Jurisdiction in criminal cases includes a number of terms, each of which is slightly different from each other. If we derive a general concept, then jurisdiction means the order of distribution of criminal cases for consideration in the courts of first instance. Thanks to the rules and procedures clearly spelled out in the Code of Criminal Procedure, each court is assigned a certain competence.
Judicial system
The Law of the Russian Federation “On the Judicial System of the Russian Federation” clearly establishes the judicial system, i.e. establishes the types of courts operating on the territory of the state, and also establishes their competence.
Thus, Article 4 of this regulatory legal act states that the system of courts of the Russian Federation consists of federal courts, as well as magistrates' courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
Federal courts have their own level system:
- district courts;
- supreme courts of each territory, region, republic, as well as equivalent courts of large cities with federal status (Moscow, St. Petersburg, etc.);
- Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.
There are separate military courts, which are designed to consider cases of a narrow category (military topics). They have equal status to district courts or supreme courts of local significance (depending on their level).
Principles for determining territorial jurisdiction in criminal cases
Territorial jurisdiction and the overriding principles of its determination are considered by the provisions of Art. 32 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. In particular, the main principle for determining the place of legal proceedings regarding an existing criminal offense is the crime scene itself. It is according to its territorial location that the case is considered in a court of appropriate jurisdiction.
Controversial situations in this issue may include crimes begun in the area of territorial responsibility of one court and completed in another place. In such a situation, the legislation, according to the rules for the application of territorial jurisdiction, determines the place of consideration of the court at the geographical location of the end of the crime. Similar difficulties may arise in situations where multiple crimes are committed in different locations. In this case, territorial jurisdiction is determined by the place where most of the crimes committed were completed or by the place where the most serious offense was committed.
note
Special rules of territorial jurisdiction apply for crimes committed outside the borders of the Russian Federation. In this case, the consideration of the case is carried out by the territorial justice body, which is located at the place of stay or residence of the victim or the accused.
The concept and types of jurisdiction of criminal cases in the Russian Federation
Jurisdiction in criminal proceedings, as well as in civil proceedings, is divided into the following types:
- generic;
- territorial;
- interconnected.
Generic jurisdiction makes it possible to differentiate the procedure for considering certain categories of civil and criminal cases between authorities at different levels, i.e. establishes the procedure according to which a decision is made to refer a criminal case to a particular body under jurisdiction.
Neither investigative bodies when sending cases, nor the courts themselves can independently decide to send cases to another body, unless otherwise provided by law. Thus, in the Constitution of the country there is a clause (Article 47), according to which no one can be forcibly deprived of the right to trial in court according to the jurisdiction available in the country.
Depending on the territory in which the controversial situation takes place (the commission of a crime), the court to which the case materials will be submitted for consideration will depend. This is called territorial jurisdiction . In civil proceedings, the claim is sent to the court in the territory of whose jurisdiction the defendant (the organization against which the claims are made) resides. There are both general territorial jurisdiction, and alternative (the plaintiff has the right to choose a court in accordance with the rules enshrined in the law), exclusive (depending on the type of claim), contractual (the parties can change the court by agreement).
Interconnected jurisdiction involves consideration of a new case (claim) in the same court and by the same judge who is considering a previously directed criminal case (filed claim), regardless of territoriality, in a single process after their connection. This procedure is designed to save government money and time costs for the judiciary.
The problem of determining and maintaining jurisdiction
Definition 1
Jurisdiction is a set of rules on the basis of which cases are distributed among various courts of first instance.
Courts are endowed with varying amounts of competence, which necessitates the existence of an institution of jurisdiction.
Note 1
It is important to distinguish between the concepts of “jurisdiction” and “jurisdiction”.
Jurisdiction presupposes the possibility of consideration of the problem by a certain body, including a court. Jurisdiction determines which specific court of first instance can hear the case.
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By regulating the relevance of a legal case to the competence of a particular court, the institution of jurisdiction plays an important practical role in modern judicial activity.
