Jurisdiction of criminal cases: concept and types under Article 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation

Jurisdiction of criminal cases is a system of characterizing components that determine the court that will consider the case. In order to quickly consider the materials without violating the rights of the participants in the proceedings, it is necessary first of all, correctly, to determine the jurisdiction. The Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees the right to trial in the court whose jurisdiction is determined by Article 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

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Criminal proceedings about the concept and types of jurisdiction

Jurisdiction in criminal proceedings is determined by the provisions of Article 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

There are two forms of determining jurisdiction:

The system of judicial authority to accept for consideration the type of criminal cases regulated by law.
A system of legal distinctive aspects inherent in the competence of the courts of initial instance.

The relevance of a criminal case to a specific court is confirmed by the competence, fullness of rights and status of the court in the hierarchy of the judiciary.

The meaning of the distribution of cases by jurisdiction is necessary for the following:

be a guarantee of consideration of materials where they are required to be considered by law;
allow the court to objectively consider a criminal case as soon as possible;
the proceedings are carried out territorially where the criminal acts took place and the participants in the proceedings are registered;
divide cases into categories and characteristics of the perpetrators.

The court, when accepting materials for proceedings, is obliged to establish its competence within the framework of the current procedural code.
In jurisprudence there are three forms of jurisdiction:

It is characterized by a territorial feature - a territorial appearance.
Characterized by the qualification of criminal manifestations - generic type.
Characterized by the distinctive features of the subject - personal appearance.

When making a decision, each specified characteristic is evaluated independently. Used to divide cases involving criminal liability between courts.

Transfer of a criminal case to jurisdiction

See also Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated November 9, 2018 N 39-P

A change in territorial jurisdiction does not indicate a violation of the right to consider a criminal case by a legally established, and not arbitrarily chosen, court, despite the fact that this is a court of the same competence, although of a different territorial jurisdiction

Despite the fairly clear regulation in law of the rules on jurisdiction, situations may arise in life that require the transfer of a case from one court of jurisdiction to another. It should be emphasized again:

subject or personal jurisdiction is predetermined by law and cannot be changed, and
territorial jurisdiction may be changed in the presence of circumstances specified in the law.

Legislation regulating jurisdiction

The Constitution, being the main law of the state, contains the basis of jurisdiction. Article 20 is considered an example. Unlike part 1, part two allows the use of the jury in deciding the fate of the accused for criminal acts that carry the death penalty. A temporary ban on the use of such punishment leaves it in force.

Criminal proceedings, Articles 30 to 36, establish the rules for determining the court, which will be the only authority authorized to make a fair verdict. According to the rules set out in these articles, jurisdiction can be established, undergo changes and be called into question in a certain manner.

Legislation establishes and determines issues of jurisdiction through legislative acts. A lecture, preparation of an essay, defense of a diploma project on this topic allows a future lawyer, lawyer, law enforcement officer, legal consultant in any organization to have a diploma and become a professional and clearly understand the principles, usually summarized in a table:

refusal to consider a case due to doubts about jurisdiction is unacceptable; a case received in accordance with procedural norms is accepted for consideration;
if the court makes a verdict without taking into account jurisdiction, then this decision is illegal;
a court of any instance cannot violate the boundaries of jurisdiction on the basis of Article 29 of the criminal procedure.

The scientific approach to determining the fundamental provisions of jurisdiction was considered in the new legal literature.
At institutes, this topic is reflected in graduates when defending their thesis. Preparation is based on studying the material from the latest textbook, which contains a section on criminal procedure, the presentation of which took place in the usual manner. The current legislation of the Russian Federation determines jurisdiction under Article 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The structure is arranged in order of increasing importance of the courts, indicating for each category of criminal articles under consideration:

Magistrate's Court.
District court of federal significance.
Judicial body of the subject.
Arbitration intersectoral arbitration court.
Supreme Court.

The procedure for determining the necessary authority in cases of bankruptcy, divorce, debtor, road accident, compulsory medical insurance, fraud, murder and others should be decided at the pre-trial stage.

Frequently asked questions regarding the jurisdiction of cases in litigation

Which court should I file a lawsuit in case of divorce from a citizen of the Russian Federation?

