There is no place for unconventional people in the management company

The Government Commission on Legislative Activities on Monday recognized State Duma deputy Nina Ostanina’s bill on criminal penalties for repeated violation of the ban on promoting non-traditional sexual relationships as “in need of significant improvement.” According to the commission, it is too early to introduce criminal liability until law enforcement practice under administrative articles has been formed. The lawyer recalls that the Supreme Court recognized the “international LGBT movement” as an extremist organization and banned it in the Russian Federation, which means that participation in its activities may already fall under a criminal article.

The Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, Issues of Paternity, Maternity and Childhood Nina Ostanina (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) proposed changing the Criminal Code back in the fall of 2022, when the Duma adopted a package of bills on a complete ban on the promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships, gender reassignment and pedophilia. Together with the Socialist Revolutionary Nikolai Burlyaev, she introduced an amendment to the second reading on criminal liability for repeated violation of these prohibitions, but the majority of deputies did not support it. First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Legislation Irina Pankina (ER) then philosophically noted that “The Criminal Code is the only code that deprives a person of the most precious thing – freedom.” She also outlined the committee’s position: “The standards of liability that are provided for in the bill are sufficient at the moment.” In addition, the amendments to the Criminal Code did not then receive the government’s mandatory review in such cases.

Nina Ostanina told Kommersant that she considers her amendments to still be relevant, especially in light of the Supreme Court’s recognition of the “international LGBT movement” as an extremist organization. She said that for the first time she sent to the government draft amendments to the Criminal Code and to Art. 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code back in December 2022, but “the government was in no hurry to give an official response to it,” and a year later the deputy even had to turn to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on this issue.

Mrs. Ostanina proposes to supplement the Criminal Code with three new articles 151.3–151.5 on liability for the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations, the promotion of pedophilia and the dissemination of information among minors demonstrating non-traditional sexual relations by a person subjected to administrative punishment for similar acts. “If the bill is adopted, criminal liability may be brought against persons who have already committed similar acts during the year and have been subjected to administrative punishment,” the deputy explained. “For example, for the promotion of pedophilia by the above-mentioned person who committed the act using the Internet,” It is proposed to establish a punishment of up to five years in prison.”

The Legal Commission in the draft conclusion approved on February 19, notes that these crimes “in the presence of legally significant circumstances” can be qualified under other articles of the Criminal Code: Art. 135 (depraved acts), Art. 242 (illegal production and circulation of pornographic materials or objects), Art. 242.1 (production and circulation of materials or objects with pornographic images of minors). This, according to the commission, may lead to a legal conflict of different norms. In addition, the review notes that amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO), establishing such liability, came into force on December 5, 2022 and “to date, sufficient law enforcement practice for implementing this law has not yet been formed.”

Senior lecturer at the Western Branch of RANEPA, Alexey Elaev, notes that after the above-mentioned decision of the Supreme Court, participation in the activities of the so-called “international LGBT movement” constitutes a crime under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code, and entails imprisonment for up to six years. At the same time, he believes that it is necessary to introduce criminal liability after administrative liability only taking into account “issues of general prevention”: whether there is a significant number of repeated violations and whether the existing mechanisms within the framework of the Administrative Code itself allow them to prevent their commission.

“For example, administrative prejudice has now been introduced for drunk driving, non-payment of alimony or violation of the law on rallies. If repeated violations are isolated and the public danger from them does not reach the level of criminal law measures, then introducing criminal liability is pointless: it will simply be a rarely used article of the Criminal Code, the expert argues. — At the same time, according to the explanations of the Constitutional Court, the court, when bringing to criminal liability, will have to both check previously taken administrative actions and determine the degree of public danger of such repetition. Therefore, while there is not sufficient practice regarding the repetition of this article of the Code of Administrative Offenses, it is too early to talk about introducing administrative prejudice. It is necessary for a sufficient number of citizens to appear who have at least four or five protocols in a short period of time in order to understand the cause and general similarities of these offenses.”

Ksenia Veretennikova