To date, the legal culture of mankind allows us to create a framework for the comprehensive protection of fundamental rights, for each individual. If we take specifically the Russian Federation, then in this state the protection of a person and his basic competencies is carried out through various legal sectors. The most stringent framework is created in the field of criminal law, which exists for the regulation of the most dangerous acts for society. A significant misconception is the opinion that a socially dangerous crime is only murder and other attacks on human life and health. This is far from the case.
The object of a crime can be almost any area of human life. According to this principle, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was created. This normative act contains norms about all acts that can be recognized as crimes. As social relations develop, the list of such actions is being supplemented. An important part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is a combination of crimes against property rights, one of which is theft. This action has many features and qualifying aspects, which the author will describe in more detail later in the article.
What are property rights crimes?
Before analyzing the information that comments provide on article 158 of the criminal code of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to understand what constitutes crimes against property rights in general. This question is rather painful for the criminal law of the Russian Federation. Today, preference is given to private ownership due to the development of capitalist relations. But even twenty years ago, criminal theorists magnified exclusively socialist property, because the doctrine of communism reigned in the country. The Criminal Code of our time is based on the principle of the equality of all forms of ownership, which provides protection for any type of property.
The main types of attacks on property
The current Criminal Code of Russia fixes two main types of attacks on the property of the subject, namely: unselfish and selfish. The first view is the smallest. Only two crimes can be attributed to it: deliberate or reckless destruction and damage to property. The second view is more extensive. Self-serving crimes imply a special feature - enrichment at the expense of the property of another person. Such acts, as a rule, include embezzlement, fraud, extortion, misappropriation, breach of trust, etc. As regards theft directly (Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), this crime is embezzlement.
Concept of theft
So, above the author cited the specifics of crimes against property rights. Theft is one of them. But for many citizens there is no particular difference between theft and, for example, robbery or robbery. In order to somehow differentiate all these concepts, you need to understand the meaning of the term itself.
According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and theoretical developments in this area, it can be said that theft is a secret non-violent theft of property that belongs to another person. In this case, Art. 158 of the Criminal Code, part 1, secures this act at the legislative level. At the same time, liability for the direct commission of theft occurs regardless of the form of ownership, which was subject to abuse.
Difference from other types of theft
Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Theft” implies the secret (hidden) theft of property. This feature is the key to differentiate this crime from other socially dangerous acts. Another distinguishing feature is the absence of violence in any form during the theft. Take robbery or robbery, for example. In this case, not only the legal relationship of a person in the field of ownership of property may suffer, but also his health, especially during robbery. When committing theft, there should not be any danger to a person specifically, otherwise the act would not qualify under Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Features of the qualification of secret theft
The author previously indicated that Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Theft” implies the latent theft of property. However, there are a number of cases where such an act can truly be called a secret. This happens in such cases:
- Neither the owner of the property nor third parties know about the theft.
- The owner does not know about the crime even after its actual commission (for example, theft of residual raw materials or goods, when the owner does not have statements about its actual existence).
- The theft took place among persons who were not supposed to resist the criminal (for example, his relatives).
- There are persons who were actually present during the theft, but did not know and could not know that illegal actions were being carried out.
Thus, only taking into account the presented features of the actions of a person can be qualified as a form of secret theft. In all other cases, Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part 1 not applicable, and the act itself must be qualified as a completely different crime.
The legislative characteristic of theft
At the legislative level, there is a consolidation of theft as a socially dangerous act in Art. 158 h. 1 of the Criminal Code. The application of this norm of criminal law is carried out if all the necessary elements of the offense are present, which will be discussed later. It should be noted that the legislator in article 158 took into account all possible interpretations of this crime, thereby ensuring comprehensive protection of public relations in the field of property. Through qualifying features, the most severe and various forms of secret theft are enshrined in the Criminal Code.
Corpus delicti
There are certain features of the application of Art. 158 h. 1 of the Criminal Code. Criminal law is structured in such a way that punishment for any illegal act occurs only if all elements of the crime are present. Theft is no exception. Elements of a crime include:
- subject;
- an object;
- subjective side;
- objective side.
In the absence of at least one of the elements, the act cannot be recognized as a crime, and in this case - theft.
Subjective side
Crime under Part 1 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Theft", or rather its subjective side, is characterized by intent direct and selfish motive. Moreover, intent of a direct nature is a prerequisite. Theorists of criminal law unanimously agree that it is impossible to commit theft with an indirect desire to carry out an illegal act. The criminal always controls his actions. Although there is a controversial point about the kleptomaniac people, this will be discussed later. As for selfish motives, this is not a mandatory aspect of the subjective side. Very often a person commits theft, for example, of revenge. In this case, he does not want to get rich at the expense of other people's property, but in fact violates the law.