As a general rule, divorce cases are considered by a magistrate - clause 2, part 1, art. 23 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. If, during divorce proceedings, a husband and wife decide the issue of determining the place of residence of their joint child, then such a case will be considered by the district court - Art. 24 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

The claim is filed in court at the place of residence of the defendant, or the plaintiff, if the place of residence of the former is unknown. It is also allowed to file a claim in court at the place of residence of the plaintiff if a minor child permanently lives with him, whose place of residence after the termination of the marriage will have to be determined by the court.

Competence

It is up to the prosecutor to determine the court that will consider criminal materials. When considering this issue, he is guided by the rule of jurisdiction, gives an assessment of the subject and the circumstances of the case established by the investigation.

The bulk of pending criminal cases are being processed by district courts.

In addition, cases under criminal articles are divided into several types:

criminal cases under the jurisdiction of a magistrate;
cases under criminal articles considered by higher courts;
cases of military courts.

Speaking about the jurisdiction of criminal cases by the magistrate, it should be noted that this category of judges considers criminal manifestations of minor gravity.
The sentence is relatively short - less than three years in prison. The list is regulated by Article 31 of the Criminal Code and consists of criminal acts that qualify as:

Intentional infliction of minor harm.
Causing serious harm without the intent to cause it.
Beaten up.
Statements of intent to injure or commit murder.
Slander.

A list limited by the indicated compositions was compiled at the legislative level so that the proceedings could depend both on the magnitude of the punishment and on the competence of the court to establish the truth.

Cases within the competence of the courts, taking into account the complexity of the composition and the provided liability, as well as the statements of the subject, are subject to consideration:

a judge with two assessors;
three judges;
exclusively by a jury.

When episodes of a criminal act occurred not in one district, region or republic, but in different places, it is necessary to provide for the principle of determining jurisdiction based on the largest number of episodes or the more serious one. These provisions are set out in the second part of Article 32 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The legislation provides for the presence of military courts. In international law there is such a thing as an international military tribunal.

The current version of the law allows this category of courts to determine jurisdiction, taking into account:

Territorial sign.
Place of deployment of a military unit or fleet.

The category of courts under consideration is the first instance. Article 31 of the procedural code, in accordance with the norms of parts 5–8, determines the names of cases within the competence of military courts.

Cases are accepted for proceedings when the defendant:

a serviceman serves in military units;
citizen at military training;
is a person who has been transferred to the reserve or has completed training, but committed a crime during the period of service and participation in training.

If a military court is located abroad of the Russian Federation, then it has the right to consider cases within the jurisdiction of regional courts. The exception is the cases set out in part 4 of the seventh article of the law on military courts, when the requirements of treaties in Russia and other countries must be taken into account. His powers include the consideration of all cases, except those within the jurisdiction of a higher court and the naval court.

The military district judiciary considers complex cases, with penalties ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment.

Accepts for production:

Materials on appealing decisions of military or naval district courts that have not entered into force.
Materials on appealing decisions made by military or naval district courts that have entered into force.
Materials on newly discovered facts within the framework of judicial acts adopted by the Military Collegium itself, which have legal force.

This judicial body is authorized to inform interested parties about decisions made, based on the materials reviewed, and to prepare reviews of legal activities.

The Supreme Court is the main judicial body of the state for the entire range of cases considered by the judicial system.

The majoritarian character inherent in this court is to perform the following functions:

implement a differentiated approach, control over the activities of subordinate courts;
in the appellate procedure, decide cases based on new circumstances, and in an exceptional manner established by law, be the primary instance;
review established practice and explain, using examples, the position of the highest court.

This authority exists to ensure a common understanding of constitutional requirements at the present stage.

Article 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. Jurisdiction of criminal cases (current version)

7. According to clause 2, part 1, art. 7 of the FKZ “On Military Courts of the Russian Federation”, military courts have jurisdiction over cases of crimes of which military personnel, citizens undergoing military training, as well as citizens dismissed from military service, citizens who have completed military training are accused, provided that the crimes were committed by them during military service, military training (the latter group of citizens is not mentioned at all in Article 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). Cases of crimes of which military personnel are accused, including citizens undergoing military training, provided that the crimes were committed by them before conscription or entering military service, military training, are beyond the jurisdiction of military courts.

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 Art. 2 Federal Law “On Military Duty and Military 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 Art. 2 of the Federal Law “On the Status of Military Personnel” citizens undergoing military training (however, within the meaning of the provisions of Parts 5 - 6 of Article 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, citizens undergoing military training are not considered military personnel, which is hardly true). 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.

