Право/5. Уголовное право и криминология
Doctor of Law, Professor, Biriukov P. N.
Voronezh State University (Russia)
On the
problem of the criminal liability
of legal
entities in Russia
One of the most important forms of fighting against
delinquency is criminal liability of legal entities. Russian science has some
publications that mention different aspects of this problem[1].
However, the majority of Russian scientists object the concept of corporate
criminally-legal liability[2].
As one more argument it is underlined that in the majority of the European
countries there is no criminal liability of legal bodies or any organizations[3].
So, the representatives of Russian criminal law tend to the possibility of
introducing corporate liability. However, it is not quite so. In the majority
of the European states[4],
the criminal liability of corporations has been established for a long time and
is very effective.
However, the rules about the necessity of introducing of criminal liability for organisations are also available in universal conventions in which Russia participates (the Convention of the United Nations against corruption 2003, the Convention against a transnational organized crime 2000, the Convention of the Council of Europe on criminal liability for corruption). However, the legislation has not brought into according to the obligations under those conventions yet.
Positions about criminal liability of organizations in federal Act № 26-FS «On Ratification of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime» and supplementing its Report against smuggling of migrants overland, by sea and by air and the Report on the prevention and human traffic suppression, especially women and children, and the punishment for it" have not found its reflection. The special certificates providing the realization of the Convention in this part have also not been published.
Positions about criminal liability of the organizations not were implemented in federal Act № 125-FS "On Ratification of the Convention on Criminal Liability for Corruption" on July, 25th, 2006. In the Explanatory note to the bill of ratification of the Convention on July 1st, 2006 it was emphasized that «the Convention contains other rules, than those provided by the legislation of the Russian Federation and in this connection its ratification will demand change operating or acceptances of new federal acts». On July 6th, 2006 Legal department of the State Duma drew the positive Conclusion under the bill (№ 2.2-1/2374) and specified the necessity of a regulation of the responsibility of legal bodies. However, hopes on implementation of these positions have not justified; corresponding norms in the Russian criminal law have not appeared.
The federal Act № 273-FS "On Corruption Counteraction» on December 25th, 2008 also does not provided criminal liability for organizations. It is also necessary to consider that the states-participants of the Council of European Convention automatically become the participants of the specialized international organization "Group of the states against corruption" (GRECO).
Thus, the implementation of documents of the United Nations and the Council of Europe regarding criminal liability of organizations to Russia is not done, that breaks not only the international obligations of our state, but also essentially reduces the efficiency of the struggle against economic crimes (if only it is assumed to struggle with them).
A. Buksman, the first deputy of the General Public Prosecutor of the Russian Federation considers: "There is a delusion from the western experts who represent other system of the law of that we have variability of impleading a corruptionist either to administrative, or to criminal liability. But it was the result of the miscalculation of our previous representation and report... Moscow ratified the convention on joining to the GRECO in February, 2007. At that time Russia did not take the advantage of the right of reservations as, for example, it was made by France. The State Office of Public Prosecutor admits that it was a serious error. Next summer the country is obliged to report about the results of the work. Then the GRECO will take out the estimation to anticorruption struggle in Russia"[5]. Thus, on the one hand, it is admitted that the Convention of the Council of Europe demands implementation in legal system of the Russian Federation of positions about corporate criminal liability, on the other hand, - it appears about inexpediency of the execution of this position of the Convention.
A. Buksman, the first deputy of the General Public Prosecutor of the Russian Federation considers: "There is a delusion from the western experts who represent other system of the law of that we have variability of impleading a corruptionist either to administrative, or to criminal liability. But it was the result of the miscalculation of our previous representation and report... Moscow ratified the convention on joining to the GRECO in February, 2007[6]. At that time Russia did not take the advantage of the right of reservations as, for example, it was made by France. The State Office of Public Prosecutor admits that it was a serious error. Next summer the country is obliged to report about the results of the work. Then the GRECO will take out the estimation to anticorruption struggle in Russia"[7]. Thus, on the one hand, it is admitted that the Convention of the Council of Europe demands implementation in legal system of the Russian Federation of positions about corporate criminal liability, on the other hand, - it appears about inexpediency of the execution of this position of the Convention.
