The Proportionality Between the Size of the Fine and the Category of Crime

This study aims to identify and analyze the challenges associated with imposing and enforcing criminal penalties in the form of fines. Like any form of punishment, the fine must serve the core objectives of the penal system: restoring social justice, preventing future offenses, and rehabilitating the offender. The effectiveness of these objectives is directly linked to the fairness of the sentence imposed. The research reveals that fines occupy fourth place in frequency among all types of imposed criminal penalties. However, their application does not always succeed in achieving the intended penal objectives. A central thesis of the article is that the amount of a fine must be proportionate to the severity of the offense committed. Yet, current Russian criminal law contains provisions where multi-million-ruble fines are imposed even for minor and mid-level offenses, which, in practice, undermines the feasibility and fairness of enforcement. The Author critically reviews diverse scholarly and practitioner perspectives found in legal literature, and conducts an in-depth analysis of judicial practice related to fines as a primary form of criminal punishment. This analysis confirms that the amount of the fine specified in the sanctions of the Special Part of the Russian Criminal Code should directly correspond to the gravity of the criminal act. The study applies general scientific methods such as analysis, synthesis, and a systematic approach to exploring socio-legal phenomena. In addition, content analysis of scholarly publications and online resources dedicated to the application of fines as criminal sanctions was employed. The scientific relevance of the article lies in its argument for establishing legally binding maximum fine thresholds based on the category of the offense. The Author proposes both theoretical and practical legal reforms aimed at improving the structure and proportionality of financial penalties. The practical value of the research is in its contribution to enhancing the preventive and rehabilitative effectiveness of fines within the broader system of criminal penalties.

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