Art. 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation is the cornerstone for all practicing legal investigators or interrogators. What determines the importance of this article? Its significance is not in doubt, because its text contains circumstances to be proved. Let us consider in more detail each of the points.
Crime event
This concept is collective. In accordance with the provisions recorded in Art. 73 of the CPC, it includes such terms as time, method, and also the scene of the crime and other similar concepts. The first point of the event of an unlawful act is a certain moment or a time period during which a socially dangerous action was committed. The second category - the method, is defined as the totality of any tricks, methods by which misconduct was committed. The third characteristic of the event of an unlawful act - the crime scene, indicates a specific territorial site or facility where the criminal act was committed. Also to paragraph. 1 h. 2 Article. 73 of the CPC can be attributed to a sign of the situation. This category contains indications of specific conditions, circumstances, or events that occurred during the criminal act.
Guilt
This category refers to the sign of the subjective side of an unlawful act. Guilt is defined as a negative mental attitude of a person to objects protected under the criminal law. In order for this category to become legal, it is necessary that this negative opinion of the offender on legal prohibitions be expressed in harming them intentionally or carelessly. Guilt includes two elements. The first of them - intellectual - is characterized by the fact that a person is aware of the social danger of the act, anticipates the likelihood of the onset of consequences, and sees a causal relationship between the illegal act committed by him and its outcome.
The second element - volitional - describes the offender’s desire to harm. A person may want to commit a socially dangerous act, or may not have such an urge. A different combination of guilt elements acts as its individual forms and types. So, intent can be direct and indirect. The careless form of guilt, in turn, is divided into two types - frivolity and negligence. In addition, paragraph 2 of Part 2 of Art. 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides for the mandatory establishment of circumstances and the motives for the commission of an unlawful act. This category is understood as an internal urge, which guided the criminal in their actions. Motives can be both base (for example, self-interest, hooliganism), and not be base (jealousy, revenge for unlawful behavior).
Characteristics of the offender
In order to understand exactly what circumstances describing the accused are enshrined in paragraph 3 of part 2 of article 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, you still need to familiarize yourself with the comments. We turn to the book of A. V. Smirnov and K. B. Kalinovsky. So, these jurists attribute similar circumstances to several groups. Firstly, these are socio-demographic attributes. These include data on the surname, name, patronymic, as well as on gender, place of residence, age, marital status and other similar descriptions. Secondly, this is the social and legal status of a person, namely, the state of citizenship, place of work, rank. The third group is the circumstances that describe the person as a member of society (his behavior in everyday life, during work, the presence of dependents).The fourth point is the physical and mental characteristics of the individual, such as the presence of diseases, including mental ones, certain dependencies. The individual characteristics of the offender are of great importance. They can act as aggravating or as mitigating circumstances.
Harm Description
Another mandatory characteristic of a crime is the nature and extent of the harm. This paragraph deals with the establishment of the consequences of acts. The establishment of these signs is important for the subsequent presentation of a civil action if you wish to recover the damage. The amount of harm is nothing more than a quantitative indicator. In some cases, it is expressly provided for in law (as, for example, in note No. 2 to Art. 158 The Criminal Code refers to a large size), but other standards are not even indicated approximately (part 2 of the same article is silent about the quantitative expression of “significance”). In turn, the nature of the damage can be material, physical or moral. The first type is expressed in economic terms and takes place in theft and other financial and property crimes. The physical nature indicates a violation of the integrity of the human body, causing harm to his health, including mental. The third type, moral, indicates the infliction of moral suffering on a person, which is caused by an encroachment on him personal non-property rights.
Circumstances that are grounds for impunity
Such conditions include several provisions. Firstly, it is a necessary defense. This definition refers to the legitimate infliction of harm to a person who infringes on the legal powers, freedoms and interests of the defender or other persons, as well as the whole society or state. Secondly, this is the commission of an unlawful act to a person during his detention. This circumstance also applies to those enshrined in paragraph 5 of part 2 of Art. 73 of the CPC in connection with the goal of preventing the continuation of the criminal activity of the villain. Thirdly, it is an urgent need.
This category includes cases when a crime is committed in order to prevent damage to the personal, public interests or priorities of the state and the amount of harm inflicted is significantly less. The next, fourth circumstance is physical and mental coercion, provided that as a result of such facts the person who committed the criminal act was not able to direct his actions or inaction. The fifth point is justified risk, namely the commission of an illegal act in order to achieve benefits for society. And, finally, the sixth circumstance precluding punishment is a crime executed by order of a higher official. From the establishment of these provisions depends the whole fate of the person who committed the wrongful act under such conditions. Therefore, their establishment is mandatory.
Extenuating circumstances
The conditions for reducing liability are minority, pregnancy, the presence of young dependents, the commission of a crime for the first time and by accident. In addition, such situations include difficult life situations that arose in the life of the accused, as well as motives of compassion. Another condition for mitigating responsibility is physical, mental coercion, as well as material, service dependence. In some cases, these circumstances include the above categories of necessary defense, emergency, and other similar, committed in violation of the conditions. Such reasons for committing a crime as immorality, as well as wrongful behavior of the victim, also reduce the responsibility of the accused.We can hope for a milder sentence if we actively contribute to the disclosure of the criminal case and provide assistance to the victim immediately after harming him.
Aggravating circumstances
Such conditions for committing a crime as relapse, major damage, action in a group of persons can increase the punishment. It also takes into account the signs of the victim. Aggravating conditions include a certain official position of the victims, pregnancy, infancy. Also, more severe punishment will be suffered by tormentors, sadists, terrorists, racists, nationalists.
Conditions of exemption from criminal punishment
These circumstances include active repentance, as well as reconciliation with the victim, the illness of the perpetrator, pregnancy of the offender, expiration of the statute of limitations. In relation to a minor, such a condition may be the possibility of applying educational influence to him.
The circumstances that contributed to the commission of the wrongful act
A criminal may be assisted, for example, by the state of alcohol or drug intoxication, as well as deficiencies in the protection of existing legal relations, in the activities of various authorities, in the work of regulatory bodies.
Property circumstances
Art. 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation in the new edition increased by one more point, and, accordingly, by one condition, which must be established during the investigation. So, now the investigators must find confirmation that the property that is subject to confiscation was acquired for the funds that were obtained as a result of criminal activity, or was intended to provide financial support for terrorism, extremism, was used by a criminal organization or acted as a means of committing unlawful deeds.
The value of fixing mandatory circumstances
Without using the conditions contained in Art. 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it is impossible to correctly and comprehensively examine a criminal case. It is impossible to correctly classify an unlawful act, it is difficult to impose an adequate punishment, and other requirements of the criminal process are not feasible without establishing these circumstances. This is due to the fixation of these provisions in Art. 73 Code of Criminal Procedure.