8. The rules for determining the jurisdiction of garrison and district (naval) military courts, provided for in parts 5, 6 of the commented article of the Code of Criminal Procedure, significantly diverge from those established by the Federal Law “On Military Courts of the Russian Federation”. So, according to Part 1 of Art. 14 of this Law, “the district (naval) military court, within the limits established by this Federal Constitutional Law, considers in the first instance cases of crimes for which a penalty of imprisonment for a term of over 15 years, life imprisonment or the death penalty may be imposed. " Based on Part 1 of Art. 22 “the garrison military court, within the limits established by this Federal Constitutional Law, considers in the first instance criminal cases that are not assigned by this Federal Constitutional Law to the jurisdiction of the Military Collegium or the District (Navy) Military Court.”

However, according to Part 6 of Art. 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the district (naval) military court has jurisdiction over all criminal cases specified in Part 3 of this article in relation to military personnel and citizens undergoing military training, i.e. similar to those that fall under the jurisdiction of the supreme courts of republics, regional (regional) courts, courts of federal cities, courts of autonomous regions and autonomous districts. The crimes specified in Part 3 of Art. 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure do not always provide for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of over 15 years, life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Part 4 art. 7 of the Federal Law on Military Courts establishes that military courts stationed outside the territory of the Russian Federation have jurisdiction over all criminal cases subject to consideration by federal courts of general jurisdiction, unless otherwise established by an international treaty of the Russian Federation. Otherwise - in Part 8 of Art. 31 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. It says that military courts stationed outside the territory of Russia have jurisdiction over criminal cases of crimes committed by a more limited contingent: military personnel serving in the Russian forces, members of their families, as well as other citizens of the Russian Federation, and only under the condition that the act was committed on territory under the jurisdiction of Russia, or committed in the performance of official duties, or infringes on the interests of Russia, unless otherwise provided by an international treaty of the Russian Federation.

Thus, from the jurisdiction of military courts located outside the territory of the Russian Federation, the Code of Criminal Procedure excludes, firstly, military personnel who do not serve directly in the troops of the Russian Federation, but in accordance with the Federal Law “On the Status of Military Personnel” and “On Military Duty and Military Service » perform other duties, in particular, seconded to government bodies and institutions, other enterprises, institutions and organizations, international organizations, etc. Secondly, the jurisdiction of such military courts extends only to citizens of the Russian Federation, and foreign citizens and stateless persons who have committed crimes against the interests of Russia and its citizens, as well as international crimes (the so-called extraterritorial jurisdiction of national courts due to international legal principles of protection and safety and universality - see commentary to Article 3) are taken out from under it. Thirdly, according to the literal meaning of Part 8 of the commented article of the Code of Criminal Procedure, military courts located outside the territory of the Russian Federation have jurisdiction over cases of crimes not only of military personnel, but also of members of their families, even if they do not live together with these military personnel abroad, but their actions “encroach on the interests of the Russian Federation.” Fourthly, the jurisdiction of military courts located outside the territory of the Russian Federation includes, in particular, acts committed on the territory “under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.” But according to Part 1 of Art. 67 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation “the territory of the Russian Federation includes the territories of its constituent entities, internal waters and territorial sea, and the airspace above them.” The Russian Federation also “exercises jurisdiction on the continental shelf and in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation in the manner prescribed by the Federal Law and the norms of international law” (Part 2 of Article 67 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). Thus, this norm can actually be applied only under the condition that any international legal treaty providing for the deployment of a contingent of Russian troops on the territory of another state establishes Russian jurisdiction over part of the territory of that foreign state.

9. According to Part 3 of Art. 76 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation “federal laws cannot contradict federal constitutional laws.” The Law of June 23, 1999 “On Military Courts of the Russian Federation” is a federal constitutional law. Therefore, based on the above analysis, we can, in our opinion, come to only one conclusion: Parts 6 and 8 of Art. 31 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, regulating the jurisdiction of district (naval) military courts and military courts stationed outside the territory of the Russian Federation, are not subject to application - at least until adequate changes are made to the Federal Constitutional Law “On Military Courts of the Russian Federation” .

