Article 178 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. Examination of the corpse. Exhumation (current edition)

New edition of Art. 178 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation

1. The investigator examines the corpse with the participation of a forensic expert, and if his participation is impossible, a doctor. If necessary, other specialists may be involved in examining the corpse.

2. Unidentified corpses are subject to mandatory photography and fingerprinting. Unidentified corpses are also subject to mandatory state genomic registration in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation in the manner established by the Government of the Russian Federation. Cremation of unidentified corpses is not permitted.

3. If it is necessary to remove a corpse from a burial place, the investigator issues an order for exhumation and notifies close relatives or relatives of the deceased about this. The resolution is mandatory for the administration of the relevant burial site. If close relatives or relatives of the deceased object to the exhumation, permission to carry out it is issued by the court.

4. Exhumation and examination of the corpse are carried out with the participation of the persons specified in part one of this article. An examination of the corpse may be carried out before the initiation of a criminal case.

5. Expenses associated with the exhumation and subsequent burial of the corpse are reimbursed to the relatives of the deceased in the manner established by Article 131 of this Code.

Article 178 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. Examination of the corpse. Exhumation (current edition)

1. An examination of a corpse may be part of an examination of the scene of the incident (and be carried out before the initiation of a case), area, home or other premises. At the same time, its features established by the commented article must still be observed. It is not a violation of the law to document the examination of a corpse in a separate protocol. Inspection of the corpse as an independent investigative action is carried out when it was not possible to examine it at the place of discovery or when the corpse was discovered as a result of a search (Part 16 of Article 182) and removed from the burial site.

2. The actions of the forensic expert during the examination are additionally regulated by the Instructions for organizing and conducting expert research in the forensic medical examination bureau, approved by Order of the Ministry of Health of Russia dated April 24, 2003 N 161. The question arises: should a narrowing interpretation of the term “be used?” forensic medical expert”, meaning by him another participant in the process - a specialist (in the sense of Article 58 of the Code of Criminal Procedure) in the field of forensic medical examination? When answering it, it should be borne in mind that the commented article does not talk about examining the scene of the incident, but specifically about examining the corpse. But this type of inspection as such can be carried out only after the initiation of a criminal case. By adopting the new Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation (2001), the legislator unambiguously expressed his legal position by replacing the term “specialist in the field of forensic medicine”, previously used in Part 1 of Art. 180 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the RSFSR, for the term “forensic medical expert” (Article 178 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). This approach can be given a completely rational explanation - it is assumed that, when starting to examine a corpse, the investigator should already order a forensic medical examination and, in order to take into account as completely as possible all significant circumstances during the latter, involve a forensic expert to participate in the examination of the corpse, i.e. e. at the earliest possible stage of its research. Such an approach does not give the law enforcement officer the right to resort here to a narrowing interpretation of the term “forensic expert”, because the literal interpretation can be replaced by some other type of it (narrowing or expanding; widespread or restrictive, correctional, etc.) only when the literal interpretation leads to absurdity, not allowing any rational explanation (the so-called golden rule of interpretation of legal norms). The opinion of the legislator should be respected, and when he excludes any conditions and characteristics from the content of a norm, or, conversely, when he supplements it with certain new conditions or characteristics, the law enforcer should not present this norm in such a way as if it still implies the previous legal content . However, if the examination of the corpse takes place as part of the examination of the crime scene, carried out before the initiation of a criminal case, then it must be recognized that at present it is not an expert who can participate in it, but only a specialist (in the field of forensic medicine). In this case, the rules of Art. 178, and Art. Art. 58, 168, 177 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

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See: Manukyan A.G., Smirnov A.V. Interpretation of legal norms. M.: Prospekt, 2008. P. 37 - 41, 68.

3. Exhumation covers cases of removal of a corpse from places of official burial only. Considering that the Code of Criminal Procedure does not classify exhumation as an urgent procedural action (Part 5 of Article 165), exhumation can be carried out without judicial permission if: a) the deceased has no relatives. On the concept of relatives, see comment. to clause 4, 37 art. 5; b) obtaining the consent of relatives (for example, in the form of a mark on the exhumation order); c) there is evidence that the relatives were notified in advance about the exhumation and did not express objections within a sufficient time. If relatives object, the exhumation of the corpse is carried out by a court decision, adopted in the manner provided for in Art. 165 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and after a decision to initiate a criminal case is issued.

Comment source:

Ed. A.V. Smirnova “COMMENTARY ON THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION” (ARTICLE BY ARTICLE), 5th edition

SMIRNOV A.V., KALINOVSKY K.B., 2009

AZ-libr.ru

Comm. Torbin Yu.G.

