Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan reports:

“Dear Compatriots,

Today, the National Assembly adopted the draft of the new Criminal Code in the first reading.

I will not touch upon in particular on how long-awaited and important this new Code is, I will only mention that we have been waiting for this day for a long time.

I will present the main directions of the reforms in a few points.

According to the draft Criminal Code:

The ideology of transition from punitive policy to re-socialization policy has been adopted. The goal of punishment is to re-socialize the convicted person. The list of non-custodial sentences has been expanded, thus viewing imprisonment as an extreme measure.

Procedures for enforcing existing sanctions have been improved. For example, the approach to public works and the use of fines has changed.

In line with the provisions of the draft of the new Criminal Procedure Code, special regulations on sentencing have been envisaged in case of coordination and cooperation proceedings.

The specifics of criminal liability and punishment for juveniles are clearly defined. In particular, taking into account the socio-psychological characteristics of minors, it is envisaged that persons under the age of 18 who commit a crime may not be sentenced to life imprisonment.

The institute of criminal responsibility of legal entities and the system of punishments has been established.
The institutes for release from punishment have been clarified, etc.

I express gratitude to the Council of Europe and the working group that developed the draft for the work done.”