The difference between taking a hostage and kidnapping a person. Article 126 of the Criminal Code and Article 206 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

The difference between taking a hostage and kidnapping a person is always an important aspect in deciding the question of qualifying a particular socially dangerous act. Often, when determining the composition of a crime, and accordingly, the articles of the Criminal Code, there are difficulties with the correct choice of the necessary standard. However, in order to clearly distinguish between these acts, it is sufficient to consider the signs and correlate them, revealing similarities and differences.

What is hostage taking

Article 206 of the Criminal Code, as well as the commentary to it, fixes the provisions that define the very essence of the concept of hostage and its capture. So, a hostage is always a person who was deterred in order to force a state or society to commit or, on the contrary, not to perform any action. From this concept it is possible to smoothly pass and to what is a capture and what is the peculiarity of this particular variant of a crime.

Capture of a hostage is the possession of a person, moving him in space and limiting the movement of a person. That is, it is always necessary to have these three actions, which together constitute the act provided for in the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It is important that this crime is considered one of the most dangerous and falls into the category of especially serious, encroaching on several types of social relations.

Composition of the crime, its signs

To qualify an action, it is always necessary to have a number of differences, and the hostage-taking is no exception. The composition of the crime implies a set of mandatory and optional signs, which are important elements. Without them, bringing a person to justice and transferring the case to court is simply impossible.

The mandatory characteristics of each crime are necessary, which follows from their name. To understand their essence, one can consider the capture of hostages. The signs of this act - in this case mandatory - must be part of every element of the crime. For example, the type of the latter. It is always viewed objectively. When capturing a hostage, he is always formal.

Optional faculties do not necessarily have to be present in a wrongful act. An example of this can serve as a different instrument of crime, the methods or methods of its commission, even the place or time. However, all this is not mandatory in determining the act and its qualification.

The objective side

The composition of each crime involves four elements. The most important of these is the objective side, which reflects how the act manifests itself outward. If we talk about this crime, here, as article 206 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation says, several steps are important, namely, withholding, restricting the movement and moving - all these actions are taken during hostage-taking. That is, the person is "withdrawn" from the usual situation, is not allowed to freely choose the location and forcibly move. These are only active actions.

In addition, the objective side always reflects the type of the composition, which makes it possible to establish the moment when the crime is over. In case of hostage taking, as it was said before, the composition is defined as formal, which indicates the end of the act since the beginning of the criminal assault. In this case, the consequences are completely irrelevant.

The objective side may contain not only mandatory characteristics, but also optional. The weapon of the crime, for example, or the use of weapons as a threat in the seizure, the place and time of the commission of an unlawful act - in some cases all this has a certain value in capturing the offender. However, the main point in this matter is the moment of the end of the crime and the committed actions. So distinguish the capture of a hostage from other crimes, for example, from such as illegal imprisonment.

Object, subject and subjective side

What they infringe upon, that is, any social relations - is the object of crime. In case of hostage-taking, they will be such an element as public safety. For example, the capture of hostages by terrorists implies the aim of intimidation and gaining some benefit from the state. This is considered a distinguishing feature of this type of crime.

The subject, that is, the one who committed a socially dangerous act, is always the same. A physical sane person who has reached a certain age is the subject. The only thing that can differ is the last requirement, that is, the age, which in some cases may even be below 16 years. Capture of hostages is an act for which a person who has reached the age of fourteen is brought to justice.

The subjective side is always the fault, that is, the criminal's relationship to what he does, and the consequences of these actions. When capturing hostages, it always manifests itself in the form of direct intent and does not imply negligence. This is the reason that this act is considered particularly dangerous.

Qualifying signs

Aggravating circumstances entail the appointment of a higher penalty. Art. 206 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation fixes an exhaustive list of cases when hostage-taking is considered perfect in the presence of the factors mentioned above. So, to those are crimes committed:

• From self-interest;
• Group of persons;
• Sent to a pregnant woman or against two or more persons;
• They caused death or serious harm, either by negligence or intentionally;
• With the use of violence or weapons;
• In relation to a person who has not reached the age of majority.

This list of acts, which are considered aggravating circumstances, is important in the appointment of punishment, and also allows to denote the difference in the capture of a hostage from kidnapping.

The concept of kidnapping

The provisions of this crime are fixed in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Kidnapping is an act that involves the illegal removal of a person, his holding and moving. As we see, several actions are being carried out, which together constitute a dangerous act. However, kidnapping is not particularly serious, but simply a serious crime.

Important for the qualification is the fact that kidnapping is an act that is committed exclusively secretly, it can only be known to close relatives, that is, to those people on whom it is directed from an indirect side. All this affects the composition of the crime and causes it to differ from other similar unlawful actions, for example, such as illegal deprivation of liberty.

The objective side of kidnapping

This element of the crime, as mentioned above, is a manifestation of an act in the external environment. The kidnapping can be realized by various methods: withdrawal, retention and transfer of the victim. The presence of all these steps in the aggregate is a prerequisite for the presence of a crime.

As for the type of the illegal act, just as in the case of hostage-taking, it is formal, completed since the beginning of the action, which simplifies the qualification process, since the onset of the consequences and the connection between them and the committed acts is completely unnecessary. This feature does not distinguish this crime from the one considered above, but it has considerable significance.

Object of Crime

As it was said above, those social relations, to which the criminal encroachment is committed, is the object of the act. Article 126 of the Criminal Code defines the freedom of the individual as an object in the abduction of a person. This is said precisely because this element of the crime is a distinguishing feature of this act from the one referred to in article 206.

The peculiarity of this object is that it affects subjective human rights, that is, the right to free movement and choice of location. Accordingly, if a person gives consent to his so-called kidnapping, then there will be no wrongful act, the offense will fall off by itself. That is, unlike the capture of a hostage, where the object is public safety, in this case only personal interests of a person are important.

The subject and the subjective side of the crime

A common crime subject is an indispensable element for every wrongful act. To characterize a person who violates the law, you just need to determine the age at which you can bring criminal charges. It's about the 14th anniversary, as well as in the case of the hostage taking. That is, the punishment for kidnapping a person, incarceration, etc., will not differ in any way from punishment for capturing a hostage.

The fault in this crime manifests itself in the form of direct intent, there can not be any other development of events. The person who commits this deed is always aware of all the consequences of his actions and guides them, which makes him a subject, confirming his sanity. Also, there can be no difference from the seizure in this issue.

Aggravating circumstances

Article 126 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains an exhaustive list of signs that a simple crime turns into a qualified or specially qualified one. They include the commission of an act by a group of persons; With the use of violence; Motivated by self-interest; With regard to a pregnant woman, two or more persons, a minor; Which resulted in the death of the victim, crimes committed through negligence and, possibly, caused serious harm to health.

This list practically does not differ from what was presented when considering the hostage taking. However, as you can see, there is no qualifying sign when kidnapping, which would have been a premeditated murder. That is, the onset of death as an aggravating circumstance is recorded only when the hostage is captured.

Exemption from liability

The articles under review of the Criminal Code contain notes, which usually explain to the law enforcement officers the occurrence of some exceptional situations and describe the actions that must be taken in this case. Art. 126 and 206 are not an exception, and they include a decision on the issue of exemption from criminal liability.

The kidnapping of a person even with the full composition of the crime and the presence of all necessary signs allows the release of persons from criminal responsibility, of course, under certain conditions. In the event that the subject of the crime voluntarily releases the victim, that is, the kidnapped, he can be released from punishment. It is important that at the same time there is no other crime in his actions.

In the case of hostage-taking, the conditions are similar, except for one important point. A person as voluntarily can release the victim, and at the request of the authorities. Such actions, although relatively compulsory, will also be considered admissible in order to avoid criminal liability.

Problems of qualification of crimes under art. 126 and 206 of the Criminal Code

The question of how to correctly assess from a legal point of view the actions of a suspected person in order to obtain a crime is raised quite often when it is necessary to understand what is the difference between taking a hostage and kidnapping a person. They create the most difficulties for law enforcement officers.

The qualification of the crime is an important stage in the transfer of the case to the court and further proceedings, since the correctly chosen norm implies the type of sanction, the responsibility that the offender will incur. To confuse the two crimes we are considering is quite easy, since their compositions are similar. However, in order to solve the existing problem, it is enough to determine precisely the object of encroachment and certain specific features of the act itself.

The difference between taking a hostage from kidnapping

If to fully assess the composition of each of the above crimes, by analyzing them separately, and then to compare all the components, then there are several distinct differences that help in the future to see a clear boundary between these acts.

First, the object. This is the most important thing to remember. The capture of a hostage implies an encroachment on public safety, kidnapping - on the freedom of a person. Secondly, openness. In the first case, the crime can be committed both secretly and openly, in the second - only secretly. Thirdly, the person, to whom the requirements are addressed. During the seizure, this state, society and other persons who do not have relations with the victim, during the abduction - close relatives.

And the last thing that is worth mentioning separately is the moment of graduation, it plays a significant role in determining the composition of the crime. So, the hostage-taking is considered complete from the moment demands are made, while kidnapping is taken from the moment of taking the person out of the habitual situation. It is this difference, as well as the signs listed above, that will help correctly identify the type of crime and qualify it.