Participation of Victims in the Consideration of Convicts' Petitions for Parole and Replacement of Punishment with a More Lenient Type (RPM)
According to Part 5 of Article 480 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), when considering issues of parole (conditional early release, hereinafter "parole") or replacement of punishment with a more lenient type (hereinafter "RPM"), the participation of the convict, defense counsel, representative of the institution or authority executing the punishment, and the prosecutor is mandatory.
The absence of the victim, civil plaintiff, and their representatives does not preclude the consideration of the petition. Thus, the law does not establish the mandatory participation of the victim in the consideration of the convict’s petition.
However, Paragraph 4 of the Regulatory Resolution of the Supreme Court (RR SC) "On Judicial Practice of Parole and RPM" obligates the court to duly notify the victim of the date, time, and place of the hearing. As practice shows, these rights of victims are not always upheld, which does not contribute to the issuance of lawful court rulings.
For example, on May 18, 2023, the Turksib District Court of Almaty granted the petition for RPM of H., convicted under Part 3 of Article 177 of the Criminal Code (as per the 1997 edition) and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months of imprisonment.
In their private complaints, the victims stated that they had not been notified of the convict’s petition hearing. They learned of the court’s decision from the court enforcement officer. They requested the ruling be annulled as the damages had not been compensated.
The appellate panel agreed with the victims' arguments and annulled the court ruling due to the failure to compensate the damages. Such cases are not isolated, leading to violations of victims’ rights to compensation for harm caused.
According to Article 39 of the Criminal Code (CC), punishment is applied to restore social justice, as well as to correct the convict and prevent the commission of new criminal offenses by both the convict and other persons.
Punishment is not intended to cause physical suffering or degrade human dignity.
If the conditions established by Articles 72, 73, 86, and 87 of the CC are met, convicts may not serve the entire imposed sentence.
They may be released on parole or have their punishment replaced with a more lenient type.
Parole and RPM are acts of humanitarianism and trust by the state towards the convict, who, through exemplary behavior and efforts to redress the harm, has demonstrated that further serving of the sentence is unnecessary.
The law obligates courts to thoroughly examine the convict’s petition, verify compliance with established requirements, assess the completeness of submitted materials, ensure the eligibility of parole and RPM, and comprehensively evaluate positive changes in the convict’s behavior.
The court's decision on the petition must be well-founded and contain a detailed justification of the conclusions reached.
In recent years, public opinion has highlighted the lack of clear criteria for parole and RPM, as well as insufficient transparency and objectivity in their application.
Parole and RPM play a crucial role in the criminal justice system by facilitating the resocialization of convicts and reducing recidivism. Parole is the early termination of a court-imposed criminal sentence due to the achievement of the punishment’s objectives.
For conditionally released individuals, probationary supervision is usually established, requiring them to prove their rehabilitation and fulfill court-imposed obligations.
RPM improves the convict’s position by replacing the imposed punishment with a more lenient type.
These institutions are based on the principle of humanitarianism. In this context, parole and RPM aim to encourage convicts to rehabilitate and reintegrate into normal life as soon as possible.
The law conditions parole and RPM on two main criteria:
Serving a specified part of the sentence, absence of serious violations, and compensation for damages (formal criterion),
Rehabilitation of the convict (material criterion).
Parole and RPM fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the court.
Under Part 1 of Article 477 of the CPC, these issues are resolved by the court located in the place of sentence execution.
The court considers parole and RPM petitions solely based on the convict’s petition or the petition of the General Prosecutor or their deputy within the framework of a procedural cooperation agreement. Previously, under the former CPC, these matters were considered upon submission by the institution executing the sentence.
Parole applies to convicts serving imprisonment or restriction of freedom, while RPM applies only to imprisonment. For individuals convicted as minors, parole also applies to those sentenced to corrective labor, while RPM applies only to imprisonment.
Parole and RPM are not permitted for certain categories of offenders listed in Part 8 of Article 72 and Part 2 of Article 73 of the CC.
For example, parole is not granted to convicts for serious and particularly serious corruption offenses, terrorist or extremist crimes resulting in loss of life, among others.
Overall, the issues of parole and RPM are extensively regulated by Articles 72, 73, 86, and 87 of the CC; Articles 476, 477, 478, and 480 of the CPC; Articles 161, 162, and 169 of the Penal Execution Code (PEC); and the RR SC "On Judicial Practice of Parole and RPM."
Since the adoption of the current CC, its provisions on parole and RPM have undergone multiple amendments, leading to corresponding changes in judicial practice.
Most legislative amendments have been introduced as part of a stricter criminal policy concerning offenses posing the greatest threat to society (terrorism, corruption, sexual offenses against minors, etc.).
Regulatory Framework
The main regulatory legal acts governing this summary include:
The Constitution;
The Criminal Code (CC);
The Criminal Procedure Code (CPC);
The Penal Execution Code (PEC);
The Regulatory Resolution of the Supreme Court "On Judicial Practice of Parole, RPM, and Sentence Reduction" dated October 2, 2015, No. 6 (hereinafter – RR SC "On Judicial Practice of Parole and RPM").
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