A cassation appeal is an opportunity to challenge a decision already made by a court in a case. But this opportunity will be available to the convicted person only if the appeal is filed correctly and in a timely manner.
A cassation appeal allows you to restore justice, ensure the legality of the court of first instance, confirm the validity of the convicted person's claims, reduce the sentence, and in most cases cancel it. In the judicial proceedings of the Russian Federation there is a separate direction - cassation. The processing of complaints is carried out by courts of second instance, which have the authority to cancel decisions, postpone them, to review and identify new circumstances of the case.
What is a cassation appeal
After the 2012 judicial reforms, even many lawyers confuse the concepts of appeal and cassation. And it is all the more difficult for ordinary citizens to understand these concepts, the procedure, rules and deadlines for filing such complaints. At its core, a cassation is a repeated appeal filed with a judicial body of the second and sometimes third instance - an arbitration, federal, constitutional or higher court. After appeals, the court's decision is reviewed, which has not yet entered into force, and such an appeal can be submitted no later than 10 days after the sentencing. You can appeal to a higher court with cassation within six months after the trial.
A cassation appeal is filed by the convicted person himself or by his human rights defender in exceptional cases:
- in case of discrepancy between the conclusions of the court, recorded in the verdict, and the evidence base of the case,
- in case of non-observance of criminal procedure or civil legislation by representatives of the judicial authority, prosecutor's office,
- in case of an incorrect interpretation of an article of the law, which entailed a longer term of punishment,
- when the court accepts an unjust verdict.
On the basis of the considered cassation appeal, a higher court may change the term of punishment or cancel it, punish those guilty of passing an incorrect or unjust sentence. In some cases, judges may be deprived of the right to work and be subject to criminal punishment.
Time limits for filing a cassation appeal
According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, a citizen convicted in any case - civil or criminal - can file a cassation appeal within 6 months after the sentencing. The term is counted not from the date of the trial, but from the date of entry into force of its decision, that is, after 10 calendar days. Even those who have been denied the appeal can file a complaint.
Cassations are accepted by special instances. Judicial Presidiums have the right to cancel a court decision that has already entered into force.
- federal cities,
- the Supreme Court of the Territory, Region, Republic,
- a naval or military district court,
- judicial chambers for administrative proceedings,
- collegiums of the civil type,
- military collegiums.
Complaints submitted later than the deadline established by law will be returned, the circumstances of the case will not be examined by the panel. Therefore, it is very important to prepare all the necessary documents within six months, find solid evidence of your innocence and violation of the law in relation to the convicted person, confirm your arguments with facts and evidence.
On cassation complaints, a huge number of cases have already been reviewed, sentences have been canceled and the terms of punishment have been reduced. Practice shows that an appeal in difficult cases does not always work, but a cassation, correctly drawn up and filed on time, gives more chances for a detailed consideration of a particular case, helps to bring to clean water and punish corrupt representatives of the prosecutor's office and the court.
Rules for filing a cassation
A cassation appeal is filed directly with the cassation instance, and not necessarily at the place of residence or the sentencing. It can be filed directly with the federal agency. The following have the right to compose a petition, collect evidence for it and submit it:
- the convicted person or his representative, a lawyer who was present at the first session of the court or is newly hired,
- the victim or his relatives (in case of his death),
- defendant or plaintiff in civil proceedings, their legal representatives,
- an employee of the prosecutor's office who performed the role of the prosecutor at the first meeting or another, in case of incompetence of the first.
In criminal cases, cassation may be filed with the higher judging authorities even before the sentence comes into legal force. This approach has been practiced and has yielded good results. A cassation appeal is drawn up according to the established model, but the list of documents attached to it is selected individually, in accordance with the type of case, its characteristics, the severity of the sentence and other factors.
Before filing a complaint, you must pay a state fee, the amount of which is 150 rubles for individuals, and 3,000 rubles for legal entities challenging the decision in a civil case. The amount of the state duty in both criminal and civil cases is calculated on the basis of the material damage caused to the victim or the state.
Accompanying documents for cassation
The cassation appeal form contains the data of the authority where it is submitted, the person submitting it and his representatives, their place of residence and actual location (for those who are serving time). In the text of the complaint, the circumstances of the incident and the criminal (civil) case are described in detail, the courts that passed the verdict and rejected the earlier appeals and cassation appeals are indicated. It is important to correctly formulate in the appeal the essence of claims against the court of first instance - overstating the sentence, incorrect interpretation of the article of the law, inattentive analysis of all evidence - both accusatory and speaking in favor of the convicted person.
A cassation complaint must be supported by documents:
- certifying the identity of all participants - the convict, his representatives and defenders,
- copies of decisions (sentences) made earlier in the case,
- a check confirming the payment of the state duty,
- protocols on fixing newly discovered or not considered by the court of circumstances, evidence.
The cassation is drawn up in two copies. When filing a complaint with the office of the cassation instance, one of the samples is taken by its representative, fixing the filing, describing all the documents attached to it, and on the second, a note of acceptance is put - the date, time, seal of the receiving authority. If the complaint is sent by mail, then it must be sent by valuable registered mail, with a list of attachments, notification of receipt by the addressee, in this case - by the cassation instance.
How long does it take to consider a cassation appeal?
The term for consideration of a cassation appeal, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, should not exceed 30 calendar days. But practice shows that such appeals are considered much longer. The term of consideration is counted from the day of fixing the appeal in the office of the judicial authority. It can be extended by a representative of the instance due to insufficient evidence in the case, materials of the proceedings, grounds for passing just such a verdict and other documents may be requested.
An appeal to the cassation body must go through three stages of consideration - formal, determination of a judge, and a board meeting. At the formal stage, it is checked whether the complaint is correctly drawn up, whether all the necessary documents are attached to it. At the second stage, the judge examines the complaint. His tasks include analyzing the information received and making a decision on the request for additional information, materials of the case, which is in the court of first instance. And it depends on this stage whether a meeting of the panel of judges will be held on a specific case, whether this cassation appeal will be considered at all.
If the judge who analyzed the circumstances of the case decides to convene the collegium, a date is set for its holding. Consideration of a complaint may be postponed more than once, due to non-receipt of the requested data or documents. That is why lawyers recommend that you be very careful about drawing up an appeal, collecting as much documentary evidence as possible of a violation of the law or the rights of a convicted person or victim.
A cassation complaint may be rejected by the board, left unsatisfied. The person who submitted the appeal must be notified of the decision. But this does not mean that it is worth abandoning attempts to restore justice. Filing a cassation is a legal right of any citizen of the Russian Federation, which he simply must use if a situation arises in relation to him that is unlawful.
