Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has developed a new set of amendments to the Criminal Code, providing for the emergence of new types of sanctions and the exclusion of a number of offenses from the criminal list. The head of state signed and submitted the corresponding document for consideration to the State Duma, the presidential press service reports.

Thus, the amendments provide for the transfer of insult and slander from the category of criminal offenses to the category of administrative offenses. The category of decriminalized acts includes insult, slander, including against representatives of the judiciary, as well as unqualified acts that are not accompanied by aggravating circumstances.

Minor economic crimes and crimes related to drug trafficking will be punished by forced labor. As an alternative punishment for drug addicts, mandatory treatment is provided.

The head of the Ministry of Justice, Alexander Konovalov, said that his department considers it necessary to create in Russia a specialized service for the execution of sentences that do not involve imprisonment. The responsibilities of the service will include tasks such as ensuring the prevention of offenses and relapse, and the social development of people released from the control of the criminal correctional system. The President is ready to consider the proposals of the Ministry of Justice after the preparation of the relevant order.

The head of state himself assessed the amendments to liberalize the criminal code as “interesting and very relevant,” adding that “the bill deserves attention, as it makes the criminal law more modern, eliminates outdated norms that passed from one code to another and were often not followed, and eliminates contradictions and introduces a new type of punishment - forced labor."

It will become easier to scold and slander judges in Russia