The most dangerous social acts are called crimes. The commission of such misconduct is punishable by law and punishable under the established criminal liability. Each such offense includes four groups of elements: the object and the subject, as well as the objective and subjective parties. The purpose of the crime is an optional sign of the composition of the criminal offense. Despite the certainty of the criteria of a criminal target, the establishment of its framework and total study, a huge amount of debate is being conducted in the legal literature regarding the content of this concept.
Instinctive goals and motives
At the heart of any human behavioral act are instincts, which often help law enforcement agencies identify the purpose of the crime.
So, along with direct and indirect intent, the subjective side of the most dangerous act includes categories such as motives and goals. It is impossible with the help of guilt alone to establish the degree of participation of a person in the commission of a crime, as well as to determine the measure of criminal liability and sentencing him. The form of guilt helps to recognize the person’s mental attitude to the events that have taken place, however, it is possible to establish the causes of behavior only by understanding goals and motives that are inextricably linked.
Turning to the concept of “motives of behavior”, it is important to remember that this particular psychological category determines the social significance of human actions (at least in the understanding of an individual). The choice of the goal and means of crime depends entirely on the motivating motive. This phenomenon moves a person to negative consequences, directs his actions, and is also one of the most powerful incentives and energy sources for committing an act.
However, motives and goals do not allow a person to blindly follow instincts, since a sense of self-preservation is also highly developed in each of us. The criminal, seeking funds and tools for the commission of the act, chooses the most secret and safe way, acts purposefully and selectively, thinks through every step to the smallest detail. He himself explains the birth of the motive with one or another, of course, difficult life circumstances.
Needs as an Incentive
The significance of the purpose of the crime lies in the motive, and this concept, in turn, proceeds from the needs of the person, who play a decisive role in choosing one or another option. In order to understand and further study this area of criminal law, it is necessary to consider the definition of motive.
Under the motive it is necessary to understand one or another motivation, which can play a dominant role in the selection of a behavioral scenario, which in the future will lead to the actual commission of a crime. Scientists have revealed that any motive is based on needs that are complemented by inclinations and interests.
The manifestation of negative behavior depends on the characteristics of the character: willpower, tenacity, decision-making dynamics. Thus, a strong personality, even with the most persistent irritations, can restrain behavioral acts aimed at committing criminal acts, while weak people tend to succumb to temptation.
Purpose as a category of criminal law
As noted earlier, the motive is an internal and unconscious regulator of behavior. However, the goal, which is closely interconnected with internal instincts, is nevertheless conscious and quite meaningful. In the presence of such a motive is only an auxiliary regulator.
The purpose of the crime is a conscious image of the desired result that the person wishes to receive as a result of the commission of a criminal offense. The motive in this case is called upon to answer the question: why did the person perform this or that action?
An interesting fact is that the goal acts as a single image, but the motives can be very diverse. Socio-psychological, moral and ethical, which are divided into "low" and "deprived of low."
On the meaning of purpose and motives in criminal proceedings
In criminology, criminal law, and legal proceedings, the areas under consideration play by no means the last significance. First of all, the aforementioned legal branches are called upon to establish the truth in a criminal case. Considering the fact that a separate group of motives affects the will differently, deforms the consciousness and emotional state, a person is not able to objectively evaluate the situation created, especially in cases of the onset of affect.
The motive and purpose of the crime are directly connected with the person. The significance for criminal law of these categories lies not only in the possibility of determining the form of guilt, but also in the mental, emotional state. And this is already a matter of criminal liability, since the recognition of limited sanity significantly mitigates the punishment.
When analyzing articles of criminal law, one can often find motives and goals as constructive signs of a criminal act, for example, in part 2 of article 105, Art. 111 of the Criminal Code.
Act = rejection
Even such a terrible act as a crime is an act of human behavior, which is very often found in the activities of law enforcement agencies. In order to conduct an effective investigation, as well as the correct and reliable identification of the guilty person, it is necessary to study the general knowledge of psychology about the motives and goals of human behavior. And if in criminal law the concept of the purpose of a crime, as well as related motives, is associated with guilt and a criminal result, then in psychology these categories are understood as active activity and related factors.
The study of this phenomenon was carried out by B. S. Volkov, who noted the close relationship of criminal law and psychology. Moreover, the professor has always paid attention to the fact that psychology offers only general knowledge, while the specifics of criminal behavior can be revealed only by conducting in-depth research.
