The Supreme Court clarified when the military is liable for the execution of a criminal order

The Plenum of the Supreme Court (SC) of Russia issued a draft resolution defining the procedure for bringing a serviceman to criminal responsibility for the execution of a criminal order. According to the document, if a serviceman fulfills an order from his superior ordering him to commit criminally punishable actions known to him, then he is subject to criminal liability on a general basis.

In the explanations of the Supreme Court, which cites RAPSI, it is stated that if the military did not realize and could not understand the illegality of the order executed by him, then he is not subject to criminal liability. At the same time, the commander who gave such an order must be held responsible as an executor. At the same time, failure to comply with an illegal order by a serviceman is not considered a criminal offense.

According to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, in accordance with Part 2 of Art. 42 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, in particular, an order aimed at committing a crime or violating the legislation of the Russian Federation, or having nothing to do with the performance of military service duties, or issued in violation of the established procedure, should be considered a knowingly illegal order of a superior.

Alexander Kislov