the compulsory uncompensated transfer to the state of all or part of a citizen’s personal property. In criminal law the confiscation of property is one type of supplementary punishment. Under Soviet law it is invoked only as an additional measure of punishment. It may be imposed in cases specifically mentioned in the law, after an individual has been convicted of state crimes and crimes with a mercenary motive. The court has the right to confiscate property (all or part) regardless of the legality of the means by which it was acquired by the owner. In deciding to confiscate a citizen’s property, the court must consider the degree of social danger involved in the crime, as well as the personality of the convicted person.
Only the confiscation of the personal property of the convicted person is permitted. If he is the owner of common property or a member of a kolkhoz household, confiscation applies only to his share. Personal belongings and objects needed for the everyday life of the convicted person and his dependents cannot be confiscated. (The criminal legislation now in force lists the belongings and objects that are not subject to confiscation.)
It is necessary to distinguish the confiscation of property as a measure of criminal punishment from the confiscation of objects that are material evidence, including the instruments of crime. In addition, money and other valuables acquired illegally are taken by the state. It is also necessary to distinguish from confiscation of property the penalty levied in money and property to compensate for damages resulting from crime.