The growth trend in crime has been quite high in our country for several decades, but in recent years the proportion of those committed by negligence has been increasing. This problem is becoming increasingly important and is being transformed into a task that requires a thorough and comprehensive analysis. Inadvertently causing death is the most dangerous crime. And this is understandable, because human life is the highest value in any democratic and legal state and society. It would seem that all problems have already been solved by law, but in practice there are many questions in the process of qualifying an act and distinguishing it from similar compositions.
Causing death by negligence: types, concept
A crime of negligence is recognized as an act (action or inaction) that was committed by frivolity or negligence. It is qualified by article 109 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. To establish its specific features, it is necessary to identify the psychological and social nature of reckless behavior. In criminal law there is an opinion that all crimes, including the type in question, are always the result of motivated and volitional activity.
On this basis (motive, volitional moment), two types of criminal acts are distinguished: committed by frivolity and by negligence. Let's consider each in more detail.
Causing death by frivolity
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, in the second part of Article 26, recognizes a crime of frivolity if the person who is guilty of this foresaw that his actions (inaction) could entail the onset of consequences that were dangerous to society, but arrogantly (without sufficient reason) counted them prevent. Causing death by negligence (qualified by frivolity) has a strong-willed moment, consisting in a presumptuous calculation. That is, a person chooses a dangerous way of fulfilling his intentions due to the fact that he is mistaken. The law characterizes frivolity not only as hope, but also as a calculation to prevent negative consequences. Especially often on the road causes death by negligence (accident, including in many cases involving pedestrians). For example, in conditions of poor weather visibility (fog, blizzard) and ice, the driver was traveling with a slight speeding. On a poorly lit stretch of road, he did not notice a pedestrian walking along the side of the road (drunk), the car skidded, and as a result a collision was made. In this case, the driver committed death by negligence to the pedestrian as a result of frivolity, arrogance.
Criminal negligence
According to the current Russian legislation in the field of criminal law (the third part of Article 26), criminal negligence is characterized as failure to foresee the onset of dangerous consequences for others, if there is an obligation, as well as the opportunity to foresee them. The strong-willed moment is that the culprit, really having the opportunity to prevent the death of a person, did not activate it. However, this fact still needs to be established. Let us cite the following situations as an example - death by negligence as a result of violation of safety measures at the construction site by the contractor, medical error.
The distinction between negligence and frivolity
In this matter, there are often difficulties in qualifying a crime.There is the concept of “intentionally causing death by negligence,” not only with direct, but with indirect intent. In both cases, the guilty person foresees the onset of such consequences, but he does not want them, does not strive for this. However, with indirect intent, he still admits the onset of death consciously and often indifferently to this.
Negligent Causing Death: Composition
The simple composition is reflected in the first part of the corresponding article and establishes punishment for the guilty person in the form of corrective labor (no more than 2 years), or up to 2 years of restriction of freedom, or forced labor for no more than 2 years, or imprisonment for similar period.
In addition, Article 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides qualifying features of this crime:
- as a result of the fact that a person improperly performed his professional duties;
- causing death was in relation to two or more persons.
In the first case, there is an increase in responsibility for causing death by negligence (commentary to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), due to the fact that the object of the crime, in addition to human life, is also the existing social relations in the professional sphere. In addition, it is important that the guilty person has special education and training, knowledge of safety rules, etc.
Who is the subject of the crime?
The article "causing death by negligence" may be imputed to all persons who have reached 16 years of age. Very often, in practice, the problem of establishing the subject may arise. There are situations when the law enforcement officer, guided by a number of factors listed below, needs to make a decision:
- when it is established that in a certain place at the same time there were several persons who committed the same unlawful acts;
- it is known that the harm caused to the victim is the result of only one of these two unlawful acts;
- it is precisely established that any of them could cause death to the victim, but by sheer chance it occurred as a result of only one;
- the impossibility of establishing exactly what act caused the onset of death.
A very interesting example from the practice of a foreign court. So, in France, the decision stated that the driver was found guilty of hitting a pedestrian (careless killing), and his passenger - an accomplice, as he encouraged him to go faster.
About the criminal and the victim
The data from the studies indicate that most often the person who committed the crime has a fairly wide range of different personality deformations, namely psychopathy, diseases of the brain of an organic nature, alcoholism and oligophrenia.
The victims are conditionally divided into three groups:
- persons entering into conflict with the perpetrator or opposing him;
- victims with characteristic victim behavior;
- persons whose behavior is not in a causal relationship with the committed criminal act.
It is interesting that most often the casualties of death in the field of professional relations are ordinary employees and workers (crane operators, bus drivers, concrete workers, doctors). And according to statistics, about half of the crimes considered are committed intoxicated.
Differentiation from similar crimes
The Russian Criminal Code inadvertently causes death by negligence from others associated with such consequences, but resulting from, for example, intentional harm to health (111 articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), illegal abortion (123 articles), abduction (126 articles). The main criterion in such cases is the presence of any additional actions encroaching on another object. For example, citizen K., during a spontaneous quarrel with B., inflicted several blows on his face and neck. From this, the victim fell and accidentally hit his head on a stone.From the injury he died on the same day. The court of first instance convicted K. under paragraph 4 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, but the cassation instance re-qualified her to Art. 109. It has been proved that death was caused by negligence.
Examples
All examples are given from the actual practice of the courts (source - reference and legal systems).
1. Citizen G., being a plumber, when installing a hot water meter and a filter tap, performed his duties inappropriately. I did not make sure of the reliability of my work and neglected the additional fastening. This led to the destruction of the coupling of the tap and the flow of hot water under pressure into the apartment. The pensioners living in it died from this, due to numerous thermal burns. G. was sentenced to imprisonment (1.5 years).
2. Citizen F., while intoxicated, with homemade firearms, started a quarrel with his neighbor, on the street, during which he was hit several times. Citizen M., also in a state of intoxication, went up to them and asked to stop the violence and began to select weapons. F. in the process of a brawl against M. made two hits in the chest area with the butt of the gun. From this M. fell on the asphalt and hit his head on a stone, from which he died. The verdict of the court assigned 2 g. Imprisonment.
3. Citizen A., while in M.'s dwelling, took from the latter a ramrod pistol, a makeshift, which is a firearm. And involuntarily, accidentally fired a shot. The gun at this time was directed towards the victim. As a result, A. was wounded in the chest, by nature - blind with damage to the lungs, heart, liver, diaphragm. From the resulting blood loss, he died on the spot. A. was sentenced to imprisonment (for 1 year and 10 months), serving in a penal colony.
