Crime against state power: concept, types, characteristics

A crime against state power, as well as an offense against the interests of the national service or the branch of the organs of regional self-government, is a dangerous act (or inaction). They are committed by civil servants who are not officials, representatives of the government, other officials or other employees, in the interests of the service, thanks to the position they occupy in their duty. Such acts or omissions damage the normal approved work of the authorities, as well as the interests of the national service or local authorities. They may contain a threat of such harm.

Types of crime

In the Special Part of the Criminal Law, there are about 255 types of different crimes. Among them, it is customary to identify six main groups of offenses:

• Against the person;
• Military offenses;
• Against the security of society;
• Against state power;
• In the field of economy;
• Against the peace and security of mankind.

The characterization of a crime against government power is provided for not by a criminal code, but by a theory of criminal law.

Features

Crimes against state power and public service have distinctive features:

• Acts are committed by individual subjects. An exception is the granting of a bribe. The subject in this situation is common.
• It is possible to commit a crime due to the fact that the subject occupies an advantageous official position or uses his own official authority.
• Acts threaten local self-government bodies, as well as encroach on the normal operation of government bodies and government.

Types of crime

Crimes are divided into certain groups, each of which falls under the article of the criminal legislation of Russia.

Types of crimes against state power:

• Excess of official capacity (Article 286);
• Abuse of official authority (Article 285);
• The introduction in the state registers of obviously unreliable information (Article 285.3);
• Unearmarked consumption of budgetary funds (Article 285.1);
• Non-purpose waste of state non-budgetary funds (Article 285 part 2);
• Appropriation of the rights of an official (Article 288);
• The failure of an employee of internal affairs bodies to comply with decrees (Article 286.1);
• Refusal to submit information to the Federal Assembly, refusal to provide data to the Court of Auditors (Article 287);
• Illegal activities in business (Article 289);
• Giving bribes (Article 291);
• Receiving a bribe (Article 290);
• Mediation in bribery (Article 291.1);
• Petty bribery (Article 291.2);
• Official deception (Article 292);
• Illegal issuance of a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation, as well as the introduction of obviously false information in papers, which resulted in the unlawful acquisition of citizenship of the Russian Federation (Article 292.1);
• Irresponsibility (negligence) (article 293).

Subject of crime

In most crimes, only an official can act as a subject.

Officials are persons who temporarily, permanently or under special authority perform administrative and economic duties, organizational and administrative duties in state structures, in regional self-government bodies, city institutions, perform duties in the Armed Forces of Russia, other troops and military formations.

A person who temporarily performs the duties prescribed by a particular post may be deemed to be the subject of the crime in the event that the duties were imposed on the person in the manner prescribed by law.

The concept of functions

In order to understand what a crime is against state power, you need to understand the concepts of functions that an official performs.

Organizational and administrative functions are functions that include the management of the team, the selection and placement of personnel, the organization of the service or work of subordinates, the use of incentive measures or imposition of disciplinary punishments, and the maintenance of discipline.

Administrative functions are the functions that include the powers to manage and manage property, as well as funds that are on the balance sheet, as well as in bank accounts that are available to organizations or institutions, as well as units and military units. Also, other actions take place here: decisions on the calculation of wages, bonuses, control over the movement of material values, the establishment of order in which material values are stored.

Object of Crime

A crime against state power also presupposes the existence of an object. The notion of a crime against state power implies that the object is the normal operation of state bodies, municipal and state institutions, local self-government bodies, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, various army formations in Russia and other branches of the armed forces regulated by legal acts.

The immediate object of influence is the legitimate rights, legitimate interests of citizens and organizations. Also here are the interests of society, the various interests of the state, which are protected by law.

In these misdemeanors, the objective side implies the presence of signs that are mandatory:

• The accomplishment of the listed acts against the interests of the service. The corresponding acts go not only against the direct purpose of the body, but also contradict the powers that the official was endowed with.
• The presence of a causal relationship between what the person has committed and the consequences of an act or omission.

Difference between employees

The general characterization of crimes against state power, the interests of the country, provides for punishment, the degree of which varies depending on which person committed the act.

The concept of an official person is narrower than the concept of a municipal or civil servant.

A citizen who performs the duties assigned to him for a certain remuneration, which is paid out of the funds of a subject of the Russian Federation or the budget of the Russian Federation, is called a civil servant.

A person who performs the duties assigned to him for a fee that is paid out of the means of regional self-government bodies is called a municipal employee.

From here it only remains to conclude that not every employee is an official, but any official person will be a state or municipal employee.

Those employees who do not occupy official positions will be held responsible for Chapter 30 of the Criminal Code (in particular, Article 288, as well as Article 292).

Severity of crime

The state is responsible for ensuring that the life of people in society and a formed society is organized and comfortable. Those who commits a crime against state power are punished very severely.

Particularly dangerous are:

• Armed rebellion;
• High treason ;
• The incitement of national enmity, as well as inciting religious hatred;
• espionage;
• Diversion, the disclosure of national secrets.

