The problem of criminal liability and its grounds has been widely studied in the Russian Federation back in the days of the Soviet Union. In practice, it can be recognized that most of the studies and monographs in the field of criminal law have been devoted to this issue, or at least touched on it. In particular, this is due to the fact that absolutely any criminal law problem taken is to some extent directly related to the concept, types and grounds of criminal liability. However, the presence of a huge number of written sources could not solve the problem and at the moment it remains controversial, since the people who study it are divided into two camps. But, despite this, in this article it will be possible to obtain information about what exactly is understood by the grounds and types of criminal liability in this criminal law.
The concept
The very term “criminal liability” is very often used in various legal acts, as well as in theoretical developments in the field of criminal law and judicial practice. That is why it is so important to understand what the legislator means by it.
Currently, it means a special kind of legal relationship that is directly included in the mechanism of criminal law regulation, that is, criminal liability is recognized as one of the types of social responsibility. In particular, we can say that it can act as a legal relationship that arises directly between the offender and the state in the field of his personal or property rights. However, they are in no way identifiable by regulatory legal relations, but only a small part of them.
Based on this, it can be determined that criminal liability is one of the forms of legal liability that is directly provided for by the existing law for committing a crime. It occurs for the person who committed the offense immediately after the sentencing of the court, and is displayed in the form of the punishment incurred. Criminal liability is the most severe of all, since it additionally entails a criminal record, which remains with the guilty person even after being released from punishment.
Negative aspect
As mentioned earlier, the problem of the foundation of criminal liability in a crime is a debatable issue, since some scientists perceive it only from the point of view of the presence of a negative aspect, and the second part rejects it, believing that criminal liability is a positive phenomenon. In particular, at the moment in practice and laws, only a negative understanding is enshrined mainly, that is, the fact of the presence of an adverse effect on a person after the commission of a crime in the form of punishment. This point of view directly implies that the guilty person is expressly obligated to answer for his criminal actions, to undergo the statutory restrictions during the proceedings and when serving the sentence.
Positive aspect
The positive criminal liability (and its foundations) boils down to the fact that there is no need to violate the rules established by the state, and then there will simply be no punishment. In this context, the first thing to do is to comply with the requirements of the law and take appropriate action. It is believed that criminal liability is manifested in modern legislation in cases where a person is not responsible for a crime that he did not commit or in the form of a voluntary refusal to commit a crime for which a person cannot be convicted either, because the case was not completed.
However, despite all points of view, a very small number of countries give a clear definition of this concept in their laws, mainly leaving this issue for a practical solution. In Russia, there is also no clear definition of this term.
Grounds
The problem of implementation and the foundation of criminal responsibility is currently one of the central issues in modern criminal science. Now there is a practice of determining it directly through the offense, however, even in this area, legal scholars cannot come to a single point of view. But in essence, here it is required to receive answers to questions about how exactly the circumstances of the case should be considered, on the basis of which a person should bear criminal responsibility, as well as directly for what exactly he bears it. Or the question can be formulated as follows: "In connection with what does criminal liability arise and its grounds?"
In article 8 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, this concept means a necessary and sufficient condition for bringing a guilty person to punishment. However, it should be considered simultaneously from two sides.
Philosophical point of view
From a philosophical point of view, you should first solve and answer the question of why this person is obliged to bear criminal responsibility for his actions. It is here that the foundations of criminal liability in a crime come to the rescue, since legal science proceeds from the fact that each person has free will, and therefore he can calmly choose his own behavior and not commit a socially dangerous act. That is why people who are recognized as incompetent are not judged, because they are deprived of the right to choose because of their mental state, as well as in those cases when they acted under physical coercion or under the influence of force majeure. It is believed that in such cases there simply are no grounds for criminal liability, and therefore they should not be punished.
Legal point of view
Considering the question from a legal point of view, it is necessary to provide answers to the following question: "For what kind of behavior should criminal liability be imposed?". To date, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation noted that the basis of criminal liability in the Russian Federation is the commission of an act that in its content carries all the signs of a crime under the criminal law.
