A prison sentence is one of the possible penalties that can be imposed in criminal proceedings. A prison sentence can only be imposed as a principal penalty, not as a secondary penalty.
The Criminal Law stipulates the minimum and maximum duration of the imposed prison sentence. Thus, the imposed prison sentence cannot be shorter than 30 days or longer than 20 years. It is imposed in full years and months, and up to 6 months, in days.
The convicted person serves the imposed prison sentence in special facilities designated for that purpose, such as correctional facilities and district prisons.
However, there is the possibility that the imposed prison sentence can be served in the convict’s residence, provided certain conditions are met. The condition for serving a prison sentence at home is that the offender has been sentenced to a prison sentence of up to 1 year, and the court has assessed that, considering the personality of the offender, their previous life, their behavior after committing the offense, the degree of guilt, and other circumstances under which the offense was committed, it can be expected that the purpose of punishment will still be achieved in this way. In this case, the convicted person may not leave the premises of their residence except in exceptional circumstances. If the convicted person voluntarily leaves the premises of their residence for more than 6 hours once or up to 6 hours twice, the court will order them to serve the remainder of their prison sentence in a correctional facility. Serving a prison sentence at home cannot be imposed on a convicted person for an offense from the group of criminal offenses against marriage and family if they live in the same household with the injured party.
Life Imprisonment
For the most serious criminal offenses and the most severe forms of serious crimes, a life imprisonment penalty can exceptionally be prescribed along with a prison sentence. Of course, logically, a life imprisonment sentence can only be imposed as the principal penalty.
In certain situations, the possibility of imposing a life imprisonment sentence is excluded, even for the most serious criminal offenses and the most severe forms of serious crimes. Such a penalty cannot be imposed on a person who, at the time of committing the offense, had not yet reached the age of 21. Also, life imprisonment cannot be imposed if there is any basis for exemption from punishment or any grounds for reducing the sentence.