The statute of limitations applies not only to murder, but also to fraud, theft, use and distribution of drugs, and so on. The length of the statute of limitations depends on the specific crime and the circumstances under which it was committed. If the offender is unwilling to cooperate with law enforcement agencies, the statute of limitations may be suspended. While the issue of its renewal will be decided in court if the person repents or is re-arrested. We will talk further about how the statute of limitations for murder in the Russian Federation works.
Statute of limitations for murder in the Russian Federation
What is the statute of limitations
Such a concept as the statute of limitations appears in the seventy-eighth article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and is directly associated with criminal liability for the crime committed. This term refers to a fixed period of time (whose duration depends on the type of crime) during which criminal prosecution is carried out. If, after this period, the accused cooperated with law enforcement agencies and did not commit new crimes, criminal liability may be dropped from him.
The statute of limitations allows a criminal to avoid punishment if he cooperates with the investigation for several years.
What determines the length of the period?
As already mentioned, the length of the statute of limitations directly depends on the specific illegal act. In the table we will look at how the severity of the crime affects the increase in this period.
Table 1. Impact of the crime on the statute of limitations
| Duration | Nature of the crime |
| Two years | This period is typical for minor crimes. Such crimes occur as a result of unintentional or negligent acts. The maximum penalty for such an offense may be imprisonment for three (or less) years. |
| Six years | The term applies to crimes of medium gravity. Such illegal acts are often intentional and carry a prison sentence of about five years. However, sometimes citizens who have committed a crime as a result of careless actions also fall into this category. |
| Ten years | A ten-year statute of limitations faces people who have committed a serious crime. Serious crimes include only intentional variants. As a result of such an offense, a citizen can be sentenced to ten years in prison |
| Fifteen years | The longest period applies to particularly serious crimes, for which the most severe sentences are imposed, excluding relief. For participants in especially serious crimes, imprisonment lasting more than ten years or other more severe preventive measures (depending on the judge’s verdict) |
Murder in the eyes of the law
The answer to this tautological question is very easy: murder is the causing of death to a person. Article 105 of the Criminal Code is devoted to intentional murder, and if everything is clear with the general definition of this concept, then the second part, which clarifies the specific signs of this act, deserves attention.
According to the law, murder requires the presence of one of the following characteristics:
- murder of two or more persons;
- murder caused by blood feud;
- murder for hooligan reasons;
- murder through a socially dangerous method;
- murder of a pregnant woman (where the perpetrator was aware of the pregnancy);
- murder caused by mercenary motives;
- murder carried out by a hired professional;
- murder, the purpose of which was to conceal another crime (including the murder of victims of violence or witnesses);
- murder of a helpless person (for example, a child);
- murder for the purpose of further resale of the corpse's organs;
- murder on racial or religious grounds.
Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
For all of the above crimes, the statute of limitations is fifteen years.
Limitation period limits
One of the common questions regarding statutes of limitations is when the statute of limitations begins and ends. Based on the legislation, we can give a clear answer:
- the statute of limitations begins from the moment when the illegal act was committed;
- The end point of the term is recognized as the moment when the last court hearing ends and the verdict takes legal force.
It is also important to consider that the statute of limitations cannot apply to several crimes at once. For each act that violates legal norms, there is a deadline that does not overlap with the others and exists independently.
If a citizen has committed several crimes, then each of them has its own statute of limitations.
Moreover, in certain circumstances, the statute of limitations may be stopped by the decision of law enforcement officials. Suspension of the term occurs when the accused evades the investigation or trial, not wanting to take part in the investigation. If desired, the offender has the opportunity to renew the term. To do this, he must do one of the following:
- wait for your own arrest by police officers;
- confess (i.e. surrender voluntarily).
You can read below about how to register a confession.
Statement of confession
In some situations, criminals who have been hiding from law enforcement services for many years prefer to repent of their actions, which allows the investigation to be resumed and fruitful results to be achieved.
Degree of severity of criminal offenses
The statute of limitations in criminal law directly depends on the severity of the crime or, as it is also called, the category of the crime.
In this regard, there is a direct relationship: the more dangerous the crime, the higher the statute of limitations for it. Is there a statute of limitations for murder, and what is its value? Let’s talk about this further.
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains the following categories of criminal offenses:
- Light weight . The maximum sentence for minor crimes is 3 years.
