Part One. General Provisions

Section I. Basic Provisions

Chapter 2. Principles of the Criminal Court Proceedings

Article 12. Inviolability of Living Quarters

1. An examination of the living quarters shall be carried out only with the consent of the persons residing in them, or on the grounds of a court decision, with the exception of cases, stipulated in the fifth part of Article 165 of the present Code.

2. The search and the seizure in the living quarters may be performed on the ground of a court decision, with the exception of cases, envisaged in the fifth part of Article 165 of this Code .

Part Two. Pre-Trial Proceedings

Section VIII. Preliminary Inquisition

Chapter 23. Bringing to Court the Accused. Bringing the Charge

Article 173. Interrogation of the Accused

1. The investigator shall interrogate the accused immediately after the charge is brought against him, while observing the demands of Item 9 of the fourth part of Article 47 and of the third part of Article 50 of the present Code.

2. At the beginning of the interrogation, the investigator shall find out whether the accused recognizes himself as being guilty, whether he wishes to give evidence on the merits of the charge brought against him and in what language. If the accused refuses to give evidence, the investigator shall make a corresponding entry into the protocol of his interrogation .

3. The interrogation shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure established by Article 189 of the present Code, with the exceptions laid down by the present Article.

4. A repeated interrogation of the accused on the same charge, if he has refused to give evidence at the first interrogation, may be conducted only at the request of the accused himself.


Article 174. Protocol of an Interrogation of the Accused

1. At every interrogation of the accused, the investigator shall compile a protocol with the observation of the demands of Article 190 of the present Code.

2. In the protocol of the first interrogation shall be pointed out the following data on the person of the accused:
• 1) surname, name and patronymic;
2) date and place of birth;
3) citizenship;
4) education;
5) family status and composition of his family;
6) place of work or studies, the kind of the occupations or the post;
7) place of residence;
8) existence of a previous criminal record;
9) other information of importance for the criminal case.

3. In the protocols of the subsequent interrogations, the data on the person of the accused, unless they have changed, may be reduced to an indication of his surname, name and patronymic .

Part Two. Pre-Trial Proceedings

Section VIII. Preliminary Inquisition

Chapter 24. Examination. Inspection. Investigative Experiment

Article 176. Grounds for an Examination

1. Examination of the place of accident, locality, place of dwelling, other premises, of the objects and the documents shall be aimed at revealing the traces of the crime and at elucidating other circumstances of importance for the criminal case.

2. In cases precluding a delay, an examination of the scene of the event may be performed before the institution of the criminal case.


Article 177. Procedure for an Examination

1. An examination shall be carried out with the participation of attesting witnesses, with the exception of the cases indicated in the third part of Article 170 of the present Code.

2. An examination of the traces of crimes and of the other exposed objects shall be performed at the place of performance of the investigative action, with the exception of the cases pointed out in the third part of this Article.

3. If for carrying out such an examination a long time is required, or if the examination on the scene is difficult, the objects shall be seized, packed, sealed and certified with the signatures of the investigator and of the attesting witnesses at the place of examination. Subject to the seizure shall be only those objects that may have a bearing on the criminal case. In the protocol of the examination shall be supplied, if possible, the individual characteristics and the specific features of the seized objects.

4. All the objects, exposed and seized during an examination, shall be presented to the attesting witnesses and to the other participants in the examination.

5. An examination of the living quarters shall be carried out only with the consent of the persons residing there, or on the ground of a court decision. If the persons, residing there, object to the examination, the investigator shall file a petition for the performance of an examination with the court in conformity with Article 165 of the present Code.

6. An examination of the living quarters shall be made in the presence of a representative of the administration of the corresponding organization. If it is impossible to make certain his participation in the examination, into the protocol shall be made an entry to this effect .

Part Two. Pre-Trial Proceedings

Section VIII. Preliminary Inquisition

Chapter 25. Search. Seizure. Putting the Postal and Telegraph Messages under Arrest. Monitoring and Recording of Discussions

Article 182. Grounds and Procedure for Making a Search

1. Seen as a ground for making a search shall be the existence of sufficient data to believe that such and such person may keep in such and such place the instruments of crime, objects, documents and valuables which may prove to be of importance to the criminal case.

2. The search shall be performed on the ground of an investigator's resolution.

3. A search in the living quarters shall be effected on the ground of a court decision to be adopted in accordance with the procedure, laid down by Article 165 of the present Code.

4. Before the start of the search, the investigator shall present the resolution on its performance, and in the cases stipulated by the third part of the present Article - the court decision, permitting to make such.