1. The commented article regulates the production of two independent investigative actions: examination of the corpse and exhumation. 2. The article under comment contains the following starting points: its title includes exhumation; the wording of Part 1 of this article has been clarified; mandatory photographing and fingerprinting of unidentified corpses is provided, and their cremation is prohibited; the procedural order of exhumation is indicated; specific participants are provided for the exhumation and examination of the corpse after removing it from the burial site; stipulated reimbursement of expenses to the relatives of the deceased in connection with the exhumation and subsequent burial of the corpse. 3. Inspection of a corpse as an investigative action can be either an independent type of inspection, when it is carried out not at the place where the corpse was found (for example, in a morgue), or an integral part of the inspection of the crime scene, when it is carried out at the place where the corpse was found. In the first case, an independent protocol for examining the corpse is drawn up, in the second, the results of examining the corpse are recorded in the protocol for examining the scene of the incident. 4. The commented article provides that the examination of the corpse is carried out by the investigator (moreover, by the investigator of the prosecutor’s office - see subparagraph “a”, paragraph 1, part 2, article 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation) with the participation of witnesses, a forensic expert (working as an expert as in state and non-state forensic medical institutions). If it is impossible for him to participate, a pathologist, surgeon or other doctor may be invited. Other specialists (criminologists, chemists, biologists, etc.) may also participate in the examination. 5. A timely and high-quality examination of the corpse, especially at the place of its discovery, will allow the investigator to quickly put forward investigative leads and determine ways to verify them, order an operational investigation, obtain information about the identity of the victim and the criminal, understand the essence of the event under investigation, etc. 6. The commented article, regulating the procedural procedure for examining a corpse (parts 1 and 2), does not provide for the need to issue a special resolution, as was done in relation to exhumation (part 3 of the commented article). 7. The participation of a forensic expert in examining a corpse does not exclude and cannot replace the conduct of a forensic medical examination, the appointment of which, in accordance with the requirements of Article 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, is mandatory if it is necessary to establish the cause of death. The law does not exclude the possibility of entrusting an expert examination to a forensic expert who previously participated in the examination of the corpse. 8. During the examination of a corpse, a forensic medical expert solves the following tasks: a) ascertains death and identifies signs that allow one to make assumptions about the time of its occurrence; b) establishes the presence of bodily injuries, the nature and mechanism of their formation; c) assists the investigator in detecting traces (mainly of biological origin), recording, removing and packaging them for subsequent sending for examination; d) draws the investigator’s attention to other circumstances relevant to the case; e) helps to formulate questions that should be put to the expert’s resolution. 9. Other specialists taking part in the examination of the corpse help to detect, record, seize and package traces and instruments of crime, objects, various substances, establish other circumstances relevant to the case, and also assist the investigator in formulating questions that should be asked for approval of the examination. 10. During the inspection, the following must be recorded: a) the pose of the corpse; b) the position of the body and its individual parts relative to the environment and available objects; c) gender and approximate age; d) body length, build; e) skin color; f) cadaveric changes; g) the presence of bodily injuries, traces of biological origin and other traces of a crime. The clothing and shoes on the corpse are examined. At the same time, their appearance, condition, correspondence to the time of year, distinctive features, characteristic features, damage, and other traces are described. Clothes are not removed from the corpse. If necessary, it can be unfastened, unscrewed, raised, lowered. Pockets and their contents are inspected. All actions performed with clothing are recorded in the inspection protocol. The “bed” of the corpse is also examined. 11. Clothes and shoes with damage, stains, or other traces of a crime are added to the case as material evidence only after an examination. 12. Documents, objects, and other things found in the pockets of clothing located on the corpse are carefully examined, described in the protocol, seized and included as material evidence. 13. The corpse must be fingerprinted and photographed according to the rules of signal (identification) photography. In addition, special signs, other anatomical features, as well as clothes and shoes, and objects with him are photographed (especially when the corpse of an unknown person is discovered). If necessary, a verbal portrait can be drawn up. 14. If the corpse remains unidentified during the investigation, it, regardless of the final results of the investigation, is subject to burial, but not cremation. Otherwise, the possibility of subsequent examination of cadaveric remains will be excluded, if the need arises. 15. Exhumation is the removal of a corpse from a burial site. The burial place should be considered both a specially designated area for the burial of the deceased (cemetery), and the place where the corpse was secretly buried by the criminal (criminals). The corpse can be buried by the criminal in the underground of a residential building, in a garden or personal plot, in a landfill, in a forest, or in other places. When extracting corpses from such burials, the exhumation protocol should describe in detail the burial place itself, the depth at which the corpse was found, its position and condition. 16. As an independent investigative action, exhumation is carried out on the basis of the investigator’s decision. A court decision is necessary in cases where the next of kin or relatives of the deceased object to its holding. At the same time, it should be noted that exhumation from a legal point of view can be not only official, but also accidental (for example, during excavation and construction work), as well as criminal - during looting, for fanatical reasons, for desecration of a corpse, etc. P. 17. In addition to the established details, the decision on exhumation must indicate whose corpse is to be exhumed, the place of its burial, the purpose of the exhumation, and list the persons involved in this investigative action. 18. Exhumation is carried out if necessary: ​​to carry out an initial and not repeated examination of the buried corpse; present the corpse for identification; carry out an examination (including repeated or additional). 19. Exhumation is carried out by an investigator with the participation of witnesses, a forensic expert (or a doctor, if it is not possible to ensure the participation of a forensic expert), other specialists, as well as persons who carry out excavation work related to the extraction of the corpse. During the exhumation, by decision of the investigator, other persons may be present, for example, the suspect or accused, the victim or witnesses, as well as relatives of the deceased, if the exhumation is for the purpose of identification. The exhumation procedure is coordinated by the investigator with the administration of the corresponding burial site and the sanitary-epidemiological service. 20. During exhumation, the following circumstances must be recorded: burial place; condition of the grave and soil; the depth of the coffin and its condition, including the nature of the upholstery and existing damage; position, posture and condition of the corpse; condition of clothing; objects and decorations in the coffin, including those of a ritual nature. If the purpose of the exhumation was to examine the corpse or identify it, then after these actions have been carried out, the coffin with the corpse is buried in compliance with generally accepted requirements. If an examination is necessary, the coffin with the corpse in it is delivered to the site of the examination (for example, to the morgue of a medical or forensic institution). In this case, burial is carried out after the examination. 21. During the exhumation process, it is mandatory to photograph the burial site before opening it, the position of the coffin or corpse directly at the burial site, then the general view of the coffin after removing it from the grave, the general view of the corpse after removing the coffin lid, as well as all identified circumstances. It seems appropriate to use video recording when carrying out this investigative action. 22. The burial of the corpse and the putting in order of the burial place after the exhumation must be ensured by the authorities that carried out the exhumation. Taking this into account, the instruction in Part 5 of the commented article on reimbursement of expenses associated with the subsequent burial of a corpse to the relatives of the deceased is applicable only when they take care of the very fact of burial, putting in order the grave, tombstones, fences and the surrounding area .

