The President signed a bill providing for the humanization of the Criminal Code

On December 7, 2011, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed Federal Law "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and separate legislative acts of the Russian Federation”.

Recall, among other things, the bill proposes:

• transfer some of the crimes from the category of moderate severity to the category small weight;

• introduce a ban on imposing a sentence of imprisonment for the first time minor offenses committed without aggravating circumstances;

• introduction of a new type of punishment - forced labor, which will be seen as an alternative to imprisonment for a crime small and medium gravity, as well as for committing for the first time some serious crimes;

- decriminalization of discrimination (Article 136 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) committed without using one's official position.

For more information about the bill and its enforcement implications, see here .

The bill was submitted to the State Duma on June 7 this year, September 6 - adopted in first reading, October 28 - in the second reading and November 15 - in the third reading, 29 November approved by the Federation Council.

Sources

• Electronic registration card for bill No. 559740-5 // Website of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. 2011. November 30.
• Amendments have been made to the Criminal Code aimed at humanizing criminal legislation // Official website of the President of the Russian Federation. 2011. December 7th.