For giving false testimony in court, the witness is threatened with criminal prosecution under Article 307 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In this case, a prerequisite is the person's awareness of the falsehood of the testimony given.
Giving false testimony in court is a serious wrongful act that can lead to a wrong, illegal decision. That is why Article 307 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for liability for this act. In particular, a person may be fined up to 80,000 rubles, arrest up to three months, correctional labor for a period of up to two years. In this case, false testimony must be given deliberately, that is, the witness must clearly understand that the information provided to him, the information is unreliable. If the witness himself does not suspect that the testimony does not correspond to reality, then prosecution according to the specified norm is excluded.
Can a more severe punishment be imposed for knowingly false testimony?
If the deliberately false testimony of a person in court accompanies the commission of a grave, especially grave crime by the same person, then prosecution is carried out already under Part 2 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This norm presupposes a more severe punishment, therefore, the person who is brought to justice under it can be sentenced to forced labor for up to five years, and imprisonment also for five years. This sanction does not take into account the punishment that will be imposed for the very grave, especially grave crime, the presence of which was accompanied by perjury.
How to avoid criminal liability when committing this act?
The above-mentioned norm of criminal law also provides for the possibility of exemption from liability for knowingly giving false testimony. To do this, the witness must inform the court before the decision is made, the verdict on the inconsistency of the validity of the information he has provided. In this case, negative consequences in the form of an unjust verdict do not occur, therefore, the punishment according to this norm is not imposed, the person is released from responsibility. It should be borne in mind that the reporting of the falsity of the testimony should be carried out precisely before the decision on the merits is made, since otherwise the witness will still be prosecuted, and the confession will simply be regarded as a mitigating circumstance that does not in any way exempt from punishment. The possibility of avoiding responsibility for this act is directly indicated in the footnote to the content of Article 307 of the Criminal Code.