Jurisdiction is determined by the relevant procedural code of the Russian Federation (Civil We have already completed course work
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The state considers the principle of jurisdiction as one of the main conditions for the legality of a judicial act. If the court accepts for consideration a case in violation of the rules of jurisdiction, then the decision or sentence made will be canceled. If a decision is made in violation of the rules of jurisdiction, it cannot be correct, since in this case the requirements of Articles 47 and 56 of the Russian Constitution are violated. We have already completed an abstract
The Constitution of the Russian Federation states in more detail that under no circumstances should the rule of consideration of a case be violated by the court to whose jurisdiction the law relates it.
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The right of property in the Russian Federation in more detail to the judicial system largely depends on compliance with the rules of jurisdiction, violation of which will lead to an uneven workload of the courts.
Note 2
Compliance with the rules for determining jurisdiction also affects the implementation of the constitutional rights of a citizen. The right to a fair and lawful trial presupposes a precise legislative definition of jurisdiction, which cannot be arbitrarily changed by the law enforcement agency.
Jurisdiction of cases by level of instance (generic)
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, as a judicial body of first instance, has jurisdiction over the following categories of cases:
- challenging the legality of regulatory and non-regulatory acts;
- on the suspension and termination of the activities of public organizations, parties, etc.;
- violation of the interests of citizens by the highest officials and authorities of the country;
- other federal disputes, as well as criminal cases involving crimes of great public interest in the country or the world.
The Supreme Courts of republics, regions and other administrative-territorial units of the Russian Federation consider as the first instance civil cases on violations of human rights by political and state bodies of regional (territorial, republican) significance, on the adoption of minor children, cases containing state secrets and criminal cases enshrined in Part 3 of Article 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Additional information
It is important to distinguish between the concepts of jurisdiction and jurisdiction. The latter means the determination of the investigative or inquiry body whose jurisdiction should be the investigation of a crime classified according to certain criteria. Read more about this concept here.
District courts are authorized to consider both criminal and administrative cases as a court of first instance, and civil disputes that do not fall within the competence of magistrates and require a more qualified approach. Here cases are considered depending on territoriality. Currently, it is at this level that the bulk of cases occur (about 90% of cases are considered as a court of first instance), therefore the list of criminal cases considered at this level is not legally fixed in any way.
The jurisdiction of criminal cases by a magistrate involves the consideration of disputes in the field of family, domestic issues, labor conflicts, minor property disputes (up to 50 thousand rubles), criminal cases of private prosecution that do not pose a great public danger and some less serious criminal cases (Part 1 of Art. 31 Code of Criminal Procedure). The exception is any controversial situations in which minor children are involved.
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Commentary on Article 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation
1. Jurisdiction is a set of features of a criminal case that make it possible to establish a specific court that is competent to consider this case as a court of first instance. Article 47 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation provides that no one can be deprived of the right to have his case considered in the court and by the judge to whose jurisdiction it is assigned by law. This constitutional provision is implemented by the rules for determining subject (generic), personal and territorial jurisdiction.
The subject (generic) attribute of jurisdiction is determined by the characteristics of the subject of the criminal proceedings, i.e. the nature of the criminal cases under consideration, or, in other words, the qualification of the act under the articles of the Special Part of the Criminal Code. With the help of subject jurisdiction, the delimitation of the competence of courts of different levels (links) is ensured.
The personal attribute establishes special rules on the jurisdiction of criminal cases depending on one or another social status of the accused (defendant), which is a certain exception to the principle of equality of all before the law and the court. The law establishes personal jurisdiction in relation to: a) military personnel and persons equivalent to them; b) certain categories of officials (judges, deputies of the State Duma and members of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation).
For territorial jurisdiction, see com. to Art. 32.
2. In room The article establishes the rules for determining jurisdiction both on a subject and on a personal basis.
3. The Code establishes the subject jurisdiction of justices of the peace. As a general rule, they have jurisdiction over cases of crimes punishable by no more than three years of imprisonment, with the exception of the types of crimes listed in part one of this article. At the same time, criminal cases within the jurisdiction of the magistrate, committed by persons specified in Part 5 of Art. 31 of this Code are considered by judges of garrison military courts individually in the manner established by Chapter. 41 Code of Criminal Procedure (Part 6, Article 30).