However, the Head of the Investigatory Committee of the Russian Federation A. Bastrykin thinks differently. Many countries of the world have stored extensive experience of effective counteraction of the crimes made in the interests or with the use of legal bodies, standards and criteria which found the reflection in the international standard legal certificates are generated. One of such standards is the requirement to enter into the national legislation a criminal liability of legal bodies for complicity in the most dangerous kinds of crimes"[8]. Under the direction of A.Bastrykina in the Investigatory Committee of the Russian Federation the project of the federal Act "On Modification of Some Acts of the Russian Federation in the Connection with Introduction of Institute of Criminally-legal Influence Concerning Legal Bodies" was developed[9].
As we see, there is an ambiguous
attitude to the institute of criminal liability of organizations in the state
structures. Under such circumstances foreign experience is of a special
interest. There is some sense to analyze it attentively in case of introduction
corresponding acts to the Criminal Code, because discretion is the better part
of valor.
Literature:
[1] See: Волженкин Б. В. Уголовная ответственность
юридических лиц. - СПб., 1998; Егорова Н. Об уголовной ответственности
юридических лиц за коррупционные преступления // Управление персоналом. – 2003.
- № 9; Никифоров А. С. Юридическое лицо как субъект преступления и уголовной
ответственности. - М., 2003. С. 86 – 90; Додонов В. Ответственность юридических
лиц в современном уголовном праве // Законность. – 2006. - № 4; Трунцевский Ю.
В., Козлов А. А. Охрана и защита прав на средства индивидуализации товаров. –
М: Издательская группа "Юрист", 2006 and other.
[2] See: Уголовное право Российской Федерации. Общая
часть / под ред. А. И. Рарога. М.: Юристъ, 2004; Уголовное право России. Часть
общая / под ред. Л. Л. Кругликова. - М.: Волтерс Клувер, 2005.
[2] See: Уголовное
право России. Общая часть: учебник / под ред. В. П. Ревина. 2-е изд. - М.: Юстицинформ,
2009. Гл. 19; Уголовное право России. Общая часть: учебник / под ред. Ф. Р.
Сундурова, И. А. Тарханова. 3-е изд. - М.: Статут, 2009. Гл. 2.
[3] See: Козлова Н. В. Правосубъектность юридического
лица. – М.: Статут, 2005; Постатейный комментарий к Уголовному кодексу
Российской Федерации / под ред. Н. А. Громова. – М.: ГроссМедиа, 2007
[4] See more: Бирюков П. Н. Уголовная ответственность
юридических лиц за преступления в сфере экономики (опыт иностранных
государств). – М.: Юридлитинформ, 2008; Бирюков
П.Н. Уголовная ответственность юридических лиц за рубежом. Saarbrüken. Lap-Lambert Publishing Co. GmbH,
2011. – 370 с.; Бирюков П. Н.
Функционирование предприятий в Италии // Вестник федерального государственного
учреждения Государственная регистрационная палата при Министерстве юстиции
Российской Федерации. 2011. № 3; Бирюков П.
Н. Юридические лица в Словакии: ответственность за коррупционные деяния
// Вестник федерального государственного учреждения Государственная
регистрационная палата при Министерстве юстиции Российской Федерации. 2012. №
2. С. 79-85 and other.
[5] http://www.rbctv.rbc.ru
[6] Conventions on joining GRECO don't exist. According
to point 3 of article 32 of the Convention of the Council of Europe of 1999
after its coming into force for the Russian Federation our state automatically
became the participant GRECO.
[7] http://www.rbctv.rbc.ru
[8] РГ. 2011. 23
mar.
[9] http://www.rg.ru.