GENERAL PART
Chapter One
General Principles
Article 1. The purposes of the Criminal Code RSFSR.
It is the purpose of the Criminal Code RSFSR to protect the Soviet social and governmental system, socialist property, the person and rights of citizens and of the entire socialist legal order against criminal encroachments.
With a view to achieving this purpose, the Criminal Code RSFSR specifies what socially dangerous acts are criminal, and prescribes the penalties to be applied to persons who have committed crimes.
Article 2. The Criminal Code RSFSR and all-union criminal legislation.
The Criminal Code RSFSR is based on the principles and general premises established by the Basic Principles of Criminal Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics.
The all-union laws concerning criminal liability for crimes against the state and military crimes, and the all-union laws fixing liability for other crimes directed against the interests of the USSR, are included in the present code. Pending inclusion of all-union criminal laws in the Criminal Code RSFSR, the latter are applied on the territory of the RSFSR directly.
The General Part of the Code applies both to the acts enumerated in the present Code and to those acts liability for which is specified in all-union laws not yet included in the present Code.
Article 3. The basis of criminal liability.
Criminal liability and punishment shall be applied only to a person who is guilty of committing a crime; i.e., a person who, intentionally or through negligence, has committed a socially dangerous act specified by criminal statue.
Criminal punishment shall be assigned only by sentence of a court.