Subject of theft
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation presents an underestimated age limit, according to which you can attract a person for committing theft. Under article 158, a person who is 14 years old can be charged with theft. In general, the age of the subject plays a large role not only in the qualification process, but also in the mechanism of holding accountable for the deed. This must be taken into account. On a common basis, the age of responsibility for criminal offenses comes from 16 years. The legislator, establishing this boundary, proceeds from the fact that upon reaching this age a person is already fully aware of his actions and can control them.
As for the theft, the situation here is a little different. In this case, not only the issue of control over actions plays a role, but also the moral aspect. The fact is that after reaching 14 years, everyone understands where the framework of another's property is located. Parents from childhood instill in every child the conviction that "one cannot touch someone else's." Thus, by the age of 14, almost every sane person knows the limits of what is permitted. Based on these specific factors, the legislator has built an underestimated age framework for the subject of the crime.
Theft is the objective side
The objective side consists of the actual act. Criminal liability occurs in cases where a person actually commits the theft of another's property. But for the objective side of theft to appear, the crime itself must have a specific form, as was already said earlier. Theft is a hidden theft of another's property. The secrecy of actual actions can be assessed on the basis of subjective and objective criteria. The first shows the attitude of the criminal himself to the committed action. He must understand and realize whether he is openly acting or secretly. An objective criterion shows the attitude of others towards the theft. As a rule, third parties do not realize that an illegal act is occurring even when visually observing the process itself.
Most often, due to the lack of an objective side, it is impossible to implement the sentence of Part 1 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code, as the crime is incorrectly qualified. This happens quite often, so it is difficult to properly characterize the objective side of theft.
Object of crime
Ordinary citizens have many questions about the subject of the crime under Art. 158 h. 1 of the Criminal Code. Comments on it provide a wealth of information. It should be noted that the object is not the property that is actually targeted by the attacker, but an array of legal relations arising between the owner and specific material values.
This specific feature of a crime object is often incomprehensible to people who are not versed in legal issues. In most cases, the mandatory element of the object is the subject of the crime (stolen property). This fact is due to the fact that theft is aimed at obtaining specific things, without which there is virtually no theft.
Features of the crime
All elements of a crime are divided into certain types, according to various criteria. As for the theft, it is characterized by a material composition. The characteristic in this case is based on the moment the crime ends. The peculiarity of the material composition is that an unlawful act is deemed to have occurred in the event that the property is withdrawn from the actual possession of the proper owner. In this case, the offender directly gets the opportunity to completely dispose of material values.
In practice, difficulties often arise in the process of determining the moment the crime actually ends. As a rule, this is due to some factors, namely: the place and time of the crime, the situation, the nature of the stolen property, its properties.
Qualifying Features
There are several key qualifying features of theft. Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of Part 1 gives statements on the model of such a crime as theft. In the following parts of this criminal law provision, the qualifying features of the illegal act are presented. In part two, a number of the following points can be distinguished:
- A crime committed by a group of persons by conspiracy (two or more people).
- Illegal act, associated with illegal entry into someone else’s premises for the purpose of theft.
- Theft from hand luggage.
Part 3 presents more serious forms of crime, namely:
- Theft that occurs from a gas pipeline or oil pipeline.
- Criminal act with penetration into the home.
- Theft on a large scale.
The most serious forms of crime of article 158 are provided for in part three. These qualifying features include an act committed by a group of persons and on an especially large scale.
Sentence under Part 1 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code (“Theft”) and other parts of the norm
Theft can be punished in different ways, depending on the form and severity of the act. Crime under Art. 158 h. 1 of the Criminal Code, the punishment for which is the mildest, involves the following types of sentences: a fine, mandatory correctional and forced labor, imprisonment, as well as restriction of freedom. These types of punishments are practically unchanged in all parts of the article. But the nature of their severity varies depending on the actual severity of the act.
The legislation provides for cases when a person is released from the actual serving of a sentence under Art. 158 h. 1 of the Criminal Code. Amnesty is one such case, but it is quite rare in legislative practice. There are other ways to avoid criminal liability for theft. One of them is the general criminal principle of exclusion of liability for a crime under Art. 158 h. 1 of the Criminal Code. The reconciliation of the parties allows not only to resolve the issue of punishment, but also to receive compensation for losses that arose as a result of the theft.
Kleptomania
There are many controversial issues as to whether kleptomania is an excuse for relieving a person of responsibility for theft. Psychiatrists are unambiguous in this matter. In their opinion, this phenomenon of the human psyche is pathological. Nevertheless, in the legal assessment of an act, as a rule, kleptomania is not considered as a mitigating factor and an excuse for excluding criminal liability.
So, in the article, the author described such a crime against property rights as theft (Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part 1). The question of the characterization of this act is quite important not only for the criminal law theory, but also in the field of practical application of the norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.