Keyword: «exemption from criminal liability»

The basic form of the criminal liability is the punishment. To achieve the goals outlined in the Art. 43 of the criminal code, is not always required its use. The article deals with the norms of application of the exemption from criminal liability in the Russian criminal law. The resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation “On application by courts of the legislation regulating the grounds and procedure for excluding criminal responsibility”.

The article examines the formation and development of the institution of active repentance in Russian criminal law. The key legislative acts of each historical period are analyzed, the main trends and peculiarities of regulation are revealed. Special attention is paid to the transformation of the elements of active repentance – from disparate norms to a comprehensive institution of exemption from criminal liability. The relevance of the work is determined by the need for a comprehensive analysis of the historical prerequisites for the formation of this institution in order to optimize its modern application. The study revealed that the institution of active repentance has gone through a difficult path from fragmentary application in pre-revolutionary law to systemic consolidation in the modern Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.