Maintenance of stability of a sentence

Each crime breaks public relationsexisting before its fulfillment. The problem of their normalization is assigned to the adjudication. Restoring a part of the broken relationsand creating new ones (on compensation of the harm caused by the crime and on punishment condemned), the sentence becomes aregulator of public relations and joins the system of regulators of the law and order existing in the state. Stability of the law and orderdemands stability of its regulators, including the sentence. Until recently law had no mechanisms of provision of sentence stability.Amendments to the Criminal-Remedial Code provide separate elements of such a mechanism. Their analysis convinces that theprovided elements need addition and specification. It is expedient to establish momentariness of revision of sentences both during theperiod of their carrying out and later on. It is also necessary to limit the time of possible revision of sentences - within one year after thesentence comes to force. However, if the correction of a miscarriage of justice in favour of the condemned occurs, recurrence andindefiniteness of revision is required. There are bases for excluding the stage of revision of sentences as judicial supervision in thesystem of verification. There are enough procedures for a complete check of sentences: appeal, cassation and renewal of a case with newand newly discovered evidence. Thus, provision of stability of sentences demands restriction of powers (their part is already fixed in thenew law) and even reduction of the number of verifying instances. It creates danger of preservation of miscarriages of justice, which canbe realized when serving the sentence, but cannot be corrected. Such a danger is real, but it seems necessary to reconcile to it.Undoubtedly, herein the victim interests of justice (state) are defended. However, the stability of the sentence should be a priority in thepresent state of affairs providing the legal status of the position of the condemned and other persons connected with the sentence, as wellas the existing law and order. The latter is represented as a greater value. Thus, it is necessary to consider that sufficient conditions arecreated for making a fair sentence and for elimination of its errors. And if courts did not use all their possibilities or worked poorly, theconsequences should not influence negatively on the destiny of the condemned and other persons connected with the sentence, creatingand keeping uncertainty of their position for long. Besides, some errors of the sentence - in favour of the condemned - can be correctedat any time. Some errors can be corrected by means of renewal of cases on the new and newly discovered evidence. Part of errors - notin favour of the condemned - with inadequate use by courts of the given means should remain uncorrected for the sake of stability ofsentences and, finally, the stability of law and order on the whole.

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