Modern organization of storage of unidentified bodies

Upon discovery of the body of an unknown person, a task force is dispatched to the scene. Next, a protocol is drawn up and accompanying documents are drawn up. The area where the body was found is being carefully examined. The personal belongings of the deceased are searched. Together with photographic recording of the body and identification of distinctive features, all information obtained can contribute to identification of the individual. Particular attention is paid to tattoos, the location of moles and birthmarks, scars, hair and eye color, nail shape, and various types of deformities. All these signs are recorded in detail before the autopsy is performed.

Autopsy results provide the exact cause of death. If the fact of violence is confirmed, then a criminal case is opened and operational and investigative measures are taken, including reporting the incident to the media. Most often, at this stage it is possible to locate the relatives of the deceased.

In the case where the deceased could not be identified, the body is placed in a refrigerator with a temperature of -10°C. Such conditions make it possible to significantly slow down the processes of decomposition in the tissues of the deceased. Consequently, relatives have a chance to identify their loved one several weeks after the death. For comparison, in a regular morgue, corpses are stored at a temperature of about 0°C.

Historical excursion

There were cases of discovering the dead in ancient times. Either a traveler froze to death on the road, or thieves robbed him and left him to die, or an illness took a merchant far from home. Such bodies were taken to the final site for identification. A few days later, when their facial features were distorted beyond recognition, they were transported to god-houses or poor women. They were kept there until spring, and then buried in a common grave.

Mortuaries of Minsk

The first morgue in the concept that is familiar to us now can be called a room in the Parisian gendarmerie, equipped back in 1604. By special order of the authorities, a cellar was allocated for storing the bodies of unidentified persons. The initially washed corpses were stored there. The temperature in the basement was low, which contributed to the long-term preservation of the dead. And in order to avoid infection with cadaveric poisons, identification was carried out through a window from above.

Who buries the unidentified dead?

