ArmInfo. RA Prosecutor's Office proposes to toughen punishment for violation of the rules of protection and use of mineral resources.
According to the prosecutor's office, in particular, acts under parts 1 and 2 of Article 291 of the RA Criminal Code (violation of the rules for the protection and use of subsoil) are considered minor crimes. Meanwhile, the investigation in criminal cases usually lasts long enough, because, based on the requirements of a comprehensive, complete and objective study of the circumstances of the case, it becomes necessary to conduct numerous investigative and other procedural actions, as well as labor- intensive complex-commission examinations. In addition, in the case of criminal cases being sent to a court with a bill of indictment, their consideration is delayed due to the workload of the courts, the volume of materials of the criminal case, and so on. As a result, the trial may take 2 years or more, which leads to the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution. As a result, there are cases when, even with the due diligence of the body conducting the proceedings, it becomes impossible to condemn and subject the perpetrators to real punishment.
<In addition to the foregoing, the sanctions of Article 291 of the RA Criminal Code are problematic in the sense that even within the limits of criminal liability, the penalties established in passing a guilty verdict against a person are mild and do not correspond to the public danger of these crimes. In particular, the sanction in part 1 of Article 291 of the RA Criminal Code does not provide for imprisonment as a punishment measure, and in the case of the second part, although this measure is established, the maximum term is only 1 year. Meanwhile, the environmental damage caused by these criminal acts ultimately poses a danger to public health, and such penalties do not correspond to the nature of this crime. Given the growing trend of criminal cases investigated under this article, there is a need to tighten penalties, which is also of preventive value.
Based on this, the Prosecutor General of the RA submitted to the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia the draft law "On Amendments and Additions to the RA Criminal Code" in writing for submission to the government for discussion. The Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Armenia proposed to envisage punishment under Part 1 of Article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia and establish it in the form of imprisonment for a term of not more than three years, with a ban on holding certain posts or carrying out certain activities for a term of not more than three years. It was also proposed to tighten the terms of imprisonment in the sanctions of part 2 of the same article, instead of the current penalty of imprisonment for up to 1 year, to establish a term of up to 6 years in prison.
As a result of these changes, the problem of the statute of limitations for criminal liability, that is, the implementation of the principles of the inevitability of responsibility and ensuring social justice, will also be automatically solved, "the statement says.