Commentary to article 69. Exemption from criminal liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan

     1. A person shall be released from criminal liability if the following time limits have expired from the date of the commission of the crime:      

a) two years after the commission of a minor crime;      

b) five years after the commission of a moderate crime;      

c) fifteen years after the commission of a serious crime;      

d) twenty years after the commission of a particularly serious crime.      

2. The limitation periods shall be calculated from the date of the commission of the crime until the date of entry into force of the court verdict.      

3. The limitation period is suspended if the person who committed the crime evades investigation or trial. In this case, the limitation period is resumed from the moment the person is detained or turns himself in. At the same time, a person cannot be held criminally liable if twenty-five years have passed since the commission of the crime and the statute of limitations has not been interrupted.      

4. The limitation period is interrupted if, before the expiration of the time limits specified in paragraph one of this Article, a person who has committed a grave or especially grave crime commits a new intentional crime. In such cases, the statute of limitations begins anew from the date of the commission of a new crime. In other cases, if a person commits a crime again before the expiration of the statute of limitations, the statute of limitations for each crime runs independently.      

5. The issue of applying the statute of limitations to a person who has committed a crime for which the death penalty may be imposed under this Code shall be resolved by a court. If the court does not consider it possible to release the person from criminal liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, the death penalty cannot be imposed. In this case, the court appoints imprisonment for up to twenty-five years or life imprisonment.      

6. The statute of limitations does not apply to persons who have committed crimes against the peace and security of mankind.       The statute of limitations refers to the expiration of certain periods from the date of the commission of a crime, which, if there are conditions set forth in the law, releases a person from criminal liability.      

The less time passes between a crime and punishment, the more effective its impact is, as a rule. Conversely, punishing a person after a significant period of time after committing a crime, as a general rule, becomes impractical from the point of view of implementing the goals of punishment (art.38 of the Criminal Code).      

It is also of some importance that over time the investigation of a crime becomes more difficult, in some cases evidence loses or loses its force, information known to witnesses is forgotten or distorted in memory, therefore, the correct consideration of the case by the court in many cases becomes either difficult or even impossible.      

In Article 69 of the Criminal Code, the limitation periods for criminal prosecution are differentiated depending on the nature and degree of public danger of the crime committed (Article 10 of the Criminal Code), which are reflected in the severity of the punishment provided by law for this crime.      

According to Article 69 of the Criminal Code, a person is released from criminal liability if the following time limits have expired since the date of the crime:      

- two years after committing a minor crime;      

- five years after the commission of a moderate crime;      

- fifteen years after the commission of a serious crime; - twenty years after the commission of a particularly serious crime.       When calculating the limitation period for exemption from criminal liability, the current Criminal Code establishes that the initial moment of calculating the limitation period is the day of the commission of the crime, and the final moment is the date of entry into force of the court verdict (Part 2 of Article 69 of the Criminal Code).      

In the case of a continuing crime, the beginning of the statute of limitations is the moment when the crime ceases - confession, detention of the criminal, etc. When committing an ongoing crime, the beginning of the limitation period should be considered the commission of the last episode, which is a link in the ongoing crime.      

The expiration of the limitation period excludes criminal liability only on condition that the limitation period has not been violated. The statute of limitations is suspended for the entire period of evasion by the person who committed the crime from investigation or trial until the moment the offender is arrested or the latter turns himself in (Part 3 of Article 69 of the Criminal Code). From this moment on, the limitation period is resumed. A person may not be held criminally liable if twenty-five years have passed since the commission of the crime and the statute of limitations has not been interrupted.      

According to Part 4 of Article 69 of the Criminal Code, the limitation period is interrupted if, before the expiration of the time limits specified in part one, a person who has committed a serious or especially serious crime commits a new intentional crime. In these cases, the statute of limitations begins anew from the date of the commission of a new crime.      

If a person who has previously committed a minor or moderate crime commits a new crime, then the statute of limitations for each crime flows independently, without interruption.      

The decision on bringing to criminal responsibility in connection with the expiration of the statute of limitations is a mandatory basis and does not depend on the authorities of the preliminary investigation. However, this provision of the law does not apply to persons who have committed crimes for which the death penalty may be imposed (Part 5 of Article 69 of the Criminal Code). The issue of releasing such a person from criminal liability is resolved by the court. If the court does not consider it possible to release the person from criminal liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, the death penalty can no longer be imposed. In this case, the court shall impose a sentence of imprisonment for up to twenty-five years or life imprisonment.      

In accordance with the norms of international law, Part 6 of Article 69 of the Criminal Code provides for cases of non-application of the statute of limitations to persons who have committed crimes against the peace and security of mankind (Articles 156-164 of the Criminal Code). It follows from this provision that the person who has committed the listed crimes will be subject to mandatory criminal liability and cannot be released on any grounds.

Commentary from 2007 to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan from the Honored Worker of Kazakhstan, Doctor of Law, Professor, Academician of the Kazakhstan National Academy of Natural Sciences BORCHASHVILI I.Sh.                  

Date of amendment of the act:  08/02/2007 Date of adoption of the act:  08/02/2007 Place of acceptance:  NO Authority that adopted the act: 180000000000 Region of operation:  100000000000 NPA registration number assigned by the regulatory body:  167 Status of the act:  new Sphere of legal relations:  028000000000 Report form:  COMM Legal force:  1900 Language of the Act:  rus

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