Conditional Conviction

In the USSR, a guilty person may be sentenced to a punishment that will be suspended if, during a probationary term, the convicted person does not intentionally commit another crime. In Soviet criminal law, conditional conviction is applicable if the court, having evaluated the circumstances of the case and the personality of the guilty person, comes to the conclusion that it would not be expedient for the person to serve the sentence. In this case, having sentenced the person to deprivation of freedom or to correctional labor without deprivation of freedom, the court states that if the convicted person does not intentionally commit another crime during a probationary term established by the court, the sentence will be suspended and the record of conviction will be canceled. At the court’s discretion or on petition by a social organization or a collective of working people, the court may transfer the conditionally convicted person to the organization or collective for reeducation and correction. On petition by the organization or collective, the court has the right to shorten the probationary term when at least half of the term has already expired.

The law also provides for cases in which a suspended sentence of deprivation of freedom may be replaced with a conditional sentence consisting of continuous supervision and compulsory labor in locations determined by the bodies supervising the execution of the sentence; the length of the sentence is the same as that of the suspended sentence. Such conditional sentences may be applied in two cases: to able-bodied adults who are convicted for the first time of an intentional crime and sentenced to deprivation of freedom for terms up to three years, and to able-bodied adults who are convicted of crimes of negligence and sentenced to terms up to five years. In determining whether or not to grant a conditional conviction, the court takes into account relevant circumstances, such as the personality of the guilty party, the nature of the crime, and the danger posed to society by such a crime.