On the necessity of changes to specific legislative acts allowing to optimize the activity of psychological service of the Russian penal system

The contribution suggests changes and updates to the Federal law of July 15th, 1995 № 103-FZ “On detention in custody of the suspects and the accused” and the Penal Code of Russia. Listed changes and updates are mostly related to optimization of the activity of the psychological service of the Russian Federal Penal Service, which bases its work on European standards in the field of human rights, international obligations of the Russian Federation and national penal legislation. The authors think that today it is necessary to, first, fix the psychological work in the penal legislation (along with social and existing educational work) as the main means of correction of convicts (cl.2 art. 9 of the Penal Code), second, to make corresponding changes to articles 56 and 180 of the Penal Code, third, to exclude cl.7 art.12 of the Penal Code, and to add to the Penal Code a chapter dedicated to psychological work with imprisoned persons. These changes will in turn demand correction of the Federal Law of July 15th, 1995 № 103-FZ “On detention in custody of the suspects and the accused”. The authors think that changing the aforementioned legislative acts will help to optimize the process of psychological support of the suspected, the accused and the convicted.