Procedural Gaps of the Institution of Conciliation of the Parties in Russian Criminal Proceedings and Ways to Overcome Them

The article analyzes the issues of application of Article 25 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, as well as ways to improve it. The author notes that, while the institution of conciliation encourages positive post-offense behavior and implements the principle of minimizing the use of punitive measures, it also faces certain shortcomings in its legal regulation. These include: The brevity of Article 25 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation (which merely reproduces Article 76 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation without specifying a detailed procedure); the absence of an explicit statutory requirement to take into account information regarding the personality of the accused; and the possibility of applying this procedure to a suspect, all of which limits the protection of the rights of parties to criminal proceedings. The relevant legislative experience of CIS countries is analyzed. The proposed solutions include: Establishing a legal requirement to take the personality of the accused into account, in order to ensure consistency in judicial practice; providing for the application of this mechanism once formal charges have been brought; and drawing upon the positive experience of certain CIS countries.