- Moderate weight . These include crimes committed through negligence, for which imprisonment does not exceed 3 years, as well as intentional acts with a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.
- Heavy . These are exclusively intentional criminal acts that are punishable by 10 years in prison.
- Particularly severe . Actions that are intentional, usually with aggravating circumstances. The term of imprisonment for them exceeds 10 years, and can also be in the form of life imprisonment.
The statute of limitations for crimes of minor gravity is 2 years, of moderate gravity - 6 years, for serious acts - 10 years, for especially serious ones - 15 years.
Exceptions
The statute of limitations has its exceptions. The legislation provides a list of crimes that cannot be forgiven either after two years or after fifteen years. All these crimes are united by their severity, since they can claim a large number of human lives and cause serious damage to society.
So, the number of crimes for which the statute of limitations does not apply includes the following options:
- terrorism or actions facilitating a terrorist act. Terrorism is a method of manipulation that is used by extremist (usually) organizations to influence the activities of a particular state by inducing panic. Terrorist acts may include undeclared wars, explosions in crowded places, assassinations of politicians, disruption of communications between countries, and so on;
Terrorism does not imply a statute of limitations
- hostilities. According to Articles 353 and 356 of the Criminal Code, military actions are also included in the list of serious crimes. In this case, we are talking about the so-called aggressive war, which involves active aggressive actions and the use of prohibited weapons, leading to mass casualties;
- genocide. As history shows, genocide can take on a global scale, leading to the systematic extermination of people on racial, national or religious grounds. In addition to direct killing, genocide also includes imposing restrictions on childbearing for certain groups of people. At the moment, genocide is one of the most serious crimes;
Genocide is one of the most serious crimes
- ecocide. Ecocide is a relatively new concept, appearing in Article 358 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It involves the destruction of natural resources, which is carried out through water or air pollution, as well as the destruction of animals or vegetation. All such actions can lead to an environmental disaster, and their destructive consequences are unpredictable.
Reference. Acts associated with terrorism include acts such as the seizure of government officials, the forcible retention of power, the organization of civil uprisings, and attacks on internationally protected persons.
Ecocide can lead to a large-scale environmental disaster
Statute of limitations in practice
Although the definition of the statute of limitations is very simple, in reality, obtaining a full exemption after a designated period of time is not as easy as it might seem. First of all, you need to understand that the use of the statute of limitations is not the responsibility of the court, but its right, which the judge implements based on the context of the situation. As a result, some criminals may be denied this “privilege.”
In order for the judge to consider the possibility of applying the statute of limitations, the participation of a lawyer is necessary
In order for the statute of limitations to be applied during the investigation of a criminal offense, an appropriate initiative must come from the defendant or his defense attorney. Neither the judge, nor the prosecutor, nor the plaintiff are at all interested in the criminal evading his responsibility - even if he voluntarily repents and turns himself in. However, even with the work of a competent lawyer, the statute of limitations may be denied due to aggravating circumstances or the cruelty that accompanied the murder.
It is also necessary to take into account that even if the court agrees to apply the statute of limitations, this will in no way mean the legal rehabilitation of the offender in the eyes of the public. On the contrary, the very presence of this period will confirm the fact of the commission of a crime and the citizen’s agreement with the verdict.
Stage of trial
When the statute of limitations expires on a case pending in court - if it was received after the expiration of the period, or it expired during the trial, with the consent of the defendant, the court also makes a decision to terminate it.
If the defendant does not agree to the termination of proceedings on such grounds, the trial continues as usual.
At the end of the trial, if the defendant is found guilty, he will be given a sentence from which he will be released because the statute of limitations has expired. If he is found not guilty, an acquittal may be imposed.
Termination of criminal prosecution on the grounds under consideration in any phase of criminal proceedings can only take place if the person held accountable requests this and/or does not object to such a decision.
This requirement is based on the fact that this reason for exemption from liability is non-rehabilitative , that is, it is actually stated that the person committed the crime in question, but, unlike a sentence, no conclusion is made about guilt or innocence.
It guarantees the right of a citizen to achieve his rehabilitation based on the results of the consideration of the case. The victim’s disagreement to terminate the case upon expiration of the statute of limitations is not an obstacle to making this decision.
Information about the final decision on the case or material based on clause 3, part 1, art. 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation are recorded in the Information Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this fact is regarded as criminal liability.
Exemption from liability established by criminal law does not exempt from the obligation to compensate for damage caused.
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