Confiscation of property as a form of state coercion: concept and forms

Confiscation of property, which was once again returned to the domestic Criminal Code in 2006, was legally classified as “other measures” of a criminal nature. The concept of these measures appeared for the first time in domestic criminal law in the current Criminal Code in 2006 (Chapter 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Compulsory medical measures”, Chapter 151 “Confiscation of property”) and in 2016 (Chapter 152 “Judicial fine”). According to Part 2 of Article 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, punishment and other measures of a criminal nature are established for the commission of a crime. Accordingly, the legislator indicated that a person found guilty of committing a crime, along with punishment, may be subject to other measures of a criminal nature that differ from punishment by their legal nature. Currently, there is no single clear definition of “other measures of a criminal nature” in the domestic legislation. Unlike punishment, these measures do not form a single system, and also differ significantly from each other both in legal essence and on the grounds of application.