One world away: drunk driver was not saved by an agreement with his wife
A criminal case on a "drunken" accident involving the victims cannot be terminated by reconciliation of the parties, even if the victims are close relatives of the perpetrator of the accident. This decision was made by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. A drunk driver is a serious danger to society and therefore must be held accountable in any case, lawyers and experts are convinced. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Drunk driver accident
In April 2024, an accident occurred in Bashkiria: the driver Ifanov (last name changed. — Izvestia), who was driving drunk, drove into a ditch and crashed into a pole. As a result of the accident, passengers traveling in the car, including the motorist's wife, were seriously injured. The district court found the driver guilty under Part 2 of Article 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Violation of the rules of the road and operation of vehicles", and sentenced him to one and a half years of probation with the deprivation of his driver's license for one and a half years. The motorist, referring to the settlement agreement concluded with the victims, appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan, which upheld the verdict on appeal. However, the Sixth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction, where the motorist also appealed, overturned the decisions of the court of first instance and the court of appeal and terminated the criminal case in connection with the reconciliation of the parties.
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office opposed this decision: the deputy head of the department sent a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court (SC RF) with a request to overturn this verdict. In his appeal, the Deputy Prosecutor General notes that the public danger of Ifanov's actions "lies primarily in harming the interests of the state and society in the field of exploitation of sources of increased danger." At the same time, according to the representative of the supervisory authority, the opinion of the victims about the complete reparation of the harm caused to them cannot be the only confirmation of reducing the degree of public danger of the crime. In addition, the termination of the criminal case against an intoxicated driver ruled out the possibility of assigning him not only the main, but also mandatory additional punishment in the form of deprivation of a driver's license, the Deputy Prosecutor General noted in the cassation submission.
Stand up, the trial is coming!
After reviewing the case materials, the Judicial Board for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation agreed with the arguments of the Prosecutor General's Office. The judges recognized the arguments of the first and appellate instances that the fact of reconciliation with the victims, as well as the positive characterization of the convict's data, did not indicate that there were sufficient grounds for termination of the criminal case. But the conclusions of the Sixth Court of Cassation that "Ifanov's actions to reconcile with the victims and make amends for the harm caused to the victims indicate a significant reduction in the degree of public danger of the crime committed by the convicted person and the possibility of correcting it without criminal prosecution," the judges of the Supreme Court considered doubtful.
"In deciding to terminate the criminal case for reconciliation, the court of cassation ignored the fact that the object of the crime under Article 264 of the Criminal Code is not only human health, but also public relations in the field of road safety and vehicle operation," reads the definition of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.
The Supreme Court also noted that the cassation did not indicate how and to what extent the actions taken by the driver made it possible to compensate for the negative consequences of the crime. In addition, the Russian Armed Forces emphasized that the termination of the criminal case did not restrict Ifanov, who committed a crime while intoxicated, in the right to drive vehicles. As a result, the Supreme Court decided to overturn the decision of the Sixth Court of Cassation to terminate the criminal case.
Why the settlement agreement does not cancel the responsibility
By itself, the conclusion of an amicable agreement does not mean the automatic cancellation of the verdict and the termination of the criminal case, said Sergei Radko, a lawyer for the Freedom of Choice movement. According to the current legislation, this is a right, not an obligation of the court, he stressed.
— The conclusion of a settlement agreement is not just an apology accepted by the victims and a handshake by the parties. First of all, it is the repentance of the culprit and full compensation for the harm they have caused. If the victim is a close relative, especially the spouse of the accused, the issue of compensation for harm is quite complicated. After all, in such a situation, compensation is paid from the family budget — from money that, like any other property acquired in marriage, is shared," Sergei Radko told Izvestia.
Therefore, in this case, the Supreme Court, in his opinion, rightly drew attention to the non-obvious degree of actual compensation by the perpetrator of the accident for the damage to his spouse who suffered in the accident and decided to cancel the termination of the criminal case against the driver.
In addition, the cancellation of the verdict against the accused actually left him unpunished both for the accident itself with the victims and for driving drunk, the lawyer noted. After all, the sanction in the form of imprisonment was adopted in the framework of the criminal case, and since it was terminated, both the main punishment (imprisonment) and additional (deprivation of rights) were abolished.
— It will not be possible to bring him to justice for driving under the influence of alcohol in this case: the criminal case has been terminated, and it is impossible to punish for the same act according to the law. In addition, the time limits for bringing to administrative responsibility have long expired," the lawyer noted.
All this speaks in favor of the decision of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the source believes.
"Drunk driving is a criminal"
In situations where the driver's relatives were injured in an accident, it is not necessary to bring the motorist to criminal responsibility, especially if there is a fact of a settlement agreement, said Igor Morzharetto, a member of the presidium of the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. In such a situation, a person has already punished himself more than any court verdict, he notes. But at the same time, it is also unacceptable to completely release him from responsibility, especially if it is a question of such a gross violation of traffic regulations as driving under the influence of alcohol, the expert adds.
— He must be punished for his actions, even if not within the framework of the Criminal Code, but definitely within the framework of the Administrative Code: deprivation of rights for 1.5—2 years and a fine of 45 thousand rubles. The cancellation of a criminal sentence against an intoxicated driver should not automatically cancel the possibility of bringing him to administrative responsibility — probably, some legislative adjustments are required in this regard," Igor Morzharetto told Izvestia.
Situations on the road can be different and no one is immune, for example, from accidental speeding or an unnoticed sign, said Valery Soldunov, a member of the Public Chamber of Russia, chairman of the All-Russian Society of Motorists. However, drunk driving is not an accident, he stressed.
— Getting behind the wheel drunk, the driver does it consciously. In fact, he is already a criminal, a potential killer on the road. He certainly does not deserve any leniency and must be inevitably punished for his actions. By upholding the verdict against such a driver, the Supreme Court did exactly the right thing," said Valery Soldunov.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