5. Before the start of the search, the investigator shall suggest that the objects, the documents and the valuables, subject to the seizure, which may prove of importance for the criminal case, be given out voluntarily. If these are given out voluntarily and there are no grounds for an apprehension that they may be concealed, the investigator shall have the right not to perform the search.

6. When making a search, any premises may be forced into, if the owner refuses to open them voluntarily. In this case, no unnecessary damage shall be done to the property.

7. The investigator shall take measures to prevent laying bare the circumstances of the private life of the person, in whose living quarters the search was performed, his private and/or family secrets, as well as the circumstances of the private lives of other persons exposed during the search.

8. The investigator shall have the right to prohibit the persons present at the place where the search is carried out, to leave this place and to communicate with one another or with the other persons untill the end of the search.

9. While carrying out the search, the objects and the documents which not allowed for possession shall be seized by all means.

10. The seized objects, documents and valuables shall be presented to the attesting witnesses and to the other persons, present at the search, and if necessary, shall be packed and sealed at the scene of the search, which shall be certified with the signatures of the above-said persons.

11. When a search is performed the person whose premises are subjected to it or adult members of the family thereof shall take part. When a search is performed a counsel for the defence and also a lawyer of the person whose premises are subjected to it are entitled to be in attendance.

12. When making a search, a protocol shall be compiled in conformity with Articles 166 and 167 of the present Code.

13. In the protocol shall be pointed out, in what place and under what circumstances the objects, the documents or the valuables were revealed, and whether they were issued of a free will or seized under coercion. All the seized objects, documents and valuables shall be listed, with a precise indication of their quantity, weight, individual features and, if possible, their cost.

14. If during the search attempts were made to destroy or concealthe objects, documents and valuables, subject to seizure, the corresponding entry to this effect shall be made in the protocol with an indication of the taken measures.

15. A copy of the protocol shall be handed in to the person, in whose living quarters the search was made, or to an adult member of his family. If the search was carried out in the premises of an organization, a copy of the protocol shall be handed in against his signature to a representative of the administration of the corresponding organization.

16. The search may also be aimed at finding the wanted persons and the corpses.

Article 183. Grounds and Procedure for Making a Seizure

1. If it is necessary to seize certain objects and documents of importance for the criminal case, and if it is known exactly where they are and who is keeping them, their seizure shall be performed.

2. The seizure shall be carried out in accordance with the order established by Article 182 of the present Code, with the exceptions stipulated by the present Article.

3. The seizure of objects and documents which contain state secrets or other kinds of secrets protected by federal law, shall be made by the investigator with the sanction of the public prosecutor.

4. The seizure of the documents, containing information on the deposits and the accounts of the citizens in the banks and in the other credit institutions, shall be effected on the ground of the court decision to be adopted in accordance with the procedure established by Article 165 of the present Code.

5. Before the start of the seizure, the investigator shall suggest that the objects and the documents, subject to the seizure, be given out voluntarily, and if the refusal follows, he shall make the seizure under coercion.


Article 184. Personal Search

1. If there are grounds for this, and in the procedure envisaged by the first and third parts of Article 182 of the present Code, a personal search of the suspect or of the accused shall be carried out to reveal and seize the objects and the documents which may prove to be of importance for the criminal case.

2. A personal search may be carried out in the absence of the corresponding resolution at the person's detention or putting into custody, and also if there are sufficient grounds to believe that the person, present at the premises or in another place where the search is being made, conceals on himself the objects or the documents, which may prove to be of importance to the criminal case.

3. The personal search of a person may be effected only by a person of the same sex and in the presence of the attesting witnesses and the specialists of the same sex, if they are taking part in the given investigative action .

Part Two. Pre-Trial Proceedings

Section VIII. Preliminary Inquisition

Chapter 26. Interrogation. Identification Line-Up. Identification. Verification of the Evidence

Article 187. Place and Time of an Interrogation

1. An interrogation shall be performed at the place of conducting the preliminary investigation. The investigator shall have the right, if he deems it necessary, to carry out an interrogation at the place of stay of the interrogated person.

2. An interrogation shall not be conducted for more than four hours running.

3. An interrogation shall be resumed after an interval of no less than one hour for a break and a meal; the total length of an interrogation in the course of one day shall not exceed eight hours.

4. If there exist some medical indications, the length of an interrogation shall be fixed on the ground of the doctor's conclusion.