The extent to which state power will be effective depends to a large extent on the coherence of the work of civil servants, and also on their conscientiousness. The state should not and will not tolerate bribery, abuse of official position on the part of persons holding responsible positions in government bodies.

Punishment

Crimes against the government of the Criminal Code punish without indulgence.

For example, exceeding official authority:

• If the act resulted in the violation of the legitimate interests or rights of citizens or the organization, as well as any protected interests of the state or society, and is committed for mercenary motives or other personal interest. In this case, the penalty involves a fine of 80,000 rubles. This amount can be replaced by any income of a citizen for a period of up to six months. A court decision may prohibit holding positions of a particular level or type or engaging in specific activities. The term of such punishment may be up to 5 years. There can also be forfeiture in the form of forced labor up to four years. To replace this punishment can be arrested from four to six months. The most severe punishment is a prison sentence of up to 4 years.
• The same act, but done by a person holding a public office or being the head of a self-governing body, is punished with a fine that is equal to the size of the salary or income for a period of 1 to 2 years, or from 100,000 to 300,000 rubles. Forced labor may also be used. Such work may be imputed for a period of up to five years. A person may be deprived of the right to operate. Also, imprisonment for a period of 7 years is applied.

Punishment for taking bribes

A crime against state power, an example of which can be seen every day in the news, is giving or receiving a bribe. For a bribe, punishment implies a fine and / or imprisonment.

Numerous types of crimes against state power have a clear distinction in terms of liability and punishment.

In the case when an authorized person, a foreign official or an official of a public transnational organization, receives through an intermediary or personally a bribe in the form of a sum of money, valuable documents, property in the form of illegal services or services that are of a property nature in favor of the one who bribes, it Shall be punished in the form of a fine. The size of the fine ranges from 1 million rubles. Also, the fine can be equal to the amount of wages for a period of up to 2 years or in the amount equal to 10-50 times the size of a bribe. At the same time, the right to work in a particular place and engage in certain activities (limiting the term - up to three years) is assumed. Punishment can be represented by corrective labor for a period of one to two years. A person is deprived of the right to seek employment in specific positions and engage in certain activities for up to 3 years. Certain forced labor for a period of up to 5 years is assigned. Provision is made for the deprivation of the opportunity to occupy posts or perform certain work for a period of up to 3 years. It is also possible imprisonment for a period of up to 3 years with a fine. The size of the fine can be equal to a tenfold or twenty-fold amount of a bribe.

Punishment for misuse of the budget

Crimes against state power, public service interests in the form of spending public funds mean different degrees of punishment.

Expenditure of budget money for purposes that do not correspond to the conditions in which they were received with the receipt of the signature, estimates, grounds for spending funds, notification of appropriations from the budget, which is committed in an especially large amount, is punishable by a fine.

The amount of the fine is from 100 000 to 300 000 rub. Or equal to the amount of wages or other profit for a period of time from 1 year to 2 years. Also, punishment in the form of forced labor may be applied. The period of carrying out such work is up to two years. In this case, a person is deprived of the right to occupy specific posts or to conduct certain activities. The period of prohibition can be equal to a term of up to three years. In addition, imprisonment may be imposed for a period of up to two years with the prohibition of finding employment in certain positions or performing certain activities for a period of up to 3 years.

The concept and types of crimes against state authorities provide for liability for a group of persons who committed an illegal act.

For the misuse of budget funds by a group of persons, by prior agreement (conspiracy) or when theft is committed in a particularly large amount, the penalty will be a fine. Its size can be from 200 000 to 500 000 rubles. The size of the fine can be equated to the size of the salary or any other income. The period of time for which the amount is withdrawn is 1-3 years. Also, compulsory work for up to 5 years can be used with the additional right to occupy certain positions or perform some kind of activity for a period of up to 3 years. It can be used imprisonment for a period of up to 5 years with the deprivation of the right to seek employment in certain positions or engage in some specific activity.

A large amount for a crime against state power, the interests of the service is the amount of funds from the budget that exceeds one million five hundred thousand rubles (1,500,000 rubles). Especially large is the size of seven million five hundred thousand (7,500,000 rubles).

Incorrect information entry

Crimes against the state power, interests of the state service in the form of submission to the unified state registers of knowingly incorrect information (according to Article 285 of the Criminal Code) are characterized by:

• The entry in the register of information about the unreliability of which is known in advance;
• Implementation of forgery of documents that served as the basis for entry in the register;
• The forgery of documents, as a result of which changes were made in the registers;
• Liquidation of documents that served as the basis for recording in the state register, especially if the storage of documents is mandatory and provided for by law;
• The destruction of documents, which were the basis for changes in the registers.

Correlation of punishment with crime

Most government officials agree with the idea that the degree of punishment should depend not only on the gravity of the crime. The penalty should be based on what is prescribed in the legislation. To ensure the correct and appropriate legal basis, it is necessary to prescribe the most severe penalties in the law.

The inevitability of punishment, as well as the responsibility of the employees themselves, will help to eradicate such a thing as a crime against state power.