The classification of crimes in criminal law is a certain technique of legal technique. It is based on the division of legal norms according to one criterion into several types, groups. It has a legal and normative character, aiming at the understanding and use of criminal norms and legal institutions.
Crime classification needs the right approach to be an objective and sustainable area.
Historical background
Problems of subdivision of criminal acts were de alt with by V. M. Baranov, V. P. Konyakhin, A. I. Martsev, A. P. Kuznetsov. They realized the importance of a correct and reasonable classification for the public and private law of Russia. Otherwise, it would be difficult to guarantee the social value of the law, its objectivity, and the effectiveness of its application.
The concept and significance of gradation
The classification of criminal offenses with visual impartiality is of particular importance, has an independent place in the system. It is used to purposefully regulate legal and criminal relations, taking into account the interests, social benefits that are under protection.
In the case of rational use of the entire system of criminal law, the situation is clarified, the question of the punishability of the guilty person is resolved.
If the classification of crimes is not applied, it will be difficult to apply the law.
In practical terms, such a division is relevant for law enforcement practice, as it has a special regime for the functioning of different parts of the Criminal Code of Russia. It is also necessary for criminal and legal norms and institutions that open up new opportunities for subjects.
The classification of crimes depends on how consistently and in detail it is applied in the process of constructing a variety of legal and criminal institutions.
Functional significance for criminal law is determined by the following features:
- allows to identify the essence of the institutions included in the criminal law;
- determine the purpose of different classification groups;
- reveal their objective signs;
- find constituent components;
- get an understanding of the phenomenon under consideration in a scientifically sound and consistent way.
The classification of criminal offenses makes it possible to find subordinations and relationships, analyze them as a whole, complete the missing details. It helps to study, systematize disparate details, make assumptions, confirm or refute them.
Criteria and types
Classificationcrimes involves the use of certain criteria. In criminal law, they mean the danger to society of the committed act. It is on the degree and nature of the public danger of the crime that the criminal law is based.
The concept and classification of crimes is deciphered in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. They are divided into four groups: mild, moderate, severe, especially severe.
The word "severity" contains a qualitative and quantitative characteristic of the phenomenon. For example, the main difference between an act of minor gravity and a serious crime is not only in the "quantitative" measure of harm done to the interests of society, the individual, but also in qualitative harm.
This fact is emphasized by the legislator when the classification of crimes is used. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation connects the detection of committed acts of a certain gravity with the highest indicator, which is provided for by the Code. The construction for such actions has been enshrined in the Criminal Law since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Crimes in the form of a public act:
- expressed in the specific behavior of people;
- implements changes in social reality;
- contains a real threat of a qualitative change in the living conditions of other people.
Forensic classification of crimes is used in criminal law to determine the level of harm done.
It is considered serious in the event that a public danger follows from it. The assessment of severity is based on the value of the object in respect of which the act was committed. Courtit is not the social danger that is assessed as such, but the primary consequence of the crime, characterizing the social harmfulness, which lends itself to various measurements.
That is why the criminal law should use a new category - "social harm". The mention of it must remain in the norm, which gives the concept of a crime.
In other cases, when the legislator uses the category of social danger, we are talking about social harm.
The very concept and classification of crimes are regulated by the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The "severity" factor of the committed act is a reflection of social harmfulness. In criminal law, it is defined as a single volume of members of the crime unit.
What characterizes the act? Signs, classification reflect the typical, essential parameters of a particular phenomenon - its "severity". It is on this that the decision on the duration and type of punishment depends.
Classification of the corpus delicti allows to reveal the social essence of the act.
Social harm as a meaningful feature of the division of crimes into different categories expresses the value and importance of the object of the attack. If it is chosen incorrectly according to a sanction, a formal criterion, the content of social harmfulness is “emasculated”, it is belittled.
It is the severity that is taken as the basis, reflects the significance of the object of encroachment, the amount of damage caused, the nature of the motives, the form of guilt, and other circumstances.
Division by value
Each category according to the degree and nature of public danger corresponds to an object of some value. Only 66% of all encroachments that are in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation correspond to the value of the objects in which they are located. Given the typicality and generality of changes in social relations in terms of the degree and nature of the intensity of attacks, a classification of objects of crime was adopted according to social significance, dividing them into several groups:
- Especially valuable, they include human life, the foundations of the security of the state, humanity.
- Valuable, related to public safety and sexual integrity.
- Medium value: property, interests of minor citizens and family, he alth, service in commercial companies.
- Small value: dignity and honor of the individual, social and political rights of a citizen and a person, transport operation, information security.
