11.03.07

Today, the State Duma (SD) considers in its first reading the draft federal laws "On Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses" and "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation," which were introduced by two SD deputies.

The draft bill exempts from responsibility under the Administrative Code foreign citizens and stateless persons who fail to depart from the Russian Federation at the end of a certain period of stay.

The authors of the bill base the need for its passage on the simultaneous introduction to the State Duma of the draft federal law on changes to the Penal Code, which proposes to criminalize foreign nationals and stateless persons who fail to depart from the Russian Federation at the end of a certain period of stay.

The idea of the authors of the draft law on the need to criminalize the failure to depart from Russia after a certain length of stay did not receive support from the government of the Russian Federation.

Such an exception, in the government's view, was not appropriate because it would create a gap in the law.

The current administrative responsibility for the crime corresponds with the nature of and the degree of danger the wrongful act poses to society, considers the government.

The second bill proposes to amend the title of Article 322 of the Penal Code (suggested title: "Illegal Crossing of the State Border of the Russian Federation or Failure to Depart from the Russian Federation at the End of a Certain Period of Stay"), and to supplement it with a new Part Three, which would impose criminal liability on foreign nationals and stateless persons who fail to depart from the Russian Federation within one month after a certain period of stay.

The proposed addition states:

• "3. Failure to depart from the Russian Federation within one month after a certain length of stay, is punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years."

The government of the Russian Federation strongly opposed both bills.

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Source: http://www.legis.ru