It must be remembered that the purpose of the crime is a very ambiguous category, since in each individual case it can be interpreted differently depending on the desired result. Psychologists currently disagree on what circumstances stimulate the development of motive. Some argue that the basis of the purpose of the crime (murder, theft, economic acts, and so on) is based on needs in relation to emotions and interests. And if in the first case, for example, when evading serving a sentence, a person wants to fulfill the need for freedom, then in the second, when giving and receiving a bribe, there is only a thirst for money.
About concepts and criteria
Under the motives in criminal law refers to the beliefs of a person who are a behavioral engine for committing a dangerous act in order to achieve an effective image formed in the head.
Despite the detailed psychological detailing of internal motivators, desires, aspirations, and value orientations of the category do not matter for the criminal law sphere. Each of them can be interpreted as types of crime objectives and motivating motives. A striking example is the feeling of jealousy, which for psychology is one of the categories of emotions, and in criminal law is interpreted strictly as an element of corpus delicti.
The relationship of motives, goals and forms of guilt
The subjective side includes several mandatory and optional elements. The purpose of the crime is only a concomitant indicator that helps to establish the degree of involvement of a person, as well as to determine additional qualifications. Thus, motive and purpose are inextricably linked with crimes committed with a direct form of guilt. Moreover, the presence of the former can be called into question if indirect intent is present. A separate category should be delimited by reckless crimes that carry motives of social behavior that do not have public danger. In this case, there is no sign of advance miscalculation and deliberation of a model of behavior. Under such circumstances, we should not talk about criminal motives and goals. The purposes of punishment for crimes committed through negligence shall not contradict the principles of criminal proceedings.
Define and delimit criminal law categories
The purpose of the crime is, as noted earlier, an internal model of an effective image that is formed in the head of a person committing or wanting to commit a criminal offense. The following example will help to distinguish between categories: when committing murder as a result of robbery, self-interest is the motive, and depriving a person of life is a criminal result, that is, the goal.
Criminal value of categories
The concept, types of goals of a crime, base and low-key motives are extremely significant in criminal proceedings and law enforcement practice. So, these elements are fundamental in the structure of the crime. And even if there is an indication of the legislator in the disposition of the article, then the forms of the purpose of the crime are completely of paramount importance. In the absence of the considered signs, there is no crime in reality. A striking example is desertion, regulated by Art. 338 of the Criminal Code. The crime can only be considered unauthorized abandonment of the place of military service, as a rule, of a military unit, which is committed in order to evade service to the state.
In the theory of criminal law, there are several types of corpus delicti, among which the most considered qualified. The presence in the article of a motive and purpose will automatically transform the composition from simple to qualified. For comparison: Part 1 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code determines the punishment for a simple murder, that is, committed without any additional signs. At the same time, part 2 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code, which already in paragraphs details the criminal liability for the murder, depending on the motives and objectives pursued.
These signs can both aggravate and mitigate criminal liability. As an example, the following types of motives and purposes of the crime can be cited: racial, ideological, political, national or religious. Of course, the above categories significantly aggravate criminal liability and toughen punishment. At the same time, motives of compassion can affect the court's decision to mitigate criminal punishment.
General classification of motives and goals of a criminal act
The most objective today is the group differentiation of the elements of the subjective side, depending on the social and moral assessment. This means that the classification is based on such concepts as “bad”, “good”, “harsh and soft punishment” and so on, that is, simple categories are used that are accepted or rejected by society.
So, for the motives and goals of the criminal offense are characterized by the following features:
- The toughening or mitigation of criminal liability under the influence of the above categories can only be applied to a specific criminal act, which is established in the criminal law.
- The severity of the punishment is determined by selfish motives, the presence of revenge or personal interest, as well as the commission of a crime to seize and use human organs and tissues, to hide another criminal offense and so on.
- If the perpetrator wants to save the victim from suffering, this is one of the reasons for the possible mitigation of criminal liability.
- There are motives and goals that do not affect the size of the determined punishment and responsibility in general, for example, in Part 1 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code.
- Motives and goals help not only to determine mental attitudes, but also to recreate the circumstances of the committed criminal act.
Thus, determining the meaning of a goal in criminal law is very simple, but at the same time extremely difficult. The visualized result, the mental image of the final actions, a clear model of behavior are far from all the definitions made in jurisprudence. The close connection with such a psychological category as a motive complicates the study of a criminal purpose in the criminal law aspect even more. However, the theory of criminal law is in constant dynamics, new studies are taken into account, criminology provides deeper knowledge - all this allows you to detail the purpose of the guilty person’s behavior, and therefore, to a minimum, make a mistake in the trial process.