The person is exempted from criminal liability, if the following periods of time have elapsed after the committal of the crime:
1) 2 years, since the day of committal of not grave crime;
2) 5 years, since the day of committal of medium-gravity crime;
3) 10 years, since the day of committal of grave crime;
4) 15 years, since the day of committal of particularly grave crime.
The prescription period is calculated from the day of committal to the moment when the sentence comes into legal force. In case of the lasting crime the statute of limitation is calculated from the moment when the committed act is no longer dangerous.
The prescription period is disrupted, if prior to the expiry of this period, the person commits a new medium gravity crime, grave crime or particularly grave crime. In this case the calculation of the prescription period begins from the moment of committal of the new crime.
The prescription period is suspended, if the person avoids investigation or trial. In this case the prescription period resumes from the moment of arrest or surrender. Particularly, the person cannot be subjected to criminal liability, if 10 years have elapsed since the day of committal of the not grave or medium-gravity crime, and 20 years have elapsed, in the case of a grave or particularly grave crime, and no the prescription period was not disrupted with new crimes.
The court decides the issue of application of the prescription period to a person who committed a crime punishable by a life sentence. If the court does not deem possible to exempt the person from criminal liability due to the expiry of the prescription period, the life sentence is not applied.
