Grounds for Changing and Cancelling Final Judgments on Criminal Cases in Cassation Courts of General Jurisdiction

The aim of this research is a detailed definition of grounds for cancelling and changing of judgments in cassation courts of general jurisdiction. This research is based on historical and comparative analysis, systematization of judicial practice, classification of identified cases. After theoretical and practical analysis, the author came to following conclusions. Firstly, every method of verification of judgments, which is a part of appeal and verification system, should have its own purpose, including the use of proper grounds for verification: it provides effective functioning of this system. Secondly, existing proceedings in cassation courts are intended to verify judgments, which came into effect. Therefore, grounds for verification of judgments in cassation courts and courts of appeal cannot be identical. According to the current Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, the subject of verification in cassation courts should be the validity of a judgment. Thirdly, despite the requirements of Part 1 of Article 401.15 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, errors in criminal law, which can be corrected by cassation courts, are generally identical to the errors removable by courts of appeal. On the one hand, this legal approach can provide correction of any violation of norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation by cassation courts because it is always reflected on the status of the convicted person; on the other hand, it can lead to violation of procedural equality in realization of right to fair trial. Fourthly, according to Part 1 of Article 401.15 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, cassation courts verify only crucial violations of criminal procedure law, which have influenced the outcome of the case. In assessing its significance, cassation courts proceed from the existence of violation of norms, principles, general conditions of the trial, right to defence and fair trial. Fifthly, validity is not a ground for verification in cassation courts. When verification of legitimacy of a judgment by a cassation court is not possible without simultaneous verification of validity, this verification should be eligible. This approach is suitable for the purpose of existing proceedings in cassation courts and to the requirements of Article 389.15 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for the assessment of the influence of the admitted violation on the outcome of the case. Sixthly, the studied practice allowed proving the possibility and necessity of this verification in following specialized cases: (1) when verifying inadmissibility of evidence; (2) when observing norms of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation during the collecting, verification and evaluation of evidence; (3) when observing the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation to the sentence.

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