On January 10, 2022, changes to articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on “Non-payment of funds for the maintenance of children or parents with disabilities” entered into force. Under the new rules, maintenance debtors will be held liable even for their partial non-payment. This is reported on the official website of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. & Nbsp; & nbsp;
“ Even though the family has broken up, the parent's responsibility for the upkeep and upbringing of the child is not taken away. And those who have repeatedly violated their obligations to pay child support will face criminal penalties, '' & mdash; noted the Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin. & nbsp;
What administrative sanction threatens the partial payment & nbsp; alimony? & nbsp;
Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses (article 5.35-1) introduce administrative liability for partial non-payment of maintenance for minor children or disabled parents. Previously, only those who completely refused to pay child support were fined. Henceforth, the punishment & nbsp; & nbsp; extends & nbsp; to citizens who have not paid alimony to the end. They are faced with: & nbsp; & nbsp;
- compulsory labor up to 150 hours;
- or arrest from 10 to 15 days;
- or a fine of 20 thousand rubles.
The penalty is applicable in the event that the delay in payment without valid reason is 2 months or more. Only full repayment of any debt can become a ground for disclaimer.
When does criminal liability come?
In the event of a repeated violation of the obligations to pay alimony (including for the partial fulfillment of their obligations) and to incur administrative liability & nbsp; & nbsp; comes criminal responsibility, notes the State Duma. According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Article 157), in case of repeated evasion of the payment of alimony, a person is liable to:
- labor correctional or forced up to one year;
- or arrest up to three months;
- or imprisonment for up to one year.
Why were new changes made to the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?
The initiators of & nbsp; (the government of the Russian Federation) & nbsp; amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation analyzed & nbsp; judicial practice in recent years and discovered that the previously existing editions of the Penal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses allowed an ambiguous qualification of acts of alimony. In particular, there have been cases where the partial payment by debtors of alimony (and of a much smaller amount than that established by the court) has been equated by prosecutors with full repayment of the debt. . & Nbsp;
“ So, on January 28, 2019, the Solneshensky district prosecutor of the Altai Territory, & nbsp; & nbsp; quashed the decision to initiate criminal proceedings made on January 25, 2019 by the investigator of the Department of Judicial Officers in the Solneshensky District of the FSSP Office of Russia in the Altai Territory , under part 1 of article 157 of the Penal Code regarding the debtor in connection with the non-payment of alimony for the maintenance of a minor child. The total amount of debt on this execution procedure is 302.5 thousand rubles. Based on the decision, the prosecutor indicated that the debtor made a one-off payment in the amount of 1.5 thousand rubles, which, according to the prosecutor, is a sign of the correct performance by the debtor of his maintenance obligations', states the explanatory memorandum note to the amendments to Article 157 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The adoption of the new amendments, according to the Government of the Russian Federation, will ensure the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of minors children or children with disabilities who have reached the age of eighteen years, and parents with disabilities. And also to exclude the abuse of unscrupulous debtors. & Nbsp;
Why can't you pay child support?
According to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the valid reasons for non-payment of maintenance may be circumstances beyond the control of the payer, namely: & nbsp;
- the non-payment of child support has occurred regardless of the person's will, for example, due to illness or disability;
- the alimony was not paid through the fault of other persons: due to non-payment of wages, delay or incorrect transfer of alimony amounts by the bank ;
- military service on conscription.
“ When assessing the relevant circumstances, the judge should take into account whether the person has had other opportunities (including money, property, other sources of income ) to pay funds for the maintenance of children or disabled parents '' underlined in & nbsp; The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. & Nbsp;
It is noted that disagreement with the established amount of alimony or the prison sentence in places of deprivation of liberty is not considered a valid reason for non-payment. & Nbsp;
Sources of information:
duma.gov.ru/news/53173/
sozd.duma.gov .ru/bill/1183583-7
sozd.duma.gov.ru/bill/1183608-7
consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_34661/c2ff163d4e894965c3460251d75bf140fc9042d7/
< p> consultant. ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_10699/1ff58aab7f0012bee8ea288dafc9f2ab0ad4a4ec/
vsrf.ru/press_center/mass_media/29940/
