"Otherwise, from the 61st day he is a criminal"

On June 4, Vladimir Putin signed the Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 142-ФЗ “On Amendments to Articles 6 and 30 of the Federal Law“ On Citizenship of the Russian Federation ”and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation. After the law entered into force, Russians will be required to notify the FMS department at the place of residence within 60 days from the date of acquisition of second citizenship. For failure to fulfill this requirement, you will have to pay a fine of up to 200,000 rubles or go to forced labor for up to 400 hours.

The document will become valid on August 4, after which all citizens of the Russian Federation will have two months to inform the FMS about the second passport. After this period, according to amendments, citizens hiding second citizenship are facing criminal punishment. For residents of Crimea, the innovation will begin to operate in 2016.

We tried to figure out why it was necessary to introduce criminal liability, how it would be possible to appeal the court decision and what to start doing now, and applied for comments on lawyers. The opinions of experts were divided: a member of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation Evgeny Bobrov considers this law a nonsense, representative of the lawyer’s office No. 13, one of the oldest offices in Moscow, Igor Novikov, on the contrary, calls it reasonable.

For:

Igor Novikov

Lawyer , representative of the Law Office No. 13 of Moscow

- What categories of citizens are this law apply to? Exclusively on people with dual citizenship or also for those who have a permanent or temporary residence permit?

- It applies to both of them.

“Recently, information about certain mysterious people who will be able to count on the concession was held in the media -“ from large fines they will free those who have not enjoyed the rights of citizens of another state. ” What does this mean if you transfer it from bureaucrat to human?

- Similar statements are not based on the law in the literal sense, i.e. You will not find similar provisions in the law. True, in order to attract a person to administrative (with some exceptions) or criminal liability, it is necessary in each case to establish his guilt.

- whether this law applies to those who had double citizenship, a residence permit, etc. Before this law enters into force, if we take into account that the laws have no retroactive force under the Constitution of the Russian Federation?

- only laws that introduce or tightening criminal or administrative liability do not have reverse force. That is, persons who, before the entry into force of amendments to the legislation introducing criminal and administrative liability, had double citizenship, residence permit, etc., are not subject to criminal liability for not reporting this earlier. At the same time, from August 4, 2014, they will be obliged to notify the controlling body of the presence of citizenship or a residence permit, etc. a foreign state, and if they do not fulfill this requirement, will be liable on a common basis. Therefore, the term of entry into force of amendments to the legislation is established in this case not 10 days, as usual, but 60 - so that everyone has time to report the necessary information about themselves.

- Why do you need criminal liability for such an act? Is it possible to somehow determine whether the severity of punishment for such misconduct as failure to submit information about yourself is adequate?

- The introduction of criminal liability in this case seems reasonable. The sanction of the article is quite soft and looks adequate.

The law will be applied selectively, in order to reproduce with objectionable or banal police profit.

- Does this law contradict the provisions of the Constitution on citizenship and that citizens of the Russian Federation are not obliged to testify against themselves and against members of their families?

- No, it does not contradict. The right not to testify against oneself and close relatives is a form of protection against criminal prosecution guaranteed by the Constitution. However, a citizen must, in a number of cases directly provided for by law, report certain information about himself. So, for example, after the tax period, a citizen must file a declaration of income. And if he received income and had to pay a tax on them, but did not file a declaration, he is subject to criminal liability for evasion of taxes by incompetent a declaration of income. Everything is justified.

- Is this law a restriction of the basic rights and freedoms of a person guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation?

- No, not.

- Is it possible to assume how this law will put into practice? Who and how will follow his performance? Who and based on what parameters will determine the punishment?

- Since initially all information is submitted to the FMS bodies, it is the FMS that will monitor the compliance by citizens of this law. The FMS bodies have already accumulated sufficient experience in applying the law on administrative offenses. And violations of the criminal law will identify law enforcement agencies. Responsibility is determined by the court based on the norms of the law.

- How will it be possible to appeal unlawful decisions on such matters and (or) fight them?

- in the usual way: actively defending against administrative and criminal prosecution from the first minute - building a legal position, correctly fixing it, presenting the necessary evidence in their protection, appealing the actions and decisions of officials, the final decision in the form of a decision on an administrative offense or a court sentence in a criminal case. The main thing is that you cannot underestimate the potential degree of danger and you must immediately turn to the lawyer for help.

- What to do with the adoption of this law to do people with dual citizenship, as well as with a permanent and temporary residence permit? What strategy do you personally recommend you?