Article 188. Procedure for the Summons to an Interrogation

1. The witness and the victim shall be summoned for an interrogation by a writ, in which it shall be pointed out who and in what capacity is summoned, to whom and at what address, the date and the hour appointed for the appearance at an interrogation, and the consequences of the failure to appear without a serious reason.

2. The writ shall be handed in to the person, who is summoned for an interrogation, against his signature, or it shall be forwarded to him with the use of the means of communication. If the person, summoned for an interrogation, is temporarily absent, the writ shall be given to an adult member of his family or shall be passed to the administration at the place of his work or, on the investigator's orders, to the other persons and organizations, who (which) shall be obliged to hand the writ over to the person, summoned for an interrogation.

3. The person, who is summoned for an interrogation, shall be obliged to come at the appointed time, or to notify the investigator in advance about the reasons for his being unable to come. If he fails to appear without any serious reasons, the person, summoned for an interrogation, may be brought forcibly, or towards him may be applied other measures of the procedural coercion, stipulated by Article 111 of the present Code.

4. A person who has not reached 16 years of age, shall be summoned for an interrogation through his legal representative or through the administration at the place of his work or studies. A different procedure for the summons for an interrogation shall be admissible only if this is called forth by the criminal case circumstances.

5. A serviceman shall be summoned for an interrogation through the command of the military unit.


Article 189. General Rules for Conducting an Interrogation

1. Before an interrogation, the investigator shall fulfil the demands, stipulated by the fifth part of Article 164 of the present Code. If the investigator begins to doubt whether the interrogated person has a good command of the language in which the proceedings on the criminal case is conducted, he shall be obliged to find out in what language the interrogated person would prefer to give evidence.

2. It is inadmissible to give leading the questions to the interrogated person. Apart from this the investigator is free to select any tactics of interrogation.

3. The person under interrogation shall have the right to make use of documents and notes.

4. At the initiative of the investigator or at the request of the interrogated person, in the course of the interrogation may be performed the photographing, the audio and video recording and the cinema shooting, the materials of which shall be kept in the criminal case and shall be sealed after completing the preliminary investigation.

5. If the witness has come to an interrogation with a lawyer he has invited for giving him legal advice, the lawyer shall be present at the interrogation, and shall enjoy the rights provided for by Part Two of Article 53 of this Code. After the end of the interrogation, the lawyer shall have the right to make statements on the violations of the rights and the lawful interests of the witness. These statements shall be entered into the protocol of the interrogation.


Article 190. Protocol of an Interrogation

1. The process and the results of an interrogation shall be reflected in a protocol to be compiled in conformity with Articles 166 and 167 of the present Code.

2. The testimony of the interrogated person shall be written down as rendered in the first person and, if possible, word for word. The questions and the answers to them shall be written down in that sequence, which was observed in the course of the interrogation. Into the protocol shall be entered all the questions, including those rejected by the investigator and those to which the interrogated person has refused to answer, with an indication of the reasons behind the rejection or the refusal.

3. If in the course of the interrogation, the witness was presented with demonstrative proof and documents, protocols of other investigative actions or materials of audio and/or video recording or cinema shooting of the investigative actions, the corresponding entry shall be made about this in the protocol of the interrogation. In the protocol shall also be reflected the evidence of the interrogated person, which he gave after this.

4. If in the course of the interrogation were carried out the photographing, the audio and/or video recording and the cinema shooting, the protocol shall also contain:
• 1) an entry on the performance of the photographing, the audio and/or video
recording and the cinema shooting;
2) information on the technical devices, on the conditions of the photographing, of the audio and/or video recording and of the cinema shooting, and on the fact of suspending the audio and/or video recording and the cinema shooting, as well as on the reason for, and on the duration of the suspension of these;
3) the applications of the interrogated person concerning the performance of the photographing, of the audio and/or video recording and of the cinema shooting;
4) the signatures of the interrogated person and of the investigator, certifying the correctness of the protocol.

5. The interrogated person shall have the right in the course of the interrogation to prepare maps, drafts, drawings and diagrams, which shall be enclosed to the protocol, about which the corresponding note shall be made in it.

6. After the end of the interrogation, the protocol shall be submitted to the interrogated person for reading, or it shall be read for him at his request by the investigator, about which the corresponding note shall be made in the protocol. The interrogated person's petition for an addition to be made to, and on the specification of the protocol shall by all means be satisfied.

7. In the protocol shall be named all the persons, who have participated in the interrogation. Every one of them shall be obliged to sign the protocol, as well as all the addenda and the specifications made in it.

