The monstrous terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Russia triggered discussions about the need to reinstate death penalty in the country. It is the legal side of the issue that is being discussed, since the moratorium was established by the Constitutional Court.
Russian officials believe that the moratorium on the death penalty that was introduced in Russia in 1996 in connection with the entry into the Council of Europe should be suspended. State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin believes that there is no need for any referendum here — it would only be enough for the Constitutional Court to lift it.
Experts maintain that according to the Constitutional Court's clarification from 2009, the binding nature of this or that political decision shall remain unchanged. However, the head of the State Duma Committee on Legislation, Pavel Krasheninnikov, said that there are grounds for lifting the moratorium.
It is vital to ensure that "such acts do not happen again,” whereas all other issues need to be resolved according to their social significance, Krasheninnikov believes.
Even if Russia reinstates death penalty now, it will be impossible to execute the Crocus City Hall terrorists as the law has no retroactive force. If so, then what's the point?
The prime obligation of the state is to meet the aspirations of the deep people. The situation is conducive to making such a decision, because the actions that the terrorists committed at Crocus City Hall were shocking in their cruelty. The terrorists disregarded all values of human life.
Some people say that one can not intimidate terrorists with a threat of execution. Yet, they tried to escape after the attack.
The head of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation, Andrei Klishas, said that "neither the Duma nor the Federation Council can overcome decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on the issue of the death penalty.”
Actually, the decision of the Constitutional Court does not imply any exceptions or a possibility of lifting the moratorium in individual cases.
Chairman of the Constitutional Court Valery Zorkin said during the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum that the death penalty could only be reinstated if a new Constitution of the Russian Federation is adopted.
Lawyer Sergei Badamshin said that Article 20 of the Constitution on the death penalty could only be changed through a referendum. In order to do this, one first needs to obtain decisions from the State Duma and the Federation Council, and then confirm them by a resolution of the Constitutional Assembly, which has no law on convening.
Lawyer Ivan Brikulsky recalls that "Russia gave the obligation to abolish the death penalty to the Council of Europe, with which Russia has nothing in common today.”
In a nutshell, it is up to legislators, but not the court to make the decision.
Co-author of the Constitution and honoured lawyer Sergei Shakhrai explained quite simply that the modern version of the Constitution contains the provision on the death penalty so it does not need to be either changed or adopted again.
There are three simple conditions for the death penalty to be applied:
"There is such a law — the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for the death penalty, and no decisions of the Constitutional Court are needed for this. Russia is no longer obligated to adhere to the moratorium; a decree of the President of Russia or decisions of the chambers of the Federal Assembly will be enough,” Sergei Shakhrai, doctor of legal sciences said.
Let us note here that a survey of conducted in 20 popular Telegram channels showed that a third of the country's population would like the Crocus City Hall terrorists to serve "a life sentence under a special regime, where they would ask to be executed themselves.”
Indeed, every second criminal sentenced to life imprisonment asks the court, the Federal Penitentiary Service and the President either to be executed or sent to the front in Ukraine due to the severity of the special regime of detention.