Everyone already knows that the Odesa appeal overturned the 7-year sentence with confiscation of Serhiy and Ruslana (and these judges are worth mentioning here). They also overturned the charges for illegal handling of a pistol, which became a firearm, solely due to the work of an “expert” from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
But people in the FB began to resent the sentence of 3 years in prison (one year of probation) for 1 (one) small ammunition (cartridge) of caliber 5.45 mm, saying that Article 263 of the Criminal Code refers to ammunition, that is, two or more.
In this regard, we have a chance to go through the stage of legal development that England (the homeland of the “rule of law”) has gone through since 1547. Since that time, such a legal doctrine as the Rule of Lenity or the doctrine of strict interpretation of a criminal norm in the interests of protection has been taking its course.
The fact is that the Parliament of England enacted a rule that prohibited the reduction of punishment for the theft of horses (stealing of Horses). However, the English courts began to interpret this rule directly and somewhat in the interests of the defense. That is, the rule was applied if it was a matter of the theft of two or more horses, and the theft of one horse did not fall under this rule.
This is how the rule of law was created, and we also have a chance to establish it. We will definitely write about this in the cassation appeal against the one-shot verdict against Sternenko.
Bar Association OK Legal