10. Part 7 of the commented article determines the jurisdiction of military and other courts in the so-called connection of cases. Moreover, the norm contained here resolves the issue of the possibility of jurisdiction of cases of crimes committed by non-military personnel, diametrically opposite to how it was done in the Code of Criminal Procedure of the RSFSR. According to the old Code, if a case charging a group of people with committing several crimes was within the jurisdiction of a military tribunal in relation to at least one person, then the case of all persons was considered by a military tribunal (Part 2 of Article 42 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the RSFSR). On the contrary, now, if a criminal case on charges against a group of persons is within the jurisdiction of a military court in relation to at least one of them, then it can be considered by a military court only under the indispensable condition that the person or persons who are not military personnel or citizens do not object to this undergoing military training. If there are objections from these persons, the criminal case against them is separated into separate proceedings and considered by the appropriate court of general jurisdiction. If it is impossible to separate a criminal case into separate proceedings, this criminal case against all persons is considered by the appropriate court of general jurisdiction.

11. The Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, unlike the Code of Criminal Procedure of the RSFSR (Part 2 of Article 42), does not answer the question of which court - military or ordinary - should hear a case charging a person with committing several crimes, one (or even one) of which are subject to the jurisdiction of a military court, while others are subject to ordinary jurisdiction. In such cases, the advantage based on Part 3 of Art. 34 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation should be given, as before, to a military court.

12. 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.

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Determination 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.

Distinctive features of jurisdiction, jurisdiction and jurisdiction

To understand the differences between these concepts, here is a definition of each term:

Jurisdiction is defined as a community of characterizing factors in a criminal case that indicate the initial judicial authority where the materials will be considered. An exceptional characterizing feature is territoriality. The powers of the courts are limited to the place where the criminal offense was committed. Only the Supreme Court is not limited to this feature, since it acts within the entire state.
Jurisdiction is one of the separate sections of the criminal process, which builds the attitude of the state structure by authorized police leaders at the initial stage of investigative actions. The main features are: the nature of the criminal action, the place of investigative actions, the identity of the subject (minor, military, government employee).
Jurisdiction carries a large semantic load. With its help, disputes arising regarding legal powers between state or public bodies and arbitration courts should be resolved. Acts as a community of legal norms enshrined in the regulatory documents of any department.

All three concepts are united by the protection of the interests of people and the state under both criminal and administrative legislation. A close connection can be traced between jurisdiction and jurisdiction on the basis of Art. 151 Code of Criminal Procedure. In both procedural actions, it is necessary to specify both the investigative body at the initial stage and the specific court competent to consider the case materials.

Practical meaning of jurisdiction

Examples of the practical application of jurisdiction in practice are the decisions taken in the cases under consideration:

The appellate instance accepted the appeal against the verdict of the Oktyabrsky District Court. Previously convicted on two counts (one occurred during the period of rehabilitation) for crimes committed in the Leninsky and Oktyabrsky districts of Leningrad, he gave arguments in favor of revocation. The higher court, after studying the materials, checked the compliance of the arguments with the norms of Art. 32 and 34 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which were violated. The Court of Appeal decided that the appealed sentence was pronounced in a case beyond the jurisdiction of the first instance of the Oktyabrsky District. Due to a violation of the rules of jurisdiction, the sentence was overturned.
The Magistrate's Court examined, in order to determine jurisdiction, materials regarding citizen I., who was brought to justice under Part 2 of Article 314.1 of the Criminal Code. Courts of this category are entrusted with the right to consider cases with a sentence of less than three years. The charged article provides for a prison sentence of one year. The indicated composition, as an exception, is not within the jurisdiction of magistrates, therefore the criminal case was sent to the city court.

Types of international jurisdiction

International jurisdiction is considered the competence of the judicial apparatus of a certain state to optimally resolve important civil cases involving foreign legal entities and individuals.

Types of international jurisdiction (relating to foreigners), divided into general, exclusive, special and contractual.

The universal method for going to court is general jurisdiction, which has the right to consider all cases without special exceptions.

The place of residence of the defendant is the main criterion for determining general jurisdiction. You should also consider the location of the property.

Special jurisdiction is only possible to determine the category of disputes, and exclusive jurisdiction has an advantage over general and special jurisdiction. The parties have no right to change or choose another type of jurisdiction.

Contractual jurisdiction makes it possible to independently choose the place where the process will be held and considered.

Now, it has become clear what constitutes jurisdiction, which considers all civil materials at the first instance. Mainly the resolution of criminal and civil proceedings occurs. Therefore, each subsystem takes on responsibilities. The competent authorities have the right to carry out and authorize all actions within the framework of the established law.