Article 115 of the Criminal Code is quite common in Russian practice. Law enforcers explain this trend by the fact that citizens cannot fully control their behavior. Therefore, people should know what responsibility may come for such acts.
The essence of the crime
For causing intentional harm to human health under Art. 115 of the Criminal Code, if it caused a short-term violation of the normal functioning of the body of the victim or a persistent slight loss of working capacity of a general nature, sanctions can be applied to the offender in one of the following forms:
- A monetary fine, the maximum amount of which reaches forty thousand or is calculated within the three-month earnings of the offender.
- Compulsory labor, the maximum period of which is twenty days.
- Correctional labor up to twelve months.
- Arrest with a maximum term of four months.
The choice of the specific applicable sanction under Art. 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is carried out depending on the injuries sustained by the victim, as well as on the identity of the victim himself. If there are qualifying signs: the commission of a criminal offense with hooligan motives; because of hatred (enmity) of a national, ideological, political, religious or racial type; with the use of items that contribute to an increase in the harm caused, the type and term of the sanction are increased.
If there are qualifying signs, the list of punishments is supplemented with forced labor as an alternative to a fine, as well as depriving a citizen of freedom of movement. The period of compulsory labor is increased to one month, and the period of imprisonment under arrest reaches a maximum of six months. The term of harsher sentences is increased to two years.
Legislator's comment on Art. 115 of the Criminal Code
The comments of legal consultants on legislation decipher the concept of minor bodily harm under this article as follows. Mild human health damage is subject to the following conditions:
- The term of loss of working capacity does not exceed 21 days.
- Persistent and general insignificant loss of working capacity is determined within 5-10%.
If, according to the considered characteristics, at least one of the indicators is less than the established limits, the responsibility will be administrative in nature.
Criminal liability under Art. 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for causing damage to health to a small extent due to the negligence of the offender is not attracted. In this case, the option of applying an administrative sanction under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation is considered.
Judicial practice under Art. 115 of the Criminal Code
Often, such crimes do not reach the trial before the court. Most often, proceedings for such offenses are conducted on a voluntary basis, by drawing up an agreement between the offender and the victim.
If, for example, a physical pain was inflicted on a person, but the consequences discussed in this article did not occur, and the offender repented of his deed, then the sentence under Art. 115 of the Criminal Code in relation to this subject will not be issued. The court will limit itself only to bringing to administrative responsibility under Article 6.1.1. Administrative Code of the Russian Federation.
Case investigation methodology
Stages of investigation of criminal offenses under Art. 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation total six:
- Characteristics of crime in terms of forensics.
- Circumstances to be proved by the employees of the investigation or inquiry.
- The institution of a criminal offense.
- Initial investigative steps.
- Activities carried out in the investigation process.
- Final investigative actions.
Each of the considered stages is carried out without fail. Otherwise, the prosecution will not be arranged accordingly, and the offender will not be punished.
Criminal offenses under Art. 115 of the Criminal Code extremely rarely lead to the imposition of punishment in the form of deprivation of a citizen's freedom of movement due to the insignificance of the act. Moreover, if offenses of this kind are committed repeatedly, deprivation of liberty will be applied with a higher degree of probability.