In Minsk, the unitary enterprise “Spetskombinat KBO” is responsible for the repose of unidentified deceased. This service provides a list of funeral services and goods specified by regulations at the expense of budgetary funds (funeral benefits). Upon the fact of burial, a corresponding act is drawn up, and the data is entered into the registration journal of the corresponding cemetery. Cremation of unidentified corpses is not carried out, so that relatives can still find the body of a loved one, exhume it, conduct a DNA analysis and rebury it in another site.

July 15, 2021

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Identification of unknown corpses

Identification of bodies is carried out in several stages. First, relatives are interviewed about the distinctive features characteristic of their loved one. This is where records of tattoos, moles, hair and eye color, an inventory of personal belongings, etc. will help. If there is a match, family members are presented with correct photographs of the deceased. If at this stage household members recognize a person dear to them, then even then they are taken to the morgue for final identification. Agree, such a gentle procedure promotes psychological peace and allows you to weed out doubters at the verification stage, without bringing people in grief to the morgue.

Anyone who comes for identification at the morgue should prepare for the fact that at first they will not recognize their loved one. After death, the facial muscles naturally relax and the deceased ceases to resemble his living self. For this reason, errors occur when identifying a corpse in the morgue. In case of doubt, the identity of the deceased can be confirmed through DNA testing. Every year this analysis is carried out more and more often and its cost decreases.

Accounting for unidentified corpses

Family and fingerprint records Read more: Records of unsolved crimes by method of their commission

5. Accounting for unidentified corpses

The object of this type of accounting is unidentified corpses (including skeletonized and dismembered). Corpses are considered unidentified when the identity of the deceased has not been established. According to Part 2 of Article 178 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, unidentified corpses are subject to mandatory photography and fingerprinting. In addition, special signs, other anatomical features, as well as clothing and shoes, and items carried with him are photographed. If necessary, a verbal portrait can be drawn up. Cremation of unidentified corpses is not permitted. If the corpse remains unidentified during the investigation, it is subject to burial, but not cremation, regardless of the final results of the investigation. Otherwise, the possibility of subsequent examination of cadaveric remains will be excluded, if the need arises.

The registry office located at the place where the corpse was found or at the location of the emergency hospital is notified of the death of an unidentified person.

For an unidentified corpse, a similar card is filled out, which indicates when and where it was discovered, the time and causes of death, investigative measures taken to establish its identity, all the anatomical features of the corpse, special features (including birthmarks, tattoos, etc.) are displayed in detail. etc.), data on clothing, shoes, personal belongings. On the reverse side there are fingerprints and photographs taken according to the rules of identification photography.

If necessary, specialists in the field of portrait and fingerprint identification are involved. To establish the identity of an unidentified corpse, methods of plastic reconstruction of the intravital appearance from the skull and computer modeling are used.

Identification cards entering the file cabinet of unidentified corpses are checked against the files of missing persons and wanted persons.

6. Accounting for stolen items and animals

Registration of stolen items and animals is carried out at the central and regional levels. The obligatory objects of accounting under consideration at the regional level are things taken into account at the federal level. The full list of categories of relevant documents and things to be recorded in regional information centers is determined by orders of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Main Internal Affairs Directorate, the Internal Affairs Directorate of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the Department of Internal Affairs, and internal affairs bodies at sensitive facilities.

At the central level, the following accounts operate:

— accounting of stolen and confiscated documents of national circulation and numbered items;

— accounting of wanted and ownerless vehicles;

— accounting of stolen items of special value;

— accounting of stolen items that have special historical, scientific, artistic or cultural value.

A centralized record of stolen and seized documents and numbered items is maintained in order to ensure the search for stolen items and to establish the ownership of seized documents, items with individual inventory numbers, and to assist in solving crimes related to their theft.

Stolen and confiscated numbered items, in particular cold steel, including throwing and pneumatic weapons, are placed on centralized records at the State Information Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia; numbered documents, including passports of citizens of the Russian Federation and forms of passport and visa documents of strict accountability; license plates and securities in connection with the commission of grave and especially grave crimes, including when registering with the federal authorities persons who are the objects of registration of the AIPS "ABD - Center".

The grounds for registering stolen, seized documents and numbered items with regional and federal registration are decisions to initiate appropriate criminal cases.

To describe each numbered item and document placed on regional (local) and federal records, a special information card (IPC - B) is used.

Numbered items (documents) are registered with the Information Center within 7 days from the receipt of information about the theft, and are removed from local registration only upon their written submission to the regional Information Center in the following cases: detection or identification of the license plate item or document; termination of a criminal case due to the absence of an event or corpus delicti or after the expiration of the statute of limitations; the expiration of two years from the moment of seizure of a document or thing whose ownership has not been established; solving a crime. The basis for removing wanted items and documents from federal registration is the IPC-B card, which is sent by the regional IC to the State Information Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia within 15 days after their removal from local registration.

