Criminal Law Measures Providing for the Treatment of Socially Significant Diseases: a Mandatory Application or a Selective Addition

Abstract

Modern society faces a serious problem of preserving the health of people. Currently, there are some wide-spread diseases that are highly dangerous because they are easily transmitted and have a high mortality rate. These diseases compose a group of socially significant diseases, their list is approved by the Decree of the RF Go­vernment of Dec. 1, 2004 No. 715. One of the key institutes of counteracting the spread of socially significant diseases is the institute of criminal law measures. A number of clauses of the RF Criminal Code regulate mandatory treatment of criminally liable persons. The use of criminal law measures is regulated by Art. 72.1, 73, 79, 82.1 and Ch. 15 of the RF Criminal Code, while Art. 18 of the RF Penitentiary Code determines the procedure of using medical measures to treat persons sentenced to punishments involving isolation from the society. However, the non-mandatory and ambiguous procedure of prescribing mandatory treatment for socially significant di­seases through criminal law means creates difficulties in organizing a comprehensive approach to treating such diseases. In the process of their research, the authors ascertained that it is necessary to adopt an uncompromising approach in prescribing treatment of a socially significant disease by using criminal law measures to a person suffering from such a disease. This goal could be achieved by replacing the phrase «could hold accountable» to «holds accountable» in the clauses of Art. 72.1, 73 and 79 of the RF Criminal Code. It is suggested that the legal limitation of the use of mandatory treatment for convicts isolated from the society should be abolished by elimina­ting the words «which is connected with danger to themselves or other persons» from Part 2, Art. 18 of the RF Penitentiary Code. Related problems arise during the mandatory treatment of psychiatric disorders that are socially significant diseases too. Thus, the elimination of legal problems of treating socially significant diseases through criminal law measures will increase the effectiveness of criminal legislation from the standpoint of its social function — the protection of the society and its representatives.