Chapter Two
The Scope of the Criminal Code
Article 4. The force of the present Code with respect to acts committed on the territory of the RSFSR.
All persons who have committed crimes on the territory of the RSFSR are liable under the present code.
In the event of the commission of a crime on the territory of the RSFSR by diplomatic representatives of foreign states and other persons who pursuant to currently effective laws and international agreements are not subject to the jurisdiction of Soviet judicial institutions with respect to criminal cases, the question of their criminal liability is decided by diplomatic means.
Article 5. The force of the present Code with respect to acts committed outside the boundaries of the USSR.
Citizens of the USSR who have committed crimes abroad, if they have been subjected to criminal prosecution or brought to trial on the territory of the RSFSR, are liable under the present Code.
Stateless persons who have committed crimes outside the boundaries of the USSR and who are present within the RSFSR, are liable on the same basis.
If the persons enumerated in the first and second parts of the present article have served a sentence abroad for the crimes committed, the court may mitigate the punishment assigned or completely exempt the accused person from serving a sentence, as may be appropriate.
Foreigners who have committed crimes outside the boundaries of the USSR are liable under Soviet criminal statutes in those cases specified in international agreements.
Article 6. The force of a criminal statute in time.
The criminal nature and punishability of an act is determined by the statute in force at the time the act was committed.
A statute making an act no longer subject to penalty, or mitigating the penalty, is retroactive; that is, it also applies to acts committed before its promulgation.
