MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Russia’s Supreme Court will continue work on the humanization of criminal punishment, the court’s chairman, Vyacheslav Lebedev, said.

"Some of our colleagues are asking whether the work geared toward the humanization of criminal laws and law enforcement practices will ever be completed," he said at a meeting of the Russian Council of Judges. "Humanism is the central principle of the Russian Criminal Code, which is the basis for Russian criminal laws that ensure people’s security. Punishment and other criminal measures applied to those who commit crimes cannot be geared to cause physical suffering or humiliation."

"That is why courts must take this into account with each criminal case and with respect to each suspect. Moreover, the humanization of criminal laws and law enforcement practices was supported by the 10th All-Russia Congress of Judges. So, the Russian Supreme Court will continue systemic and consistent efforts in this direction," he stressed, adding that this year alone the Supreme Court submitted four relevant bills to the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament).

According to statistics cited by Lebedev, in January-September 2023, Russian courts presided over 540,500 criminal cases involving 548,000 individuals. Seventy-nine percent of them (435,000) were convicted, criminal proceedings were dismissed against 19% of them (106,000). Criminal liability was replaced by a fine for 12.400 individuals. The number of sustained parole applications increased from 48% to 53% as compared with last year.