Centralized registration of wanted vehicles is intended for collecting, systematizing, storing, processing and issuing information about wanted vehicles and vehicles whose ownership has not been established that have a manufacturer's license plate. The formation and maintenance of this accounting is carried out using the Autopoisk AIPS in a unified system of centralized accounting at the federal and regional levels in the interests of law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation and CIS member states.

The AIPS "Avtopoisk" database contains information about vehicles wanted by internal affairs bodies, prosecutors, customs authorities, security authorities, courts and tax authorities.

As part of the AIPS "Avtopoisk", the GIC interacts with the operational accounting of the AIPS "Rozysk" of the Main Directorate of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, created in the interests of the traffic police departments (GAI). In addition to all the information about wanted vehicles contained in the AIPS "Avtopoisk", the AIPS "Rozysk" also contains information put on operational records by the traffic police departments in the manner regulated by special regulatory legal acts.

Wanted cars and trucks, buses, trailers for trucks, tractors and self-propelled vehicles for road and construction work, both domestic and foreign made, and at the regional level - also trailers for cars are subject to registration in the AIPS "Avtopoisk" at the federal level. and tractors, motorcycles, scooters and sidecars.

The basis for centralized registration of operational information (i.e., those that were received before the issue of initiating a criminal case was resolved) is a statement or report of theft, misappropriation of a vehicle without the purpose of theft, as well as involvement in the commission of a crime.

Within the framework of the Autosearch AIPS, requests from internal affairs bodies, other law enforcement agencies of Russia and CIS member states are executed, as well as requests received from foreign countries through Interpol,

Relevant services to traffic police departments (GAI) are carried out within the framework of AIPS “Rozysk”.

The execution of requests from internal affairs bodies (police) of the CIS member states is carried out on the basis of the Agreement on the relationship of the Ministries of Internal Affairs in the field of information exchange (1992).

Centralized registration of stolen items that have special historical, scientific, artistic or cultural value is aimed at ensuring the search for these items and assisting in solving crimes related to their theft. In the State Research Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia it is implemented on the basis of the Antikvariat AIPS.

The objects of this accounting are:

— historical values, including those related to historical events in the lives of peoples, the development of society and the state, the history of science and technology, as well as those related to the life and activities of government, political, public figures, thinkers, scientists, literature, and artists;

— objects and their fragments obtained as a result of archaeological excavations;

- paintings and drawings are entirely handmade on any basis and from any materials;

— original sculptural works, including reliefs, from any materials;

— original artistic compositions and installations from any materials;

— artistically designed religious objects, in particular icons;

— engravings, prints, lithographs and their original printed forms;

-works of decorative and applied art, including artistic products made of glass, ceramics, wood, metal, bone, fabric and other materials;

- products of traditional folk arts and crafts;

— components and fragments of architectural, historical, artistic monuments and monuments of monumental art;

- ancient books, publications of special historical, artistic, scientific and literary interest;

— rare manuscripts and documentary monuments;

— archives, including photo, film, video archives;

— unique and rare musical instruments; antique firearms and bladed weapons;

— postage stamps, other philatelic materials;

-ancient coins, orders, medals, seals and other collectibles;

— rare collections and specimens of flora and fauna of interest for mineralogy, anatomy and paleontology;

- other movable items, including copies that have historical, artistic, scientific or other cultural significance, as well as those taken under state protection as monuments of history and culture.

Modern souvenirs and cultural items of mass, mass production are not subject to accounting.

The grounds for centralized registration in the AIPS “Antiques” are decisions to initiate a criminal case regarding the theft of these items, as well as reports from the Interpol National Central Bureau of foreign states or the Interpol General Secretariat about the theft of such items received by the Interpol National Central Bureau in Russia.

For each stolen item, a special identification card is drawn up, which is used both to describe and register the item, and to adjust accounting, deregister and execute requests.

In case of theft of items of special historical, scientific, artistic or cultural value, identification cards are filled out by the investigator who decides to initiate a criminal case; in other cases - by an employee of the internal affairs agency or customs carrying out an operational inspection. A copy of the card remains in the verification material, criminal or operational search case. The original card, sent within the prescribed period to the territorial information center for registration, is accompanied by a photograph or sketch of the item.

Information centers for inquiries about stolen items can provide both specific identification data and general statistical information.

Family and fingerprint records Read more: Records of unsolved crimes by method of their commission

Information about the work “Hand Traces. Criminal registration"

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