A few words about the cumulation of a fine with the obligation to make good damage or redress harm

A fine is one of the punishments. It is listed in the first position in the catalogue of punishments in Article 32 of the Criminal Code. Since it is possible to combine it in practice with other means of criminal response of a pecuniary nature, it is important to determine such a relationship to the obligation to make good the damage considering, among other things, the financial situation of the perpetra-tor and the victim and the resulting in concreto onerousness of the punishment imposed, but also considering the aspect of public assessments of the administra-tion of justice. After all, it should be noted that very often the obligation of the perpetrator to make good the damage or redress the harm caused to the victim satisfies the public sense of justice to a greater extent than making the perpetrator pay a fine. There are other important differences between these institutions. They also have some common characteristics/features. In view of the above, first of all, it is necessary to answer the following questions: whether the obligation of the accused to make good the damage or redress the harm caused can be considered a mitigating circumstance or a factor otherwise affecting the reduction of the fine; whether, therefore, if it is possible to combine the application of these institutions in practice, the court may significantly reduce the fine or even completely abandon its imposition in favour of full compensation of the damage caused to the victim; when the court can impose an obligation to make good the damage only in part, while combining it with a fine if possible; what criteria should the court be guided by when imposing a fine together with the obligation to make good the damage; in what cases (variants) is it currently possible to apply these institutions jointly? The purpose of this publication is to try to answer the questions posed above and thereby draw attention to some key issues related to the mutual relationship be-tween the aforementioned institutions.