IMPOSITION OF A MORE LENIENT PUNISHMENT THAN THAT PROVIDED FOR THE GIVEN CRIME
The article deals with problems connected with the imposition of a more lenient punishment than that provided for the given crime. According to the author's opinion, in recent years, courts are increasingly prescribing punishment using the rules of Art. 64 of the Criminal Code, because the legislator establishes a too severe punishment for the commission of particular crimes. The author also pays attention to the fact that there are some problems in judicial practice which are associated with the concept of exceptional circumstances. As a rule courts consider the presence of children under the care, positive characteristics, commission of a crime in the first time as exceptional circumstances. But, according to the author's opinion, judges unreasonably identify the exceptional circumstances and the circumstances mitigating punishment. The author analyzes features of exceptional circumstances. Many scientists consider that exceptional circumstances are circumstances that characterize the crime and the personality of guilty subject at the time or after commission of crime, which significantly reduces the degree of social danger and it is possible to assign a more lenient punishment than that provided for the given crime. The author does not agree this point of view and notes that the exceptional circumstances, in contrast to mitigating, significantly and extraordinary reduce the degree of public danger of the guilty person or his crime. Circumstances have to be recognized exceptional if they are not specific for this type of crime. In order to avoid mistakes in the judicial practice in the imposition of a more lenient punishment than that provided for the given crime, according to the author, there is a need of clear explanations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court about the concept of exceptional circumstances.