Comparative Law Research: Clemency Acts
Country
Russia
Criminal Code, Section IV, Chapter 13, Article 85 (2) : A
person who has been convicted for a crime may be released
from the further serving of his sentence by an act of pardon,
… The criminal record may be struck from a person who
has served punishment, through an act of pardon.
Criminal Code, Section IV, Chapter 13, Article 86 (2) : 2. A
person released from punishment shall be deemed to
be non-convicted.
Singapore
Constitution 22P (1) Grants president power to grant
Pardon. There is no explicit mention that pardon expunges
criminal record.
In Singapore, generally speaking, criminal records can not
be erased or expunged. They however can be “Spent.”
Criminal records for certain, more minor crimes, may
become spent on the expiration of a crime-free period of 5
consecutive years from:
•
•
The date that the sentence was passed (if the
offender was not sentenced to imprisonment); or
The date of the offender’s release from prison (if the
offender was imprisoned).
A person with a spent record can legally declare that he has
no criminal record. However, he must still answer “yes” if he
is asked whether he has ever been convicted in a court of
law. Therefore a conviction can not expunged.
Spain
The derecho de gracia ("right of grace") or indulto ("pardon")
is granted by article 62 (i) of the Spanish Constitution of
1978 as a power exclusive to the King of Spain.
Spanish law defines it as a renunciation on the State's part
of its own punitive power on behalf of an individual, founded
on reasons of equity or public interest. Implicitly indicating
that a pardon can not expunge a criminal record/conviction,
rather the state decides to not exercise their power to
pursue punishments.
UK
The power to grant pardons and reprieves in the United
Kingdom is known as the royal prerogative of mercy. It is
described as being those inherent legal attributes which is
unique to the Crown/Sovereign. They all belong to the King
as a person as well as to the institution which is called
crown.
France
Pardons and acts of clemency (grâces) are granted by
the President of France, who, ultimately, is the sole judge of
the propriety of the measure. It does not… erase the
condemnation from the criminal record.
Portugal
Article 134.º, paragraph f of the Constitution of Portugal
establishes that the act of a pardon is within the
competences of the President.
Article 161.º, paragraph f) of the Constitution of Portugal:
The pardon, as an individual, shall not be confused with
amnesty or generic forgiveness, both of a general and
abstract nature. Amnesty has retroactive effects, affecting
not only the penalty applied but the past criminal act itself,
which is forgotten, considered as not practiced (retroactive
abolition of crime). Generic forgiveness focuses only on the
penalties determined by the sentencing decision and for the
future. It is the reserved competence of the Portuguese
Parliamnent to approve generic amnesties and pardons
Canada
In Canada, the issuer of pardons is a federal agency, the
Parole Board of Canada. The law that governs pardons is
known as the Criminal Records Act.
The pardon does not totally erase convictions, instead, it
keeps the record of a conviction “sealed”, information about
the conviction is removed from the Canadian Police
Information Centre and cannot be given out unless given
approval from the Minister of Public Safety Canada.
Pakistan
The Constitution of Pakistan confers unfettered discretionary
powers on the President of the country to grant pardon,
reprieve, or commute sentences on convicts in the following
terms:
Article 45 of the constitution of Pakistan: The President shall
have power to grant pardon, reprieve, and respite, and to
remit, suspend, or commute any sentence passed by any
court, tribunal, or other authority.
However, this refers only to the sentence it does not grant
the president the competence to expunge convictions.
USA
A pardon restores rights that you lost upon being convicted,
but it does not “erase” your criminal record. To clear your
criminal history completely, you must have an expungement.
A pardon, however, is a necessary step in the process
toward expungement for some serious crimes.
Expungement is a judicial remedy that is rarely granted by
the court and cannot be granted within the Department of
Justice or by the President.