8. The interrogated person shall certify the fact of getting acquainted with the evidence and the correctness of its recording with his signature, to be put at the end of the protocol. The interrogated person shall also sign every sheet of the protocol.

9. Refusal to sign the protocol of the interrogation or the impossibility to sign it on the part of the persons who have taken part in the interrogation, shall be certified in the order, established by Article 167 of the present Code.


Article 191. Specifics in an Interrogation of a Minor Victim or Witness

1. The interrogation of a victim or witness, aged less than fourteen years of age, and at the investigator's discretion also an interrogation of the victim or of the witness, aged from fourteen to eighteen years of age, shall be conducted with the participation of a pedagogue. At the interrogation of a minor victim or witness his legal representative shall also have the right to attend.

2. Victims and witnesses, aged less than sixteen years, shall not be warned about their liability for refusal to give evidence and for giving a deliberately false evidence. When explaining to the said victims and witnesses their procedural rights, stipulated by Articles 42 and 56 of the present Code, respectively, the necessity to tell the truth shall be pointed out to them .

Part Five. International Cooperation in the Sphere of Criminal Court Proceedings

Section XVIII. Procedure for the Interaction of Courts, Prosecutors, Investigators and the Inquest Bodies with the Corresponding Competent Bodies and Officials of Foreign States and with International Organizations

Chapter 53. Principal Provisions on the Procedure for the Interaction of the Courts, Prosecutors, Investigators and the Inquest Bodies with the Corresponding Competent Bodies and Officials of Foreign States and with International Organizations


Article 457. Execution of an Inquiry on Legal Assistance in the Russian Federation

Federal Law No. 58-FZ of June 29, 2004 amended part 1 of Article 457 of this Code

1. The court, the public prosecutor or the investigator shall execute inquiries on the performance of the procedural actions, handed over to them in the established order, which have come in from the corresponding competent bodies of the foreign states in conformity with the international treaties of the Russian Federation and the international agreements, or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity. The principle of reciprocity shall be confirmed by a written statement of the foreign state on rendering legal assistance to the Russian Federation in the performance of the individual procedural actions, received by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, by the Federal Service for Control over the Traffic of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances of the Russian Federation, or by the Office of the Procurator-General of the Russian Federation.

2. In the execution of the inquiry shall be applied the norms of the present Code, but the procedural norms of the legislation of the foreign state may also be applied in conformity with the international treaties of the Russian Federation, with the international agreements or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity, unless this contradicts the legislation and the international liabilities of the Russian Federation.

3. In the execution of the inquiry may be attending the representatives of the foreign state, if this is stipulated by the international treaties of the Russian Federation or by a written liability on an interaction, based on the principle of reciprocity.

4. If the inquiry cannot be executed, the received documents shall be returned with an indication of the reasons which have prevented it from being executed, through the body that has received it or along diplomatic channels, to that competent body of the foreign state, from which the inquiry was directed. The inquiry shall be returned without execution, if it contradicts the legislation of the Russian Federation, or if its execution may inflict damage upon its sovereignty or security .


Article 458. Directing the Criminal Case Materials for Conducting the Criminal Prosecution

If the crime is perpetrated on the territory of the Russian Federation by a foreign citizen who has subsequently gone outside its boundaries so that it is impossible to perform procedural actions with his participation on the territory of the Russian Federation, all the materials on the instituted and the inquisited criminal case shall be handed over to the Office of the Procurator-General of the Russian Federation, and the latter shall resolve the question of their dispatch to the competent bodies of the foreign state for carrying out the criminal prosecution.


Article 459. Execution of the Inquiries on Carrying Out the Criminal Prosecution or on Instituting a Criminal Case on the Territory of the Russian Federation

1. An inquiry from the competent body of a foreign state on carrying out the criminal prosecution with respect to a citizen of the Russian Federation, who has perpetrated a crime on the territory of the foreign state and has returned to the Russian Federation, shall be considered by the Office of the Procurator-General of the Russian Federation. A preliminary inquisition and the judicial proceedings shall be conducted in such cases in accordance with the procedure, established by the present Code.

2. If a crime is committed on the territory of a foreign state by a person, who is a citizen of Russia and who has come back to the Russian Federation before the criminal prosecution was instituted on his account at the place of the perpetration of the crime, the criminal case may be instituted and investigated by the materials, supplied by the corresponding competent body of the foreign state to the Office of the Procurator-General of the Russian Federation in conformity with the present Code, if there exist the grounds, stipulated by Article 12 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation .