Criminal liability (UO) is one of the legal subtypes. It involves the application of measures provoked by a crime. They are imposed on the person under jurisdiction by the state in the person of a specific body responsible for the process of restoring justice. The current legislation declares the procedure for criminal prosecution, the time limits, as far as possible, the features of various offenses and the circumstances in which they occurred.
general information
MA - this is a negative measure that a company applies if a person has committed a violation of the established legal order. The one who committed the crime is supposed to use deprivation. In some cases, it has a material character, sometimes moral.
The main task pursued by criminal prosecution is to prevent future violations of the law both by this person and others capable of similar actions. MA is implemented in several stages; upon completion, the selected specific measures are applied to the criminal.
The nature of UO
Sets the MA state. Representatives of the authorities introduce legislation, which prescribes the wording of prohibitions (criminal, legal). These prohibitions are inherently abstract, but if violated, provoke consequences for the violator. The basis for the wording of the ban is the assumption that some action may become dangerous to society. Often laws prohibit actions that have already taken place once (or more than once), which are widespread, although in some cases regulatory acts contain rules for holding criminally liable even for violations that have not yet occurred, but there is a high probability that they can happen.
Practiced MA in the case when other methods of punishment do not show effectiveness. However, even UO is not always effective to the right degree as a measure to prevent the fight against crime. There is always the risk of unlawful criminal prosecution.
Implementation of MA
Implementation consists in turning abstract concepts into real measures applicable within the framework of punishing a criminal. Realization begins already at that second when a certain person has committed what is prohibited by law, an action that carries danger to society. The process of bringing a person to criminal liability is preceded by the initiation of a case, only after that they find the accused and carry out a process in which they prove guilt. If the court has decided to convict a person, a sentence is passed, after which penalties can be applied. Features of criminal prosecution for a crime are such that external causes at any time can provoke the cessation of the process.
Many legal sources are devoted to the implementation and features of the MA. The information presented in them varies somewhat. Excellent the number of stages that make up the process, their quality composition. One of the classic options offers to distinguish five stages:
- the charge;
- study of circumstances;
- the choice of sanctions, taking into account the requirements of the law;
- application of sanctions;
- the availability of recovery.
As soon as the legal restrictions provoked by the MA are removed, the criminal liability itself immediately ceases. This leads to repayment, removal of criminal record.
We realize UO: forms
Ultimately, an application for criminal prosecution may result in imposition of measures on the accused, perceived by him as negative, limiting, unprofitable. Punishment, conviction, in which no punishment is imposed, criminal record - all this can follow one statement if the process has revealed the guilt of the accused. In some cases, the punishment is condemnation by society, which does not require additional support from the law. Sometimes they resort to measures prescribed in the regulatory legal acts of the country. Be sure to take into account the timing of criminal prosecution of the Criminal Code.
MA is applied to individuals, but does not apply to legal entities - such restrictions are contained in the legislation of Russia. The organization may participate in criminal activities, but in this case the management or those representatives of the staff who are directly involved in illegal acts will be punished.
And how will they be punished?
For a legal entity, criminal prosecution may be the source of the following consequences:
- fine (annuity, fixed, variable - depending on the organization’s income);
- deprivation of licenses, certificates allowing the company to enter the selected market;
- forced liquidation;
- exclusion of benefits.
If it was revealed during the investigation that the accused (natural person) committed a crime, was guilty of it, but this happened at the moment when the person was insane, then they can be assigned to impose medical measures. To this day, legal scholars have been arguing whether it should be considered a criminal prosecution, since such an intervention in the fate of a person is aimed at his treatment, and not at punishment, that is, there is no censure as such.
Will they punish or not?
UO does not always apply to all offenses. The concept of “statute of limitations” is spelled out in legislation. It is different for various offenses. For some, there is none at all, for others it is a rather short time period. As soon as the deadlines for criminal prosecution under the article come out, it is not possible to apply the punishment to the one who is guilty of the crime. A person either escapes punishment or is exempted from UO.
Is there a time limit for criminal prosecution? And to this day, this issue causes controversy among jurists, there is no final clarity. Some are firmly convinced that after some time the violation of the law ceases to be harmful to society, as a result of which it is necessary to introduce statutes of limitations and forget about the forgiveness of long-standing crimes. Others are convinced that activities dangerous to society are always dangerous and, even after long periods of time, their danger does not lose. There is a conviction that the expiration of the period of criminal prosecution is connected with the fact that the expediency of bringing to justice disappears. There is such a position: when a certain person who has committed a crime, then for a long time behaves safely for society. You do not need to prosecute him for misconduct if it was discovered late.
Points of view vary
In general, there are a lot of opinions regarding the statute of limitations, the positions of jurists differ significantly. As a rule, after a long period of time, the crime ceases to be relevant for society, which means that UO becomes ineffective, as it will not prevent either the repetition of the act by the same person or the repetition of it by other persons. And from the point of view of a fair restoration of the rights of one whose interests and rights were infringed on by the crime, the UO belatedly looks like a rather meaningless event.
