What does it say in Article 109 of the Criminal Code? Causing death by negligence

Unlike the Criminal Code, which was in effect in Soviet times and adopted in 1960, the current art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, causing death by negligence does not consider it a murder. Moreover, the punishment for this act is differentiated. Let us consider in more detail Art. 109 of the Criminal Code: the nature of the crime, responsibility, signs.

The essence of the article

Part 1 of Art. 109 of the Criminal Code establishes a penalty in the form of:

1. Corrective labor.
2. Restrictions of freedom.
3. Forced works.
4. The deprivation of liberty.

The duration of any of the above penalties - up to 2 years. The second part contains another qualification. Art. 109 of the Criminal Code provides liability for persons who have improperly performed their professional duties, as a result of which the death of the injured person occurred. In this case, the guilty person faces:

1. Deprivation or restriction of freedom.
2. Forced labor.

The duration of any of these penalties is up to 3 years. At the same time correctional labor and restriction of freedom can be appointed with the prohibition to engage in certain activities or stay in specific positions for up to three years or without it. The charge under art. 109 of the Criminal Code for the death of two or more persons due to careless behavior of the subject provides the following punishment:

1. Restriction of freedom.
2. Forced labor.
3. Deprivation of liberty.

The duration of these penalties is up to 4 years. In this deprivation of liberty may be appointed with the prohibition of certain activities or a specific position for a period of up to three years.

The objective side

Qualification of the crime under art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation regards as a generic object a person, a species - its life, direct - the life activity of a person. Death by negligence is irreparable harm. It must be remembered that the life of every person is not reduced only to the body essence. It includes not only biological processes. Human life also consists of social relations, which are protective and ensure its existence. All other values and benefits are of secondary importance in this case. In this regard, it is illegal to deprive a person of his life in any form, regardless of the age of the victim, physical and moral. The objective part of the crime established in Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, is formed from inaction or action. The conduct of the guilty person causes the onset of the consequences and the result itself is death. The subject violates the established rules of stay at work, stay in the home and so on. This, in fact, leads to the onset of the death of another person. Judicial practice under art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation knows many such cases. For example, the perpetrator carries out unauthorized connection of a faulty gas installation in an apartment. As a result of his actions, an explosion occurs, which entails the death of one or more citizens residing in the house or premises. The act provided for in Art. 109 of the Criminal Code, is considered completed with the onset of consequences. In addition to the violation of the established precautionary rules and the death of the victim, it is also necessary to establish a connection between these events.

The subjective side

Art. 109 of the Criminal Code establishes such a feature as imprudence. It, in turn, acts as a form of guilt. In addition to it, the content of the subjective side includes such features as the purpose and motive. In Art. 5 of the Criminal Code provides for the principle of imputation. It consists in the fact that criminal responsibility does not come for innocent damage. Thus, wine is a mandatory subjective prerequisite. Its legislative consolidation has great legal, moral and political significance. In Art. 26 of the Code defines reckless guilt. In particular, an act committed by negligence or frivolity is considered a careless crime. In the latter case, it is assumed that the person foresaw the likelihood of a dangerous consequence of his behavior. At the same time, it did not have sufficient grounds, counted on its prevention. Negligence recognizes such an act, in which the subject did not foresee the occurrence of a dangerous consequence. However, with the necessary prudence and attentiveness, he must and could presume it.

An Important Moment

The legislation does not say that the subject should be aware of the socially dangerous nature of his behavior. This is due to the fact that when a crime is committed through negligence, inaction or the act of the guilty, which is taken without consequences, may not pose a threat to society. However, if a dangerous result arises from it, the behavior as a whole forms the objective part of the imprudent act.

Volitional content

There is an opinion that its specificity in case of a careless act consists in the presence of goals and motives that do not extend to dangerous social consequences, but consist of behavioral acts that are incompatible with the duties of the subject. In the commission of careless acts, the death of the victim is a secondary, by-product. Indeed, a careless act is distinguished by its own purpose and motive. However, they can be different. In this case, it is necessary to use terminology accurately. In criminal law, the purposes and motives of careless acts relate directly to the conduct of the guilty person.

Aggravating circumstances

Art. 109 of the Criminal Code establishes responsibility for a careless act committed when the subject does not perform official duties. In this case, we are talking about individuals who, by virtue of their profession, could and should have anticipated the death of those to whom they did not provide adequate assistance and attention in a timely and full manner. Such subjects include teachers, educators, health workers, coaches and others.

Responsibility of doctors

To the medical workers, the society traditionally presents high demands, which imply the exclusion of professional errors in the activity of these specialists, which entail irreplaceable losses. In an era when the activity of a doctor was identified with something supernatural, with unfavorable outcomes of a disease, doctors were subjected to severe punishments. For example, according to the Hammurabi Laws, if a doctor makes a severe incision with a knife for the patient, as a result of which a person dies or unsuccessfully removes the thorn, his fingers will be cut off. In Russia in the seventeenth century, for the death of improper treatment or significant harm to health, the guilty doctors had to undergo a church repentance. They were prohibited from practicing until they had passed a certain test and would not receive an appropriate certificate of having adequate knowledge of their case. Over the past few decades, many states have seen an increase in the number of medical workers who are being brought to justice, criminal liability including. For example, in the UK, the number of convicted doctors has doubled between 1995 and 2005. At the same time, the amount of damage caused by them due to negligent actions amounted to about 60 thousand pounds sterling. Cases of improper performance by doctors of their professional duties in Russia also spread.

Specificity of the objective side in professional deeds

The composition of the crime of medical workers in part 2 of Art. 109 of the Criminal Code has its own characteristics. The objective side, in particular, includes, first and foremost, the mandatory presence of a negative result of a certain type of medical service rendered and the death of the patient. In addition, it is necessary to establish defects in medical care. They consist in the disparity between the actions of a specialist in the norms, rules, and customs applicable to a particular case in the modern world. And, of course, there must be a direct causal relationship between the defects and the adverse consequences that have come about in the form of the patient's death.

Conclusion

As it was said above, the legislation in force today does not consider causing death by negligence as a murder. In this regard, the punishment for this act is relatively mild. Nevertheless, it is included in the Criminal Code, which indicates a high degree of its danger to society. The guilty person has no intent to do harm. However, due to the negligent actions of the subject, the victim is inflicted irreparable harm - death. This problem is especially topical among specialists whose professional duties are directly related to the health, life and safety of other people. Responsibility for careless crimes is not only educative, but also preventive. It is aimed at increasing the attention of citizens to their behavior, observance of established rules and norms of stay in those or other places.