Criminal liability means the obligation of persons to be punished by law in the event they commit a crime. This responsibility consists of many different kinds of elements. It includes:
- the obligation of persons to be responsible for all crimes committed;
- conviction, which is expressed in a negative assessment of the deed by the person;
- the application to the offender of various kinds of measures of a criminal law nature;
- criminal record, which is a consequence of sentencing (criminal record does not always follow criminal liability).
Criminal liability arises at the very moment when a person commits a crime. It is implemented from the moment when criminal coercion measures are applied to a person. Upon expiration of the criminal record, criminal liability will be terminated. In the event that no punishment has been imposed, this liability shall cease on the very day when the court verdict comes into force .
Criminal liability for crimes is closely related to punishment. However, we immediately turn our attention to the fact that it does not come down to it. Punishment is simply one form in which criminal liability can be realized. A person can be convicted without sentencing. A court decision may not be related to punishment, but to compulsory treatment. In other words, the concept of “criminal liability” is much broader than the concept of “punishment”. It is also worth noting that, in contrast to exemption from this responsibility, exemption from any punishment can be not only complete, but also partial.
There are certain differences between criminal liability and its other types:
- its sole basis can only be a criminal act, which contains absolutely all the signs of corpus delicti;
- her order and she herself are established only by law;
- it can be assigned only by court. All other bodies, as well as officials, are not entitled to assign it under any circumstances;
- it is always strictly personal in nature. It is applicable only to individuals;
- it can lead to a criminal record.
Under the release from this type of responsibility is understood the release of persons who have committed a crime from the mandatory need to be subjected to judicial conviction in the form of an assessment of the committed acts. In this case, the procedural form will be an act of the competent authority, which refers to the dismissal of the case (if it has already been initiated) or the refusal to initiate (if it has not yet been initiated).
The exemption from this liability applies only to those persons who actually committed crimes. The circumstances that exclude the crime of the act, it does not apply.
Do not confuse exemption with rehabilitation or acquittal of a person - the law anyway comes from the fact that he nevertheless committed the crime.
Exemption from this type of liability may occur due to:
- reconciliation of the guilty and the victim (this most often happens in cases where the guilty in some way compensates for the damage);
- amnesties (that is, a special act that is the legal basis for release);
- active remorse;
- statute of limitations.
The conditions may be as follows:
- a person has committed a crime for the first time;
- there was a confession;
- a socially dangerous act can be attributed to crimes of medium or minor gravity.
The criminal liability of military personnel is one of the most stringent types of criminal liability.