The Criminal Code is the main legislative act regulating crimes. A similar official document exists in every country. It enshrines a lot of norms, contains a set of rules that allow you to determine the composition of the acts committed and the punishment for them. It is in this that the tremendous importance and value of this normative act is manifested.
The essence of the Penal Code
The legislator pays great attention to issues in this industry. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is a codified act, a federal law that was adopted by the State Duma. It captures the totality of the rules governing legal relations in this area. Any encroachment on public relations of completely different kinds is regulated by this act. He allows them to protect and protect.
The main objectives of the law under consideration are the prevention and termination of crimes, the creation of conditions that would allow potential criminals to think before deciding to commit a new socially dangerous act. In addition, the Criminal Code is also a way to correct the perpetrators, which entails the implementation of this task in the future.
A bit of history
The first mentions of criminal law as an industry dedicated to crimes could be found in Russian Truth. The first laws fixed punishments, acts and orders of responsibility. Unless the wording and content as a whole were significantly different from what each article of the Criminal Code now says.
Throughout history, various provisions have been adopted that differ from each other depending on the trends of a particular era. However, if we talk about codified acts, then for the first time a similar law was adopted in the first half of the twentieth century. The Criminal Code of the RSFSR of 1922 is the first experience of its kind that lasted only four years.
After the first attempt, the adoption of codes (until the moment the actions of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was adopted in 1996) was carried out several times. The most successful experience took place in 1996. This act lasted until the current document. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was adopted at the most difficult time for the country. Despite this, it has existed until the present.
The structure of the Criminal Code
CC is an act that represents a certain system. He is orderly and accurate. It is believed that the criminal law, and precisely the one that is currently in force, is one of the most specific and correctly formulated sets of rules. It has only specific explanations. And if necessary, additional interpretations are always adopted by the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which interpret all the necessary points.
Like most codified acts, this one has two parts. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation includes a general and special sections, which is quite typical for such laws. This division is due to the specifics of each of them. The criminal law has a similar division because it requires ordering in terms of general provisions and specific points. This is primarily about the qualification of crimes.
a common part
General provisions of the Criminal Law are of great importance for practice. There are many questions that somehow do not determine the corpus delicti. They do not affect qualifications, but only help to come to what is called prosecution and sentencing. When considering this law, it is important to pay attention to the latest editions, as changes are made to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation quite often. So what exactly does the general part of the Criminal Code of 2016 record in itself? These are the basic questions regarding the age of responsibility, general concepts about aggravating and mitigating circumstances, sentencing and other issues that are some kind of instruction or even a plan for further qualification of the act.
Special part
Composition of a crime is the main condition for bringing to justice. If at least one such element is not found in the act, then there will be no reason for applying special norms of the Criminal Code. And they in their entirety constitute a special part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
What is the meaning of such norms? They regulate specific social relations, more precisely, an encroachment on these relations. Each article touches on something specific, captures the necessary elements that must be in order to obtain the corpus delicti. In addition, they establish sanctions, that is, penalties, which is also fully reflected in practice.
An important feature and difference between the two parts under consideration is the structure of their norms. The general section in most cases includes only hypotheses, while the special one involves both dispositions and sanctions. This difference even separates one part from another, but at the same time also makes them interconnected, which once again confirms the integrity and structure of the Criminal Code.
Changes in the Criminal Code (2016)
The need for changes arises because the Criminal Code is an act that is very full and significant for jurisprudence. Often there are various gaps in the law, conflicts occur. Therefore, the introduction of various amendments and the adoption of new versions of the law helps to combat this.
So, in 2016, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation underwent changes in only two articles. The first is the norm that establishes responsibility for penetrating objects that are protected and located underground or under water. This is article 215.4 of the law. It was amended in terms of sanctions, where imprisonment is not more than four years, and the possible fine reaches seven hundred thousand. These most stringent measures under this article have been approved.
Another norm is article 172.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It captures such an act as attracting other people's funds, that is, the creation of peculiar financial pyramids. This is the main change in the criminal law in 2016, since there were no sanctions of this kind, which, incidentally, provide for punishments from a fine to imprisonment.