From what age does criminal responsibility arise

According to the law, the criminal responsibility for the committed unlawful acts comes in full sixteen years. This is due to the fact that different age periods are associated with the levels of psychophysical development of the individual.

It is believed that by the age of sixteen, a person is able to fully understand the influence of actions on the surrounding society and bear responsibility for them.

At the same time, when answering the question "from what age does criminal responsibility come", it should be said that the legislator also establishes a lower age of criminal responsibility for committing certain types of crimes.

Thus, Article 20 (part 2) of the Criminal Code contains a list of those acts for which criminal responsibility has been imposed since the age of 14.

From this list it becomes clear that these are grave crimes that are committed because of non-compliance and violation of moral norms and rules, invested in the mind of the child at an early age. These include: do not kill, do not steal, and others.

Deciding the age of criminal responsibility, the legislator has established three levels: 18, 16, 14 years. On what does this age range depend? Some sources state that they are established depending on the gravity of the criminal act. This theory finds its confirmation in the list of crimes for which the person is responsible from fourteen years: rape, murder, terrorism, robbery, kidnapping, hostage taking, etc. Also in the list there are crimes of medium gravity, for example, theft. However, there are no particularly serious criminal acts, such as treason, sabotage. Therefore, the severity of the crime committed is not always a criterion for establishing the age range described. The determining factor is the level of development of intellectual abilities, which makes it possible to realize the social, social and political essence of the committed deed.

Defining the age of criminal responsibility, for certain types of crimes, the legislator has established a special advanced age. For example, the criminal liability for non-payment of alimony comes from 18 years, that is, from the age when the subject can marry (without special circumstances).

For a more precise understanding of the age of criminal responsibility, the legislator singled out twenty crimes (listed in article 20 (part 2) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). For them, the teenager is responsible from the age of 14. At the same time, for the remaining formulations, a person must have a higher level of psychophysical development, which is reached by the age of 16-18.

In addition, the Criminal Code provides for a number of exceptions. So, if a minor has attained the age defined by law, but due to a lag in the development of the psyche, he could not fully realize the danger of his deed, he does not bear criminal responsibility.