The method of classifying crimes makes it possible to narrow the range of acts, to individualize punishments depending on their objective harmfulness. Such a gradation makes it possible to reflect the internal regularity of the nature of the crime committed through its objectivity and essence, to fix an adequate assessment of all categories of crime in a legislative way.
Qualifiers
The classification of crimes and its meaning are determined by the motives and goals of the committed act. For example, selfish motives and goals in the absence of a seriousharm are regarded as minor crimes.
Reclassification of a medium-degree crime into a serious act is carried out upon the occurrence of the following consequences: serious physical harm to he alth, serious material damage.
Especially grave acts
They are characterized by signs of attacks on a valuable object. For example, among them are:
- actions by a group or an organized group by prior agreement;
- use of violence that poses a threat to human he alth;
- actions against minors;
- acts directed against persons who are in official, financial or other dependence.
In the case of causing death to the injured person through negligence in the event of a deliberate encroachment on a valuable object, it is accompanied by a "transition" of a serious act into a particularly serious crime.
The elements of social harmfulness of a criminal offense are:
- its degree, the signs of which are the severity of the consequences, the way the act was committed;
- character, which is associated with the form of guilt and the object of encroachment.
One should distinguish between signs and elements of social harm. The elements of a crime are understood as a componentpart of a complex whole, under the sign - the essential side of some phenomenon.
The presence in the Criminal Code in the classification of acts of two criteria gives rise to a certain problem. The commission of crimes that have the same sanction, but a different form of guilt, entails different legal consequences, therefore they are classified in different categories of acts.
With an artificial increase in the criteria for classifying crimes, it entails a problem in which the values of the object of encroachment, the method of committing the act, and the severity of the consequences are left without legal consequences.
Modern trends
Currently, the legislator does not carry out a clear gradation and compliance with the categories of crimes of legal consequences. For example, the different values of objects - he alth and life - in the presence of similar other signs - the severity of the consequences, the form of guilt - should lead to the assignment of such acts to different categories of crimes.
In this criminal law, there is the following picture: in case of careless deprivation of life (Article 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and infliction of serious harm to the he alth of the victim (Article 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), they are classified as the same category of crime. The nature of the severity of the act is reflected in the types of punishments.
For example, the following types of punishment are included in the category of insignificant severity: a fine, corrective and compulsory work, restriction in service.
Reflects the degree of severity within nature and species.
Forcategories of punishments of insignificant severity, this amounts to six months, a year, a year and a half of imprisonment. It is important that the size of the punishment does not go beyond the specified category, that is, it does not exceed two years in prison.
Structure of performance evaluation
Currently, accounting for the severity and nature of punishments has a four-stage option. According to the content, they are divided into separate categories of punishments that are not associated with deprivation of liberty (“low severity”), as well as punishments that are of an exceptional nature - life imprisonment or the death pen alty.
As a category of crime, a misdemeanor refers to acts that carry the maximum pen alty without imprisonment.
Only punishments are applied to persons who have committed crimes of this category: a fine, corrective and compulsory labor, arrest, detention.
The paucity of such socially dangerous acts and the imposition of a life sentence for acts of particular gravity, which are associated with an encroachment on life, demonstrate the need to single out this category of crime.
Singling out the category of "exceptional severity" makes it possible, in addition to the arguments indicated above, to remove a fairly wide range of sanctions from especially grave crimes.
Division of crimes Marshakova N. N
In the material devoted to the theoretical aspects of the functional significance in the criminal legislation of the classification of crimes, inas a basis, the author proposes to take the direct object of the crime. In her opinion, crimes against he alth and life (Chapter 16 of the Criminal Code) are divided into:
- actually causing harm to human he alth and life;
- against the honor, freedom and dignity of the individual;
- crimes against sexual freedom of minors;
- acts against constitutional freedoms and the rights of a citizen and a person (Chapter 19 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation);
- against social, economic and labor freedoms and rights (Art. 137–139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation);
- acts related to the encroachment on the moral and physical development of the personality of minors.
Taking into account the specific object of the crime, the author proposes a classification into crimes related to infringement on public safety (Art. 205-212, 227 of the Criminal Code), acts against public he alth, public morality; environmental crimes that pose a threat to flora, fauna, the entire environment, as well as acts related to encroachment on the operation and movement of transport.
Conclusion
Crimes against security and the constitutional order are currently classified into several types: encroachments on external and internal security, the constitutional foundations of religious, legal, national relations, taking into account the subject of crimes against the interests of the service, authorities committed by officials, municipal employees.
The legislation of foreign countries uses two- and three-term optionsclassification of criminal acts, taking into account the gravity of the offense, its size and type, as well as the punishment provided for in the criminal code.
In our country, the system of criminal punishment for acts of varying severity is not perfect, so it needs serious revision, adjustment, improvement.