4. District courts hear the vast majority of criminal cases. Therefore, their subject jurisdiction is determined in part two of this article by the method of exception: district courts have jurisdiction over cases of all crimes, with the exception of criminal cases that are the subject of jurisdiction of other federal courts of all levels and magistrates' courts. This provision does not say that the district court does not have jurisdiction over cases referred to the jurisdiction of military courts (parts 5 - 8 of Article 31), but this follows from the general meaning of this entire article, as well as from the content of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation dated June 23 .1999 “On military courts of the Russian Federation.”
5. When determining the jurisdiction of the supreme courts of republics, regional (regional) courts, courts of federal cities, courts of autonomous regions and autonomous districts, the legislator went by, firstly, directly indicating the types of crimes, cases of which are within the competence of the courts of this level. Secondly, these are criminal cases transferred to these courts in accordance with Art. Art. 34 and 35 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and thirdly, criminal cases, the materials of which contain information constituting a state secret. From 01/01/2013, these courts will also consider criminal cases against a member of the Federation Council, a deputy of the State Duma, a federal court judge, or a magistrate upon their petition submitted before the start of the trial.
6. According to clause 2, part 1, art. 7 FKZ “On Military Courts of the Russian Federation”, military courts have jurisdiction over cases of all crimes committed by military personnel and citizens undergoing military training, cases of crimes committed by citizens (foreign citizens) during their military service, military training, as well as cases , referred to the competence of military courts of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.
In accordance with the Federal Laws “On the Status of Military Personnel” and “On Military Duty and Military Service,” military personnel are citizens serving in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops, military formations and bodies specified in Article 2 of the Federal Law “On Military Duty and Military Service.” service." Military personnel seconded in the prescribed manner to federal government bodies, other government bodies and institutions, government bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, international organizations in accordance with international treaties of the Russian Federation, state unitary enterprises whose property is in federal ownership, and joint-stock companies also have the status of military personnel. , one hundred percent of whose shares are in federal ownership and which perform work in the interests of the country’s defense and state security, other enterprises, institutions and organizations, if provided for by the Federal Law, as well as in accordance with Article 2 of the Federal Law “On the Status of Military Personnel”, citizens undergoing military service fees. Persons serving in other state paramilitary bodies and formations on the basis of other legislative and regulatory legal acts, having special ranks similar or similar to military ranks, are not military personnel.
7. If a person is accused of committing several crimes, at least one of which is within the jurisdiction of the regional (or equivalent) court, the criminal case is subject to consideration on the merits in the regional court <1>.
——————————— <1> Definition of the Investigative Committee according to the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated May 12, 2004 N 81-O04-12 // “KP”. 2008.
8. On the consideration of the case with the participation of jurors in the event of a change in the status of materials containing information constituting a state secret, see paragraph 3 of com. to Art. 325.
Basic principles
If government agencies fail to comply with the rules of jurisdiction enshrined in the law, negative consequences may occur.
The legality of justice should be based on the following principles:
- The court accepts only those cases that are within its jurisdiction.
- A decision made by a court in violation of the rules of jurisdiction is declared invalid.
- The parties to the proceedings may request that the case be referred to the competent authority.
- The case in the court where it was received must be considered from beginning to end, with the exception of the case of filing claims.
- When sending a case to court, it is necessary to take into account both the generic and territorial jurisdiction of criminal cases in criminal proceedings.
- A judge who has received a case for proceedings and decides that it is not within the jurisdiction of the court to which it was received must be redirected to the competent authority.
- Disagreements and disputes between judicial authorities regarding the determination of the jurisdiction of certain cases are not allowed.
More information can be obtained by asking questions in the comments to the article.
The question of jurisdiction is closed
August 28, 2021 09:56
The Moscow Regional Court extended the preventive measure of house arrest for lawyer Igor Tretyakov for another six months
On August 27, the Moscow Regional Court returned the materials of the criminal case of the chairman of Tretyakov and Partners, Igor Tretyakov, to the Khimki City Court of the Moscow Region.
