The criminal law is retroactive if it mitigates the punishment of the offender and somehow improves his situation. The concept of "retroactive force" arises when after the commission of a crime a new law is issued, and it is more loyal to the criminal.
The retroactive force of the criminal law arises as follows: someone committed a crime, he was convicted according to the old law, and then a new law was issued, more loyal. In such a situation, the convicted person has the right to improve his situation, shorten the term - this is called retroactive force.
How retroactive criminal law works
Principle: If a new law mitigates the punishment of the offender and improves conditions, it is retroactive.
There will be no retroactive force if the old law is more loyal to the convict than the new one. In this case, the crime is considered according to the law that was in force at the time of the commission of the crime.
Retroactive force applies to people who committed a crime before the new law was passed. And on the convicts who were already serving their sentences at the time when the new law came into force.
For convicts, the retroactive effect of the criminal law means that they can reduce their term. But they will do this only within the limits established by law.
And in order to mitigate his punishment, the convicted person will need to write a petition to bring the sentence in line with the new law. The petition will be considered in court with the participation of the prosecutor. The convicted person must also be present at the hearing in order to be able to tell the judge his own position. If his physical presence is impossible, use video conferencing.
Features of retroactive effect of criminal law
The legal framework in Russia is unstable: legislation is rapidly changing to new regulations. Crimes committed after the adoption of new laws are considered only under the new laws. There are no exceptions.
And retroactive force has two options. The first one has already been considered above - this is the mitigation of punishment under article 10 of part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The second option is to decriminalize the crime itself.
Decriminalization is when the law no longer considers an action to be criminal. And if a person was convicted according to the old law, and the new one decriminalized the crime, then the convicted person must be released. In this case, criminal cases that are pending are terminated.
