To the question of the grounds for imposing a sentence more lenient than provided for by law (64 of the Criminal code of the Russian Federation)

The proposed publication raises problems related to the application of the provisions provided for in article 64 of the criminal code of the Russian Federation. Drawing attention to the imperfection of the construction of the studied norm, the authors note the uncertainty of its individual provisions, which in fact "frees the hands" of the judicial authorities and allows them to widely use the "freedom of judicial discretion". The result of judicial will is casuistic norms and excessive liberalization in relation to criminals, which is convincingly confirmed by examples from practice. The study notes that the application of provisions allowing the imposition of a sentence more lenient than provided for by law should be supplemented by an indication of the identity of the perpetrator, in addition, it should be prohibited to apply article 64 in the presence of two or more aggravating circumstances. Taking into account the obtained research results, the authors propose their own formulation of certain provisions specified in the article under study. The purpose of the study was to critically evaluate the norm on the imposition of a sentence more lenient than provided for by law, to identify its shortcomings, to assess how this affects practice and to suggest ways to improve this institution. Method of research. To achieve the research objectives, the following comparative, sociological, historical, statistical methods were used, as well as the method of formal legal logic. Scope of the results. The results of the author's research can be applied in law-making activities aimed at further improvement of criminal legislation, used in judicial practice as suggestions and recommendations, they are also of interest to students at law faculties, can be applied in the educational process.

below the lowest limit, substitution of punishment, judicial discretion, exceptional circumstances