The concept and significance of the object of crime is fixed both in the special and in the general part of the Criminal Code. The object is one of the four elements of the qualification of the crime, and also allows you to determine the level of public danger of the actions of the offender.
Concept and legal meaning
The object of a crime is any public relation protected by law for which criminal offenses have been committed. This is one element of a crime that plays a major role in criminal law and, in general terms, means the following:
- It is an element of any criminal act. This means that the act is considered criminal only if some kind of harm was caused by public relations.
- Object - a mandatory component for qualifying the corpus delicti. Not a single crime structure can exist without an object of assault.
- Allows you to determine the degree of social danger of a criminal action, depending on what kind of relationship protected by criminal law, an encroachment was committed.
- Correctly installed facility allows you to separate the criminal offense from other offenses.
- Thanks to the object, one can correctly qualify an act.
Classification of objects of crime in criminal law
In criminal law, there are certain types of objects. In the general part of criminal law, the classification of this element “vertically” and “horizontally” is best known. Conventionally, the classification can be represented by such tables.
Vertically| Generic | General | Species |
| A group of the same type of social relations, protected by certain rules of law (divided into sections in the code). | The totality of all social relations that are protected by criminal law. | A homogeneous type of relationship, fixed by sections of the Criminal Code. |
HorizontallyThe immediate object of a crime is a certain circle of relationships that are subject to unlawful assaults. |
| Main | Additional | Optional |
As a result of criminal assaults, it is exposed to harm in the first place. It is established through communication with the species object. | Relations that, along with the main object, are being harmed or are at risk for harm. | Relationships that are least likely to suffer from criminal acts. |
Shared object
The concept and significance of the object of a crime of this kind lies in the totality of social relations that are protected by criminal law. These relations include: life and health, state property, national security and much more. The general object is not fixed; changes are inherent in it, as well as in criminal law.
The common object covers various social relations, which differ from each other in their social significance, as well as in the sphere of influence. He also exerts a great influence on the process of correctly determining the nature and nature of crimes, the degree of social danger of an act, and delimitation of criminal actions from each other.
Generic Object
A certain group of social relations, which is observed by a set of interconnected criminal law norms, implies a generic object of crime. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains a list of sections in the names of which a generic object is indicated. Sometimes it is contained in the rule of law itself. Thus, this object has a lower level of generalization of social relations protected by law.
The significance of the patrimonial object lies in the fact that it provides the opportunity to make an accurate classification of all criminal law norms, as well as crimes that establish responsibility for certain illegal actions. This property of the generic object was laid in the foundation for the construction of the Special Part of the Criminal Code, thereby enabling the legislator to correctly combine the norms within one section.
View object
An element that represents a group of relations similar in content is a specific object of a crime. The Criminal Code fixes all species objects of crimes in sections. From this it follows that when a person is considered to be the ancestral object of a separate group of crimes, then an example will be life and health, sexual freedom and inviolability. A species object is more concretized and is considered a subsystem of the generic, correlating with it as a "genus-species." It also acts as the basis for dividing the code into chapters.
Main object
The horizontal classification of objects of crime involves dividing into the main object, optional and additional.
The main object is relations protected by a specific norm of criminal law.
The main object in content is very similar to the generic object. For example: embezzlement, theft or fraud encroach on relationships that are on the same plane with the concept of “property”, and therefore form part of these relationships. If it is established that the intent of the guilty person was focused on the seizure of other people's property, we can conclude that the crime was committed against property. It is very important for qualification to determine the legal nature of the act.
Additional object
An additional immediate object of crime is often present in multi-unit compositions. For example: robbery encroaches both on life and health, and on the property of the subject. Making the qualification of this crime, this type of act must be attributed to theft, since one of the objects of criminal influence is identical to the generic object of the chapter, in which the corresponding norm is fixed. But in this situation it is necessary to take into account that it is possible to bring the subject to punishment only in case of threat to an additional object. If there is no threat to him, then the composition of a two-object crime can be excluded. Thus, the act will be evaluated as a robbery that infringes only on property.
Optional object
The concept and significance of the object of crime in this category is that the optional object is a specific social relation that was harmed as a result of a certain crime. As part of the crime, this object is not provided. For example, blackmail or slander can lead a person to suicide. In this case, life is considered an optional object.
Damage to the optional facility, on the one hand, affects the subsequent sanction, and on the other hand, is an occasion for proper qualification. Studying the specific corpus delicti it is necessary to take into account that an additional object is sometimes present only in the qualification structure. This makes it possible to clarify the severity and nature of the crime, as well as make the right qualification of the act.
Subject of crime
After the types, concept and meaning of the object of crime have been determined, it is necessary to understand what the subject of the crime implies. Based on the criminal law, we can conclude that the subject is the values of the material world, which are subject to criminal acts of the perpetrator, committed in the process of encroachment on the object. In other words, it is a material expression of an object.
Since the subject acts as an optional feature, in some crimes it is not contained (for example, abuse of authority, seizure of power). When committing some infringement, the subject of the crime may not suffer damage (for example, theft of property, smuggling). There are cases when the subject of a crime is harmed, say, with intentional damage or destruction of property.
A tool should be distinguished from a crime subject. If the thing was used to influence the object of the infringement, in this case it is considered an instrument of crime. If the criminal act was committed for the sake of a particular thing, then it will be considered the subject of the act. The object and subject of the crime serves to accurately qualify the illegal act. Since it is on this that the correctness of the further consideration of the criminal case will depend.
Distinctive features of the subject and object
The concept of the object and the subject of a crime is regulated by criminal law and have certain differences. Distinctive features of these two concepts can be represented using the table.
The difference between an object and an object| Subject of crime | An object |
| An object of the material world that a criminal acts upon when committing a criminally punishable action (for example, theft of property). | The totality of goods, freedoms, rights, as well as public interests, which are protected by law. |
| In some cases, be one of the necessary signs of certain acts (for example, crimes from selfish motives). | It is a necessary element of the crime, without which further qualification is impossible. |
| As a rule, does not undergo harm. | Always undergoes harm, or is at risk of being harmed. |
In concluding, it can be noted that the object and subject of the crime play a major role in qualifying the crime. The object is considered social relations that are protected by criminal law from unlawful encroachment. Under public relations mean the relationship between the subjects of law in the process of their communication and joint activities, which are under the protection of legal norms.