Proper communication is a special art, which is expressed in the ability of people to respect others. But, as practice shows, many are not able to conduct a civilized conversation. Succumbing to emotions, they go on insults, while humiliating their opponent. Such actions, as a rule, lead to criminal liability. If they are directed towards the representative of the authorities, then more stringent measures provided for in Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Essence of the question
The Russian Criminal Code examines in detail issues related to crimes committed against the person. Any encroachment on certain freedoms provided for by the Constitution of our country shall be suppressed in the manner prescribed by law.
Nevertheless, there is a separate art. 319 of the Criminal Code, which is dedicated to crimes committed against government officials. This is entirely justified, because they, in essence, personify the law. This means that any negative statement in their direction offends the entire legal system. This is what trying to convey to the citizens the essence of Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of our country. What is the danger of such "performances"? Actions of a similar nature:
- entail undermining the credibility of the organization in which the injured employee works;
- encroach on the normal work of a particular authority;
- degrade the representative of a certain category of people.
In each of these cases, a citizen is primarily affected, who was originally called upon to protect the interests of the people. By insulting him, the offender thereby puts himself against society. Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of Russia is aimed at suppressing such actions and protecting the rights of people to whom the state has given special powers.
Corpus delicti
In order to properly deal with such a problem, it is necessary to clearly understand the composition of this offense.
That is, it is necessary to determine the subjective and objective signs that make it possible to qualify a perfect misconduct as a crime:
- Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation focuses on the fact that the object in this case is the normal activity of a particular representative of the authorities. This is not some ordinary citizen, but a person on whom the solution of serious issues related to the interests of society depends. An additional object is his personal honor and dignity. After all, representing the interests of the state, he does not cease to be a citizen.
- The objective side of the crime is the publicity of the offender. Moreover, insults should be inflicted when the victim performed his official duties or in connection with their performance, even if it was in the past (the employee is retired or on vacation).
- The subject of such a crime can be any citizen who has reached the age of sixteen.
- The subjective side of the offense is the intentional nature of the action. That is, at the time of insulting, the perpetrator understands that his words, expressed in public, degrade the dignity of a particular representative of the legitimate authority.
If the committed crime contains all the components described above, then we can conclude that it belongs to this offense.
Fair retaliation
According to the law, no one has the right to express any insults towards another person. Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of Russia provides for fair punishment for actions of this kind committed in relation to citizens who are representatives of the authorities.
Depending on the severity of a particular misconduct, it may be:
- a fine of 40 thousand to the amount representing all types of perpetrator's income for a period of up to 3 months;
- compulsory work, the maximum period of which may not exceed three hundred sixty hours;
- correctional labor, the term of which can reach 1 year.
The decision on the type of punishment is taken by the court individually for each specific case. It all depends on the severity of the actions committed and the consequences that they led to as a result. The law also takes into account the reasons and purposes for which the accused decided to take such measures of influence. The court must decide whether the particular statement was an act of planned aggression or acted as a remedy on the part of the accused.
Arbitrage practice
In real life, situations quite often occur, as a result of which Art. 319 of the Criminal Code. The insult expressed to the representative of the authority must be public and conscious. This means that the citizen had to utter curses or words that degrade the honor or dignity of another person, firstly, in the presence of witnesses, and secondly, clearly understanding with whom he is talking.
Take, for example, a situation where a police officer turned out to be an insulted person, and at the time of the conflict he was without uniform and was not in the line of duty. In this case, the legitimacy of the application of article 319 will be rather difficult to prove. After all, a citizen might not know with whom he is talking. Especially if the "servant of the law" has not previously introduced himself. Here, the actions of the violator can be qualified according to one of the articles of Chapter 17 of the Criminal Code of Russia, which refers to crimes against freedom, honor and dignity of the person.
