The possibility of rehabilitation of legal entities in criminal proceedings

The article examines the issues surrounding the right to rehabilitation of legal entities in criminal proceedings and the feasibility of its implementation. A comparison is made between the rehabilitation of natural persons and legal entities. Both the classical (substantive, material) and formal (procedural) approaches to rehabilitation in criminal proceedings are considered. It is noted that viewing rehabilitation solely from the perspective of the substantive approach significantly narrows the full range of related actions, decisions, and legal relationships, focusing primarily on the question of innocence and, consequently, on correcting the mistake made by the state through its bodies authorized to carry out criminal prosecution. The presence of the criterion of innocence presents a challenge in relation to the rehabilitation of legal entities, as the terms “guilt”, “innocence”, and “culpability” in the criminal legal sense are inapplicable to them. The author concludes that a legal entity, being a kind of abstraction, cannot possess such qualities as consciousness and will inherent in a person as a being endowed with reason. However, the prosecution of individuals directly related to the activities of a legal entity can at least harm its business reputation. Innocence, in turn, opens up the possibility for their rehabilitation, and thus, the rehabilitation of legal entities should also be considered and addressed.