Laws are a source of law or a form of its expression. This thesis was developed many years ago by theorists in the field of jurisprudence. An interesting fact is that law regulates social relations of any nature. That is, going to the store, driving, ordering pizza over the phone - these are all legal facts that give rise to legal relations. However, these points are positive. They are found in everyday life. At the same time, certain individuals quite often commit actions that are contrary to public morality, in other words, are negative. In the scientific community, they have their own name - offenses.
In turn, actions of this nature are also divided into certain types, depending on the degree of their danger to society. Thus, delinquency and directly crimes are identified, which are the most harmful acts of people. Criminal law is a legal industry that regulates the legal relations of the highest public danger. But in the context of this article we will not consider the whole complex of crimes, but only one of them, namely coercion to acts of a sexual nature. This action is regulated by norm 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The concept of criminal law
Before considering Art. 133 of the Criminal Code, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of the industry in which responsibility for this act is provided. Today, this is the legal sphere of criminal law nature. This type of industry regulates a whole system of social relations arising in the field of people committing crimes, that is, acts that have the highest social danger. In addition, criminal law also provides for the existence of certain measures of influence on violators of the legislative order, the application of which is carried out in the process of bringing them to legal responsibility. Based on the industry presented, a scientific discipline and a separate structure of legal acts were created. The basis of the legal liability of criminal law is a special codified law, the Criminal Code. It is in it that there is an article that fixes the punishment for coercion to acts of a sexual nature.
Crime history
In domestic law, such a socially dangerous act as compulsion to acts of a sexual nature did not always exist. It was first enshrined in the Criminal Code in 1923. However, the internal construction of this crime was somewhat different. In the first half of the 20th century, only coercion of women by men was condemned, on which the weaker sex depended on the strength of their official position or financially. In other words, this provision of the Criminal Code in the 1920s had a rather narrow specificity. Later, the form of crime expanded significantly. The renewed responsibility provided for punishment for compelling not only sexual intercourse, but also to other actions aimed at satisfying the passion.
It should be noted that in those days, scientists very often criticized the presented norm for its inefficiency. The problem was the very fact of compulsion. The bottom line is that far from always the criminal used material or official position. Quite often, threats, blackmail, etc. were used to obtain sexual satisfaction. In this case, one should not reject the possibility of personal dependence that arises between the stepdaughter and stepfather. In addition, not only women but also men can act as victims. In accordance with this, the legal norm was repeatedly redone and supplemented in every way. But only in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in 1996 was a complete and most successful article presented, which enshrined the punishment for coercion.
Article 133 of the Criminal Code with comments
The provision of the Criminal Code provided for in article 133 enshrines the punishment for coercion of sexual acts. In this case, many people have a question about what exactly can be attributed to such actions. The bottom line is that directly requesting sexual intercourse will not fall within the scope of this article. For criminal liability to come, coercion must be negative, unlawful. This, in turn, is achieved through blackmail, various threats, active actions in the form of seizure or damage to property, as well as the use of the victim’s dependence on the offender. It should also be noted that declension can be carried out for sexual intercourse, both natural and non-natural in nature (sodomy, lesbianism, etc.). In this case, Articles 131, 133 of the Criminal Code are the opposite. Indeed, with rape we are talking only about intercourse between a man and a woman. In this case, to understand in more detail all aspects of Art. 133 of the Criminal Code, it is necessary to consider its components. This can be done by highlighting the key elements of a socially dangerous act.
Art. 133 of the Criminal Code: corpus delicti
Compulsion to acts of a sexual nature, like other socially dangerous acts provided for by the Criminal Code, includes several basic elements. Art. 133 of the Criminal Code is characterized by a standard composition, which includes:
- subject;
- an object;
- subjective side;
- objective side.
Each element is endowed with many aspects that highlight the characteristics of the crime, as well as the specific features of the punishment for it.
The objective side of Article 133 of the Criminal Code of Russia
The crime presented in the article can be committed through active action, which is coercion to have sexual intercourse. That is, the face makes the victim satisfy his sexual passion. This kind of action can be expressed in various ways. Most often, coercion takes the form of blackmail or threats of seizure, destruction of certain property. In the first case, we are talking about the manipulation of the victim by the possibility of disseminating any personal information about her.
Information in this case should be secret and unknown to a wide circle of people. As for the threat of seizure of property or its destruction, such actions can also be considered as a form of incentive. Threats may have a different nature. For example, by virtue of official dependence, a criminal may threaten a victim of compulsion with dismissal.
Who is the subject of Art. 133. The subjective side of the crime
The person who will be held accountable for the commission of coercion is a person who has reached the age of 16. If the victim is financially or service dependent on the subject, then this fact is a special characterizing parameter. In this case, the offender takes a dominant position over another person, which allows him to implement the composition of Article 133 of the Criminal Code.
The subjective side of the crime is always characterized by direct intent. That is, a person not only realizes the unlawfulness and social danger of his actions, but also wishes the consequences of their commission to occur. Motives, as a rule, have a sexual frame, although they can be completely different.
What is the object of article 133?
The object of any crime is certain social relations, which are protected by applicable law. In the case of Article 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, sexual freedom of a person is harmed. In this case, there is a violation of the right to choose a subject with whom it is best to have sexual intercourse. You can also highlight a number of additional objects, such as the dignity and honor of a particular person.
Qualifying Features
In the analysis of Article 133 (2) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, we can distinguish aggravating circumstances of the commission of a crime. In this case, there is only one qualifying aspect: the act is carried out in relation to a minor. In this case, the legislator raises the scope of criminal liability, because the object of abuse in this case is the sexual freedom of the child. Judicial practice under Art. 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in this case is not homogeneous, despite the fact that the victim is characterized by a special level of legal protection.
Conclusion
So, in this article we have analyzed the main points of Art. 133 of the Criminal Code. The sentence at this rate may vary depending on the punishment chosen by the court. Nevertheless, the functionality of the article is at a high level, which allows it to be applied quite effectively today.