Armenia Criminal Code As of 23 May 2018
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Strasbourg, 12 March 2021 CDL-REF(2021)022 Opinion No. 1026 / 2021 Engl. only EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR DEMOCRACY THROUGH LAW (VENICE COMMISSION) ARMENIA CRIMINAL CODE AS OF 23 MAY 2018 (*) (*) Translation provided by the Armenian authorities This document will not be distributed at the meeting. Please bring this copy. www.venice.coe.int CDL-REF(2021)022 - 2 - CRIMINAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA (Adopted on 18 April 2003) GENERAL PART SECTION 1 CRIMINAL STATUTE CHAPTER 1 TASKS AND PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL LEGISLATION Article 1. Criminal legislation of the Republic of Armenia 1. The criminal legislation of the Republic of Armenia consists of this Code. New laws that envisage criminal liability shall be included in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. 2. The Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia is based on the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and on principles and norms of international law. Article 2. Tasks of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia 1. Tasks of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia shall be as follows: to protect human and citizens’ rights and freedoms from criminal encroachments, rights of legal entities, property, environment, public order and security, constitutional order, peace and safety of humanity, as well as to prevent crimes. 2. For the purpose of implementing these tasks, the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia stipulates the ground for criminal liability and the principles of criminal legislation, determines what acts dangerous to the public are deemed to be crimes and defines the types of punishment and other criminal-law enforcement measures for commission thereof. Article 3. Ground for criminal liability The sole ground for criminal liability is criminal offence, i.e. the commission of an act that contains all elements of corpus delicti provided for in the criminal statute. Article 4. Principles of criminal legislation The Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia is based on the principles of legality, equality before the law, inevitability of liability, personal liability, fault based liability, individualisation of justice and liability and humanism. - 3 - CDL-REF(2021)022 Article 5. Principle of legality 1. The criminality of an act, its punishability and other criminal law effects shall be determined only by the criminal statute. 2. Application of the criminal statute by analogy shall be prohibited. Article 6. Principle of equality before the law Persons having committed a criminal offence shall be equal before the law and shall be subject to criminal liability, irrespective of gender, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion, world outlook, political and other views, membership to national minority, property status, birth, disability or other circumstances of personal or social nature. (Article 6 edited by HO-3-N of 5 February 2013) Article 7. Principle of inevitability of liability 1. Each person having committed a criminal offence shall be subject to punishment or other criminal–law enforcement provided for in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. 2. Release from criminal liability and punishment shall be available only in case of grounds and conditions provided for in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. Article 8. Principle of personal liability A person shall be subject to criminal liability only for the criminal offence committed by himself or herself. Article 9. Principle of fault-based liability 1. A person shall be subject to criminal liability only for action or inaction dangerous to the public and for consequences — dangerous to the public — in respect of which his or her guilt is established by the competent court. 2. Objective incrimination, i.e. criminal liability for causing harm without guilt, shall be prohibited. Article 10. Principle of individualisation of justice and liability 1. Punishment and other criminal-law enforcement measures applied to a person having committed a criminal offence must be fair, i.e. appropriate to the gravity of criminal offence, circumstances under which it has been committed, personality of the criminal, must be necessary and sufficient to correct him or her and prevent new crimes. 2. It shall be forbidden to try a person twice for the same crime. (Article 10 amended by HO-97-N of 9 June 2004) CDL-REF(2021)022 - 4 - Article 11. Principle of humanism 1. The Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia shall serve to ensure physical, mental, material, ecological and other types of safety of a human being. 2. No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. CHAPTER 2 OPERATION OF CRIMINAL STATUTE IN TIME AND SPACE Article 12. Operation of criminal statute in time 1. Criminality and punishability of an act shall be determined by the criminal statute in force at the time of commission thereof. 2. Time of committing a criminal offence shall be deemed to be the time of committing an action (inaction) dangerous to the public, irrespective of the moment the consequences ensue. Article 13. Retroactive effect of criminal statute 1. The statute removing criminality of an act, mitigating punishment or otherwise ameliorating the conditions of a person having committed a criminal offence has a retroactive effect, i.e. applies to persons having committed such an act — before the entry into force of that statute, including to those who serve or have served their punishment, but have conviction. 2. The statute defining criminality of an act, aggravating the punishment or otherwise deteriorating the condition of a person having committed a criminal offence has no retroactive effect. 3. The statute partially mitigating liability and meanwhile aggravating liability has retroactive effect only in respect of the part that mitigates liability. Article 14. Operation of criminal statute in respect of persons having committed a criminal offence within the territory of the Republic of Armenia 1. A person having committed a criminal offence within the territory of the Republic of Armenia shall be subject to liability under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. 2. A criminal offence shall be considered as committed within the territory of the Republic of Armenia when it has been: (1) commenced, continued or finished within the territory of the Republic of Armenia; (2) committed in complicity with persons who were engaged in criminal activity within the territory of another State. 3. The liability of a person who commits a criminal offence within the territory of the Republic of Armenia and other states shall ensue under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, where he or she was brought to liability within the territory of the Republic of Armenia and unless otherwise provided for by international treaties of the Republic of Armenia. - 5 - CDL-REF(2021)022 4. A person having committed a criminal offence on board a ship under the flag of the Republic of Armenia or carrying distinguishing emblem of the Republic of Armenia or on board a flying airplane or other air device — irrespective of its location — shall be subject to criminal liability under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, unless otherwise provided for by international treaties of the Republic of Armenia. A person having committed a criminal offence on board the military ship or airplane of the Republic of Armenia — irrespective of its location — shall be also subject to liability under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. 5. Where foreign diplomatic representatives and other persons enjoying diplomatic immunity commit a criminal offence within the territory of the Republic of Armenia, the issue of subjecting them to criminal liability shall be settled in accordance with norms of international law. (Article 14 supplemented by HO-97-N of 9 June 2004) Article 15. Operation of criminal statute in respect of persons having committed a criminal offence outside the territory of the Republic of Armenia 1. Citizens of the Republic of Armenia and stateless persons permanently residing in the Republic of Armenia, having committed a criminal offence outside the territory of the Republic of Armenia, shall be subject to criminal liability under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, where the act committed by them is recognised as a crime under the legislation of the state where the crime was committed and where they were not sentenced in another state. When sentencing the aforementioned persons, the punishment may not exceed the upper threshold of punishment provided for by the law of the foreign state in the territory of which the criminal offence was committed. 2. Citizens of the Republic of Armenia being outside the territory of the Republic of Armenia and stateless persons permanently residing in the Republic of Armenia shall be subject to criminal liability under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia for committing criminal offences provided for in Articles 190, 200, 201, 311-313, 384, 386-391, 393 to 397 of this Code, regardless of whether that act is provided for or is not provided for by the Criminal Code of the state where the criminal offence was committed. 3. Foreign nationals and stateless persons not permanently residing in the Republic of Armenia, having committed a criminal offence outside the territory of the Republic of Armenia, shall be subject to criminal liability under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, where they have committed: (1) crimes which are provided for by international treaties of the Republic of Armenia; (2) grave or particularly grave crimes which are against the interests of the Republic of Armenia or rights and freedoms of citizens of the Republic of Armenia. 4. Norms stipulated in part 3 of this Article shall apply, where foreign nationals and stateless persons not permanently residing in the Republic of Armenia have not been convicted of the CDL-REF(2021)022 - 6 - crime concerned in another state and are subject to criminal liability in the territory of the Republic of Armenia.