This article deals with Czech legal regulation of alternative measures and their use in practice within the Czech criminal justice system. Attention is focused on procedural alternative measures, i.e. diversions in criminal proceedings, as well as on alternative punishments. The development of Czech criminal law has been strongly influenced by the conception of restorative justice, which was the base for the effort to spread the scope of alternative measures and to reduce the number of the imprisoned. But the introduction of new measures (diversions, community service, house arrest, etc.) was accompanied by some problems regarding their use in practice; some of them were connected with legal regulation, other ones were caused by incorrect use. The article identifies these problems (also through analysis of statistical data) and also describes solutions to the problems.
Aim. The philosophy of alternative punishment is based on keeping the convicted person free, while imposing a punishment that will act preventively against committing another felony. The paper focuses on perceiving the importance of alternative punishment as part of restorative justice, and on presenting the results of the questionnaire survey which aimed to identify the public´s preferences in the context of various forms of alternative punishments as an option, instead of imprisonment. Attention is paid to three alternative punishments, specifically: community service, house arrest, and monetary sentence (fine). Methods. The questionnaire survey aimed to find out what forms of alternative punishment are, according to the respondents, a suitable alternative to incarceration. The survey sample comprised of Slovak individuals (N=1078) aged from 16 years and older, thereof 31.3% men (N=337) and 68.7% women (N=741). Results. Based on the analysis of the data collected from the 1078 respondents´ answers to the individual questions in the questionnaire, community service was identified as the most favorable alternative to imprisonment, whereas the least preferences the respondents gave to the option of monetary fines. Conclusion. The concept of alternative punishment is understood as a form of punishment that fulfills the purpose of a sentence, without deprivation of freedom, but still guaranteeing the fulfilment of a court-ordered unconditional retribution. Compared to traditional forms of punishment, alternative methods of resolving judicial cases do not enforce repression and prefer the individual approach to punishing the accused (convicted) persons with emphasis on corrective aspects of alternative punishment. The results of the survey showed that the respondents strongly prefer one form of alternative punishment, namely the community service.
Autorka w niniejszym opracowaniu omawia instytucję, która umożliwia załatwienie sprawy o wykroczenie w innym trybie i z zastosowaniem innych środków niż przewidziane w przepisach karnych. Podkreślając niewątpliwe walory takiego rozwiązania, wskazuje jednocześnie, że konstrukcja środków oddziaływania wychowawczego nie jest pozbawiona wad i niedociągnięć. Uwagę koncentruje zwłaszcza na tych aspektach jej funkcjonowania, które wymagają pilnej interwencji ze strony ustawodawcy. Autorka konkluduje, że pozostawienie omawianego unormowania bez żadnych zmian naraża je na sprzeczność z jedną z fundamentalnych zasad prawa karnego, a mianowicie zasadą nulla poena sine lege.
EN
In this study the author discusses an institution which enables you to settle a case for an offence in a different mode of proceedings and applying different measures than provided in criminal regulations. Emphasising the indisputable advantages of this resolution indicates that the design/structure of educational impact measures are not without flaws and faults. Her attention is focused especially on the aspects of its functioning, which require urgent intervention by the legislator. The author concludes that leaving the normalising in question without any changes, exposes it to a conflict/contradiction with one of the fundamental rules of criminal law, namely the nullapoena sine lege rule.
For many years the Russian Federation has had one of the highest numbers of people incarcerated in penal institutions (per 100,000 population). As of 1 January 2020, there were 523,928 people in prison. An analysis of the legislation and the practice of its application reveals that the main trend of modern Russian penal policy is for stricter penalties, longer prison terms, and inefficient use of alternative punishments. The ongoing trend of humanising and liberalising criminal justice remains virtually invisible and suppressed by a repressive bias, which ultimately prevents it from significantly influencing the overall direction of state policy in this area. Przez wiele lat Federacja Rosyjska była liderem pod względem liczby osób osadzonych w zakładach karnych w przeliczeniu na 100 tysięcy mieszkańców. W styczniu 2020 r. w jednostkach penitencjarnych przebywało 523 928 osób. Analiza ustawodawstwa oraz praktyki stosowania kary pozbawienia wolności pozwala zauważyć, że współczesną politykę karną Rosji cechuje tendencja do zaostrzania kar i zwiększanie długości kar izolacyjnych przy jednoczesnym braku efektywności w stosowaniu kar wolnościowych. Represyjne nastawienie władz powoduje, że humanizacja i liberalizacja wymiaru sprawiedliwości karnej w Rosji jest praktycznie niewidoczna i nie ma znaczącego wpływu na ogólny kierunek polityki karnej państwa.
EN
For many years the Russian Federation has had one of the highest numbers of people incarcerated in penal institutions (per 100,000 population). As of 1 January 2020, there were 523,928 people in prison. An analysis of the legislation and the practice of its application reveals that the main trend of modern Russian penal policy is for stricter penalties, longer prison terms, and inefficient use of alternative punishments. The ongoing trend of humanising and liberalising criminal justice remains virtually invisible and suppressed by a repressive bias, which ultimately prevents it from significantly influencing the overall direction of state policy in this area.
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