It is assumed that the second owner of the vehicle may file a separate claim to claim compensation (that is, payment of his share).
According to the standards currently in force in the country, traffic violations can be punished not only with fines and deprivation of rights for a certain period, but also with confiscation of cars. At the same time, as it turned out, this will not be prevented even by the fact that the car is jointly owned: this decision was considered legal by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, considering the corresponding case.
As Izvestia reports, in October last year the Zvenigovsky District Court in Mari El found a citizen guilty of driving while intoxicated. Moreover, he had previously been prosecuted for drunk driving and was deprived of his license. Therefore, he was charged under Part 1 of Article 264.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the court sentenced the perpetrator to 400 hours of compulsory labor, repeated deprivation of rights for two years and eleven months, as well as confiscation of the car.
The accused citizen filed a cassation appeal demanding a review of the verdict, since the car subject to confiscation was shared ownership between him and his wife. The Sixth Court of Cassation upheld the appeal, overturning the decision to confiscate the vehicle and transfer it as income to the state.
Despite this, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Igor Tkachev appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. He explained that “the confiscation of a car is a non-alternative measure of a criminal law nature,” adding that the fact that the vehicle is in joint ownership does not prevent its confiscation or the confiscation of the share belonging to the culprit.
They agreed with this and in the Russian Supreme Court: here they came to the conclusion that the court of cassation had no grounds for overturning the sentence passed by the court of first instance. The Supreme Judge noted that the Sixth Court of Cassation did not take into account that the article under which the car was confiscated does not contain restrictions regarding the ownership regime.
According to the Supreme Court, in the case under consideration (and similar ones), the spouse of the perpetrator can apply to the court for the release of property from arrest or exclusion from the inventory in civil proceedings. In addition, as part of a separate claim, she may demand payment of compensation within the scope of her share.
According to Sergei Radko, a lawyer for the Freedom of Choice movement, who is quoted by the publication, issues related to the confiscation of a car, jointly owned, arose at the stage of discussion of amendments, but they did not find a specific solution then. At the same time, he explained that now the legislation formally allows the second owner to defend his interests.
Recall that the rule providing for the confiscation of cars from traffic violators came into force at the end of July last year. This punishment applies to those who were caught driving after deprivation of their license.