Final Decisions of the Courts of Cassation

The Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation should enshrine the obligation of cassation courts to issue private rulings upon cancellation of a sentence. This authority will allow the cassation courts to draw the attention of lower courts to the fundamental violations of the law that they have committed, which will contribute to the indirect implementation of activities to ensure the unity of judicial practice. Violations of law related to the incorrect resolution of questions about the material evidence and distribution of legal costs are not fundamental, since they do not addressed the main issues of the criminal case - guilt and punishment. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the judicial practice of canceling sentence in connection with violations of the law in determining the issue of material evidence and distribution of legal costs as not meeting the requirements of the cassation proceedings. Since the aims of the cassation proceedings in cassation courts are identical and fully implemented in these courts, the Judicial Chamber on Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation can replace the lower court of cassation in the cassation proceedings. Therefore, such the power to cancel the decision of the cassation court and the subsequent referral of the criminal case to a new cassation hearing in the cassation court of general jurisdiction should be removed from the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, since it only prolongs the general term of the cassation proceedings. The list of cassation court decisions shall be supplemented by a decision to terminate the cassation proceedings. The following shall be considered as grounds for termination: a cassation appeal lodged in violation of the rules on jurisdiction; a repeated cassation appeal; a recall of the submitted cassation appeal (unless fundamental violations of law are revealed by the cassation court in the audit procedure); death of the convict, in case the elimination of the violations of law does not affect the rights and legitimate interests of their successors.

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