Friday, June 26 2020 18:04

ArmInfo. RA Prosecutor's Office  proposes to toughen punishment for violation of the rules of  protection and use of mineral resources.

According to the prosecutor's office, in particular, acts under parts  1 and 2 of Article 291 of the RA Criminal Code (violation of the  rules for the protection and use of subsoil) are considered minor  crimes.  Meanwhile, the investigation in criminal cases usually lasts  long enough, because, based on the requirements of a comprehensive,  complete and objective study of the circumstances of the case, it  becomes necessary to conduct numerous investigative and other  procedural actions, as well as labor- intensive complex-commission  examinations. In addition, in the case of criminal cases being sent  to a court with a bill of indictment, their consideration is delayed  due to the workload of the courts, the volume of materials of the  criminal case, and so on. As a result, the trial may take 2 years or  more, which leads to the expiration of the statute of limitations for  criminal prosecution. As a result, there are cases when, even with  the due diligence of the body conducting the proceedings, it becomes  impossible to condemn and subject the perpetrators to real  punishment.

<In addition to the foregoing, the sanctions of Article 291 of the RA  Criminal Code are problematic in the sense that even within the  limits of criminal liability, the penalties established in passing a  guilty verdict against a person are mild and do not correspond to the  public danger of these crimes. In particular, the sanction in part 1  of Article 291 of the RA Criminal Code does not provide for  imprisonment as a punishment measure, and in the case of the second  part, although this measure is established, the maximum term is only  1 year. Meanwhile, the environmental damage caused by these criminal  acts ultimately poses a danger to public health, and such penalties  do not correspond to the nature of this crime.  Given the growing  trend of criminal cases investigated under this article, there is a  need to tighten penalties, which is also of preventive value.

Based on this, the Prosecutor General of the RA submitted to the  Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia the draft law "On  Amendments and Additions to the RA Criminal Code" in writing for  submission to the government for discussion. The Prosecutor's Office  of the Republic of Armenia proposed to envisage punishment under Part  1 of Article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia and  establish it in the form of imprisonment for a term of not more than  three years, with a ban on holding certain posts or carrying out  certain activities for a term of not more than three years. It was  also proposed to tighten the terms of imprisonment in the sanctions  of part 2 of the same article, instead of the current penalty of  imprisonment for up to 1 year, to establish a term of up to 6 years  in prison.

As a result of these changes, the problem of the statute of  limitations for criminal liability, that is, the implementation of  the principles of the inevitability of responsibility and ensuring  social justice, will also be automatically solved, "the statement  says.