This federal law is one of many legal acts aimed at liberalising Russia’s criminal policy and reforming the penal system. The federal law is designed to ensure the constitutional right to life and health of offenders sentenced to imprisonment.
In December 2010, amendments were introduced to Article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Code and Article 24 of the Federal Law On Detention of Persons Suspected or Accused of Committing Crimes, which stipulate mitigating punishment for gravely ill individuals and the possibility of their release from pre-trial detention facilities.