Certain calculations are related to the nature of the criminal process.When a lot of time passes from the moment of the misconduct, it becomes difficult to obtain true, truthful, accurate data about what happened. This makes it difficult to prove the guilt of the accused, makes it doubtful that the witnesses give accurate evidence.
Is it always like this?
The laws contain different standards, among which, for example, the age of criminal prosecution is regulated, it is recorded which offenses at which age what possible UO is spelled out, under which offenses it is impossible to forgive the perfect simply because a lot of time has passed.
There are misconducts that are dangerous for society, no matter how much time has elapsed since the commission of the illegal act. This means that the application of statute of limitations is unacceptable. Some of them are installed within states; there are internationally declared ones. This includes war crimes and those from which humanity has suffered.
Statute of limitations: when does it begin?
According to the laws in force, the statutes of limitations begin to count from the moment when the unlawful act occurred (if we are talking about bringing to MA). If the process involves issuing an indictment that needs to be executed, then the term begins to flow at the moment the sentence has entered into force.
A situation is possible when some person planned to commit an illegal act, but this activity was interrupted for various reasons at an early stage. For example, a certain person wanted to kill another, began to prepare for this, and was discovered for this. Here, the statute of limitations begins with the last event completed as part of the preparations.
In some cases, an illegal act involves several actions that form a closed cycle, the purpose of which is to continue criminal activity. The statute of limitations starts from the moment when the last action happened. There is an act stretched in time, then the statute of limitations is counted from the moment when the activity was stopped and it was interrupted.
MA in relation to foreign citizens
Quite often, crimes in the territory of the camp are committed by citizens who have arrived from another state for some time (the purpose of arrival varies significantly). In recent years, projects have been actively promoted that would allow the punishment of foreigners who commit a crime in Russia. Currently, legal standards do not imply a more or less serious punishment, which is why the probability of a criminal act on the part of a visiting person is growing.
The Criminal Code states that a foreigner cannot be imprisoned, just as it cannot be punished in this way for one who does not have citizenship or permanent residence. That is, one who came to Russia and committed an illegal act is sent to his native country. Sometimes it is deportation, sometimes the criminal is handed over to authorized representatives of the state. They can bring this person to justice in his homeland, if, of course, they consider it necessary. The punishment will be imposed according to the laws of that country. Of course, with frivolous measures, this person, once again in Russia, can again do the same. The situation gives rise to special problems in the light of the fact that there is a contingent arriving in the Russian Federation specifically for committing crimes. Such acts are not only isolated, criminals participate in organized groups. Consequently, distrust is born of the entire population of another country as a whole. There is a certain negativity in the perception of illegal migration.
And if not 18?
What is the age of criminal prosecution? Is it possible to punish a minor when he commits a crime? Under the laws in force in our country, you can release a minor from punishment or award educational measures. In some cases, the punishment may be a little more severe.At the same time, it is impossible to assign an EO to someone who, at the time of the commission of the illegal act, was not yet full 16 years old.
The MA threatens those who are 16 if the person is convicted of the following:
- murder;
- inflicting grave, moderate severity of harm, if it was possible to prove that it happened intentionally;
- abduction;
- rape;
- theft, robbery, robbery;
- car theft;
- damage to property, destruction, if there are aggravating factors;
- terrorism;
- taking another person hostage;
- hooliganism;
- fraudulent terrorism warning;
- vandalism;
- theft, extortion of drugs, weapons and related values;
- damage to vehicles and roads.
Special moments
A minor may be 16 years old, but priced at a different age. This happens if a medical report has established a backward development of the human psyche or the presence of disorders that provoked an incorrect assessment of the offenses committed by the criminal. That is, a person simply did not understand what he was doing, did not realize that this was an unlawful act dangerous to those around him. If a medical examination finds such a situation, the MA is not applicable.
In general, achieving the statutory age is one of the key conditions for the application of MA. In the system of laws of our country, age and the ability to understand what a person commits are inextricable phenomena. This means that the minor is insane. Holding him accountable for misconduct, the danger of which has remained unconscious, is pointless and does not correspond to the goals pursued by punitive measures.
You won’t get away from the law!
Criminal alimony is possible, punishment in the form of deprivation of liberty is possible, other measures are also taken, assessing the risk to others, the level of danger committed, the consequences for the offender, the victims and others. It should be remembered that in some cases responsibility may be awarded even to those who have reached the age of 14 years, but have not crossed the 16-year mark. This applies only to crimes extremely dangerous to society. Situations are completely rewritten in the law. Moreover, the crimes are such that even a 14-year-old has the power to realize their danger to society. This includes situations in which they infringe on the health, life, freedom of others, the safety of society, property.
If the crime was committed through negligence (at least if the court decided that this was the case), then the MA is not applicable at the age of 14 or 16, regardless of the offense. An exception is a deliberate violation of the rules of the road that provoked someone's death or serious injuries.