Corpus delicti
If we consider the grounds for criminal prosecution from a legal point of view, then to clarify this fact, it is necessary to determine what constitutes a crime. Now, under the term of a crime constitutes the legal characteristic of the committed act, which objectively has the property to carry public danger. That is why the presence of exclusively formal features does not serve as a basis for criminal liability. So it can safely be admitted that so far in the committed act, even if it was socially dangerous, there was neither a corpus delicti, nor all of its signs, then it could not lead to the application of the basis of criminal liability.
Content
Criminal liability and its grounds should be simultaneously considered in three aspects at once:
- The establishment of this type of liability directly in the criminal law is now established in the very first article of the Criminal Code, although here it is very abstract in nature. It is not so much intended to prescribe a measure as how to warn a person that his criminal actions will fall under the scope of criminal law. And hereafter, one can consider its differentiation, which provides for various consequences for the offender, depending on the level and degree of the crime itself, as well as the public danger of the individual.
- The emergence of criminal liability is the second aspect that connects the fact of the commission of a criminal act with a specific individual, creating legal relations between him and the state, which lead to this type of responsibility.
- The third aspect is implementation, that is, the fact that after the emergence of the rights and obligations of all the entities that were involved, they were implemented in strict accordance with the existing law. It is expressed in the form of state coercive measures, which are appointed by judges expressing the will of the state itself.
Forms of implementation
At the moment, the implementation of the grounds and limits of criminal liability is clearly fixed in the articles of the General and Special part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The most commonly used and completely natural of these is criminal punishment.
At present, the following system of criminal penalties exists in Russian legislation, which are used as a measure of state coercion and are appointed solely by court sentence.
- The penalty is the minimum penalty and is expressed in the alienation from the guilty of funds in amounts that are a multiple of the minimum wage or the entire income of the guilty.
- The deprivation of the opportunity to occupy certain positions or engage in certain types of activities is mainly used in cases where the commission of a crime was possible only when the professional or official status of the convicted person contributed to this.
- Correctional work - this punishment measure does not isolate the guilty person from society, but it is intended to carry out educational functions and restore the positive status of the convicted person. He is obliged to perform work in a team, however, at the same time, part of his income is withdrawn from his earnings, but it should not exceed 20%.
- Confiscation of property provides for the seizure of all property or only part of it from the criminal who committed a grave or especially grave crime from selfish motives.
- The restriction of freedom is not intended to isolate a person from society, but the offender is under constant supervision in a special institution.
- The arrest provides for the maintenance of the convict in conditions of complete isolation in relation to which a number of security measures are provided.
- Imprisonment is currently the most severe of the applied punishments in practice, therefore it is applied to criminals who have committed serious crimes or crimes of medium gravity, as well as to repeat offenders.
- Officially, the death penalty is the most severe and exclusive measure of punishment, but since 1997 a moratorium has been imposed on it and it simply does not apply, although it is still provided for under current criminal law.
The concept and basis of exemption from criminal liability
In some cases, a person, despite the fact that the court has directly found guilty of a crime, cannot be prosecuted. All circumstances that may entail this are directly listed in Chapter 11 of the Criminal Code. In this circumstance, the competent authority issues an official written certificate, which exempts the person guilty of the crime from conviction and state coercive measures.
The general basis for such a situation is the simple inexpediency of bringing a person to this kind of responsibility. The main types are considered:
- Active remorse.
- Appointment of a judicial fine.
- Reconciliation with the victim.
- In matters related to economic activity.
- Amnesty.
- Lapse of time.
Each of the above types of exemption from criminal liability is permanent and cannot be canceled subsequently, regardless of the circumstances. Moreover, the amnesty and the expiration of the statute of limitations is unconditional, and therefore can be applied even to especially serious cases. In relation to all other cases, release is only an optional obligation, and therefore everything is decided by the authorities here.
Conclusion
As can be said from all of the above, there are many opinions regarding the nature of criminal liability, which determines the presence of a huge number of problems in this area. In fact, criminal liability has become an obligation to undergo punishment in case of criminal behavior or in the form of a voluntary prohibition for oneself to violate existing legal norms.
It is necessary to carefully analyze the nature of the crime, its subjects and objects. It is impossible not to recognize the fact that criminal liability is an important element in existing regulatory legal relations, which transforms the public danger of an act into the amount of punishment that should be imposed on it. That is why, more and more often, in practice, the corpus delicti is used to establish punishment, because in this way it is easiest to establish the required level of criminal responsibility.