Grounds and ways of the system of punishment modernization

The number of prisoners reduction in Russia remains a topical problem. For that, effective alternative penaltiesare required. They have to consider perpetrated crimes and typology of criminal identities. The system of punishment, which was approvedin 1996, repeatedly and subjectively changed. As a rule, this happened without a due scientific basis. It becomes apparent, particularly,in the appearance of unnecessary penalties, in its unwarranted competition, violation of some criminal law principles, in theestablishment of wittingly impracticable punishment. The author estimates critically the practice of application of new punishment -restriction of liberty, which did not justify hopes. In the authors opinion, the proposals to implement penalty in the form of forcedworks in the law conflict with the Article 37 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and generally recognized international acts.The ways of the fundamental change of the system of punishment on the basis of its criminological conditionality and necessary adequacyare proposed. Particularly, it is required to reform the penalty in the form of forced works into three forms: paid correctionalworks, free correctional works and correctional works with the convicts stay in the correctional centres. It is necessary to reject therestriction of liberty in its contemporary state. The expropriation should be transferred from the Criminal Code to the special law as amaterial measure of criminological security used when committing several crimes (terrorist acts, organized crimes, corruption). Theburden of evidence of the propertys origin legality should be laid on person convicted for the corruption, if there is sufficient reason tobelieve that this property was received unduly, including the result of the corruption (i.e. in the course of the expropriation in rem). Itis appropriate to return admission for the crimes with small or medium gravity (especially, regarding juveniles) by petitions of trustworthyindividuals, provided by their deposit (for a term of up to two years). When applying deprivation of liberty it has to proceed to correctionalinstitutions of hybrid type which combine colony (with the convicts residence in dormitories) and jail (with keeping in theprison cells in complete isolation). It is proposed to found under the aegis of the Public Service Chamber an independent council of expertsfor the reform of the criminal punishment system.

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