CERTAIN OBSERVATIONS REGARDING THE CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURAL SANCTIONS AMONG THE MEANS OF PROCEDURAL COERCION

Abstract

The article examines the legal nature and classification of criminal procedural sanctions within the system of means of criminal procedural coercion under the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia. It analyses the legislator’s approach of placing all procedural sanctions in the chapter on “Means of Coercion” and compares it with the legislation of continental legal systems (Russian Federation, Italy, Austria, Georgia, Latvia) and the Anglo-American legal system (United States). The study reveals that the uniform treatment of sanctions as coercive measures in Armenian law contradicts both international practice and fundamental theoretical distinctions between means of coercion and sanctions as forms of legal liability. Drawing on doctrinal sources and the jurisprudence of the U.S. Supreme Court (Gompers v. Bucks Stove & Range Co. and International Union v. Bagwell), the author proposes clear criteria for distinguishing between restorative/coercive sanctions and punitive sanctions. The paper concludes with concrete recommendations for legislative reform, suggesting the separation of sanctions constituting legal liability into a distinct chapter, following the Georgian legislative model, in order to strengthen the principles of legality, proportionality, and the authority of the judiciary.