According to AG, one of Igor Tretyakov’s defenders, lawyer Boris Asriyan, noted that the issue of jurisdiction was closed for the third time. Another defender, lawyer Stanislav Shostak, pointed out that this issue had to be dealt with thoroughly so that the verdict would not be subsequently overturned on formal grounds.
Exceptional type sign
This type of jurisdiction is used extremely rarely. It is determined by the characteristic features of the territory that is under Russian jurisdiction, as well as a special situation that is declared throughout the country or within one region.
For example, according to Art. 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, military courts, which are stationed outside Russian territory, consider cases of Russian military personnel and other people associated with them in the following cases:
- If the crime is committed within the territory that is under Russian jurisdiction, committed during the performance of direct military duties, or infringes on the legitimate interests of the country.
- If a different procedure for considering the case is not established by international agreements with other countries (according to the eighth part of Article 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation).
Concept
Jurisdiction of criminal cases
is a set of features of a specific criminal case, taking into account which the question of which court of first instance should consider this case on the merits is decided.
The administration of justice on the territory of such a huge state as the Russian Federation requires appropriate organization of the activities of courts at different levels and, above all, the optimal distribution among them of criminal cases received for consideration on the merits. For this purpose, the legislator has provided rules of jurisdiction. In this case, a number of features characterizing a specific criminal case are taken into account, which make it possible to determine which court of first instance should accept this case for its proceedings and consider it on its merits.
These signs are:
1) the place where the crime was committed (the beginning and end of a specific crime);
2) corpus delicti, i.e. a norm of criminal law according to which the preliminary investigation authorities qualified the act imputed to the accused or the person in respect of whom the question of the application of compulsory medical measures is raised;
3) information about the identity of the subject of the crime;
4) other circumstances that make it possible to determine which court should consider a specific criminal case, while saving time, effort and money for the judicial system and society as a whole. For example, residence of all participants in criminal proceedings in the same territory, which is subject to the jurisdiction of a given court, different from the place where the crime was committed, etc.
Jurisdiction: personal attribute
It is determined by the characteristics of the defendant’s personality (for example, official or official position). According to Art. 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation with commentaries, this feature makes it possible to distinguish cases between different units of the same civil courts within one branch, as well as to divide cases into civil and military.
The personal type sign is valid in the process only in cases where there is a direct indication of this in the law. It is superior to other traits if there is competition.
An example is Article 452 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, according to which crimes of members of the Federation Council, Duma deputies or judges are considered by a panel in the Supreme Court, if a corresponding petition has been submitted in advance. In addition, the fifth and sixth parts of Art. 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation determines that crimes committed by military personnel and citizens during military training are considered by military courts.
Jurisdiction: generic feature
The concept of signs of jurisdiction in criminal cases and their division by type is determined by the characteristic features of the offense committed. Which together express his criminal legal qualifications.
The theory of law identifies four signs of jurisdiction in criminal cases: generic, personal, exclusive, territorial and by connection of cases.
The generic feature is used to distribute jurisdiction over crimes between different elements of the lower court system and their compositions. It allows us to differentiate the crimes in question as follows:
- for justices of the peace;
- for regional units;
- for district courts;
- for military vessels (garrison and district or naval);
- for supreme courts of a regional, district or other type;
- for the Supreme Court.
The main subject of justice in this category is the district court. It considers almost all cases within one territorial unit.
Regulatory framework for regulating PUD
The fundamentals of the PUD are even contained in the main legislative act of the country. In particular, Part 2 of Art. 20 of the Constitution allows the jurisdiction of jurors to include crimes for which the penalty may be the execution of the convicted person. There is currently a moratorium on such a sanction, but this does not invalidate the article.
The above-mentioned articles of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation define in detail the procedure for establishing PUD. In addition, they allow changes to the PUD. And also in certain situations to question it.
At the same time, it is prohibited to refuse to accept a case due to dubious jurisdiction. In such situations, a case drawn up in accordance with the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure is subject to trial. However, this does not cancel the court’s responsibility for making a decision in a case that does not fall within its competence.
Such a verdict will be considered unlawful. Including because Art. 29 of the Code of Criminal Procedure does not allow courts to make mistakes in determining the limits of their jurisdiction.