- As is usually the case in Russia, the FMS may not be ready to quickly implement the requirements of the changed legislation. Therefore, it is better to send all the necessary notifications to the FMS body by registered letter with a notification of delivery and inventory of investments, and then make an appointment and personally make sure that the letter not only reached the addressee, but all the notifications sent by you are fixed properly. It is necessary to obtain written confirmation of this in any form.

Against:

Evgeny Bobrov

Lawyer, founder and head of the Interregional Public Organization of the Human Rights of the Voskhod, a member of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, co-author of the legal opinion on the draft Federal Law No. 485228-6

- What categories of citizens are this law apply to?

- Formally, this law applies to citizens of the Russian Federation who also have another citizenship. The problem is that the vast majority of such people (there may be millions) do not know that previous citizenship is not terminated. The fact is that upon termination of citizenship, the decision to terminate a person is not sent anywhere in the world, and in many countries such decisions are not made in some cases at all (by the way, Russia including them).

“Recently, information about certain people who can count on the indulgence was held in the media:“ From large fines they will free those who did not enjoy citizens of another state. ” What does this mean if you transfer it from bureaucrat to human?

- The deputies took into account some of our comments, but late, realizing that they ranked people who did not know and could not know about the incessation of their former citizenship.

Now the deputies are issuing what they want for the actual, that such citizens will be exempted from liability. However, in the current edition, the law does not exempt anyone from cruel punishment, even if people did not enjoy a document on the presence of previous citizenship or a residence permit.

- whether this law applies to those who had double citizenship, a residence permit, etc. Before the entry into force of this law, if you take into account that the laws have no retroactive force under the Constitution of the Russian Federation?

- It spreads. The point here is not the impossibility of the reverse power of the law, but in its formulation. Every person in two months should notify the state of having other citizenship, regardless of the statute of limitations of its termination. Otherwise, from the 61st day, he is a criminal.

- Why do you need criminal liability for such an act? Is it possible to somehow determine whether the severity of punishment for such misconduct as failure to submit information about yourself is adequate?

- Of course, this idea was initially crazy. Just in the context of a sharp complication of international relations, the authorities want to know how many potential “agents of influence” among the country's population. Serious criminal liability is designed to quickly ensure the implementation of the law.

Frank idiocy is the need to indicate the date of the decision on the termination of citizenship and the specific clause of the article of the foreign law on citizenship by which it is terminated. That is, every citizen who decides to change citizenship needs to be truly a connoisseur of foreign legislation and the practice of its non -use (in states where such decisions are not made).

It is impossible to establish either the administrative or criminal liability of citizens only for the fact of non -notice to their state about the presence of other citizenship, since its presence in itself cannot violate the interests of the state or contain the threat of their violation.

- Does this law contradict the provisions of the Constitution on citizenship and that citizens of the Russian Federation are not obliged to testify against themselves and against members of their families?

- There is a conflict with Part 1 of Art. 62, since Russia does not recognize dual citizenship in the absence of a federal law or an international treaty. How can we bear responsibility for the fact that we do not recognize (the second citizenship, it turns out, no)?

Article 51 does not contradict, since in this case everyone testifies only for himself or their minor children. Contradicts Part 3 of Art. 55, since human rights are not limited in connection with the provision of one of the six constitutionally significant goals listed in it.

- Is it not a restriction of the basic rights and freedoms of a person guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation?

- Is.

The involvement of citizens of the Russian Federation to the criminal (also administrative) liability of the Russian Federation, on which the legislation does not impose restrictions related to the presence of other citizenship, is a measure of prohibitively strict and unreasonable.

- Is it possible to assume how this law will put into practice? Who and how will follow his performance? Who and based on what parameters will determine the punishment?

- The law will be applied selectively, in order to reproduce with objectionable or banal police profit. No one will follow his performance. Rather, the FMS with the police will introduce ordinary stick reporting and, as usual, when considering any complaints and appeals, will orientate their territorial bodies on the need to find out all this nonsense with other citizenship (i.e. regarding and without).

- How will it be possible to appeal unlawful decisions on such matters and (or) fight them?

- As usual: complaints of unlawful actions (including the initiation of a criminal case) can be submitted to a higher police authority or FMS, prosecutor or court. However, the judicial resolution of disputes will be unpromising for citizens, since the law itself is actually designed for its inevitable and massive violation.

- What to do with the adoption of this law to do people with dual citizenship, as well as with a permanent and temporary residence permit? What strategy do you personally recommend you?

- In order to avoid unnecessary problems, the state can be notified of the presence of other citizenship or residence permit. If you want to keep this secret or the absence of information about their presence, you can not report, but perhaps you will have to give explanations at the most inopportune moment.

Walking “to the end”, it is possible and necessary to appeal a specific article of the law in the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, but this requires the court decision (refusal), based on the norm of this law appealed by the applicant.