he computer.
30. On 9 August 2005 the Khoroshevskiy District Court of Moscow dismissed their claim, finding as follows:
"It follows from the judgment of 14 August 2001 that the cash funds in the amount of 5,747 US dollars had been criminally acquired... On 19 March 2002 they were deposited with the Vneshtorgbank bank with a view to confiscation and credit to the State... Accordingly, the court cannot agree with Ms Denisova's claim to one half of the spousal part of the said cash funds. No other judicial documents relating to the origin of the contested cash funds have been produced before the court, whereas, pursuant to Article 61 § 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the facts established by a final judicial decision in an earlier case bind the court.
As to Ms Moiseyeva's claims for recognition of her ownership of the computer and peripherals, it cannot likewise be satisfied because they have not been corroborated during the examination of the merits of the case. At present the said property has been confiscated and sold, which is confirmed by the bailiffs' information about the enforcement of the confiscation order in that respect."
31. On 13 October 2005 the Moscow City Court upheld, in a summary fashion, the City Court's judgment.
II. Relevant domestic law and practice
A. Spousal and donated property
32. Property acquired by spouses in marriage is presumed to be jointly owned (Article 256 § 1 of the Civil Code, Article 34 § 1 of the Family Code). A child owns property which he or she has received as a gift (Article 60 § 1 of the Family Code). Giving does not require a written agreement, handover of the gift being sufficient (Article 574 § 1 of the Civil Code).
B. Criminal law and procedure
33. The Criminal Code provides that "penalty shall be imposed on a person found guilty of commission of a crime" (Article 44). Confiscation of property is a form of penal sanction which is auxiliary to the main sanction and defined as "compulsory withdrawal, in whole or in part, without compensation, of the property owned by the convicted person" (Article 52). On 8 December 2003, Article 52 was removed from the Criminal Code.
34. As worded at the time of Mr Moiseyev's conviction, Article 275 of the Criminal Code provided that high treason carried a punishment of up to twenty years' imprisonment that may or may not be accompanied by a confiscation order in respect of the convict's property. On 8 December 2003 the reference to the possibility of issuing a confiscation order was deleted.
35. The RSFSR Code of Criminal Procedure, as worded at the time of Mr Moiseyev's conviction, provided as follows:
Article 86. Measures taken in respect of the exhibits in criminal proceedings
"The judgment... must decide on the destiny of the exhibits, and:
(1) instruments of crime which belong to the accused shall be confiscated and passed on to a competent agency or destroyed;
...
(4) criminally acquired money and other assets shall be confiscated to the profit of the State; other items shall be returned to their lawful owners, or, if the owners cannot be established, shall become the State's property. In case of a dispute over the ownership of such items, the dispute shall be resolved in civil proceedings..."
Article 175. Charging of property
"With a view to securing a civil claim or a possible confiscation order, the investigator must charge the property of the suspect, defendant... or of the other persons who keep criminally acquired property... If necessary, the charged property may be impounded..."
C. Rules of civil procedure
36. Article 442 § 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides:
"A dispute over the ownership of the char
> 1 ... 2 3 4 5 ... 11 12 13