of civil society. Based on an analysis of the essence of the probation and the content of correctional interventions, a conclusion is drawn about the specific nature of the resocialization process, its duration, stages, sequence, continuity, dynamism, and interconnectedness of the actions of subjects whose competence includes issues of guardianship and support for offenders. The importance of variability of measures used in the resocialization and social adaptation of a convict has been proven, possible ways to control his behavior, and subjects capable of providing services in the field of probation are proposed. The need to study foreign experience in the field of probation is substantiated to develop the most effective ways to achieve the goals of punishment, successful practices of resocialization, and social adaptation of convicts.