Open AccessThe Purpose of Punishment in the Science of Criminal Law
Author(s) -
Aleksey Rarog
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
aktualʹnye problemy rossijskogo prava
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2782-1862
pISSN - 1994-1471
DOI - 10.17803/1994-1471.2021.123.2.125-139
Subject(s) - punishment (psychology) , resocialization , criminal code , legislature , legislation , criminal law , law , political science , criminal justice , theory of criminal justice , convict , criminology , criminal procedure , doctrine , psychology , social psychology
Despite a centuries-old debate among scientists from different countries, the question about the purposes of criminal punishment remains relevant. The criminal legislation of the Soviet period was inconsistent in formulating the purposes of punishment and repeatedly changed the list of purposes and their wording, therefore, in the criminal law doctrine there were long and fruitless discussions on this issue. They have not stopped to this day, although the current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation unambiguously proclaimed the purposes of punishment to be the restoration of social justice, the correction of the convicted person and the prevention of new crimes. The discrepancy between the purposes of punishment in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the purposes of the execution of punishment in the Penal Enforcement Code of the Russian Federation to a certain extent interferes with a uniform interpretation of the purposes of criminal punishment. The paper proves the validity and comprehensive nature of the legislative decision and rejects the importance and possibility of legislative adjustment of the purposes of punishment or supplementing their list with the purposes of punishment, expiation, resocialization of the convict, his re-education, etc.