Crimes related to the violation of the established rules for the conduct of various types of work, which include including unlawful acts qualified under Art. 215 of the Criminal Code, are relatively rare in judicial practice. However, taking into account statistical data and historical facts, it can be said that the most terrible catastrophes in the history of mankind related to nuclear energy, one way or another, occurred due to violation of safety standards at these facilities during construction, their placement, design and subsequent operation .
Art. 215 of the Criminal Code: simple composition
The simple composition of the criminal act under the criminal law in question provides for liability for acts in the form of a violation of safety rules during the construction, design, placement and further operation of facilities related to nuclear energy, in the event that this could lead to infection of the (radioactive) environment or human death. The following types of sanctions are established:
- up to 200 thousand rubles of a fine or salary (other income) of the guilty for 1.5 years;
- forced labor for a period of up to 3 years;
- up to 3 years of freedom restriction;
- imprisonment up to 3 years.
Moreover, the last three sanctions may be imposed in conjunction with the deprivation of the special right of the convicted person to work in a certain position or to engage in one or another professional activity for the same period.
Qualifying compositional features
The qualifying sign (according to part 2 of article 215 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) will be the consequences in the form of negligent harm to health that qualifies as serious, or death of a person, environmental contamination by radiation. The following sanctions are provided for this crime:
- forced labor for up to 5 years;
- imprisonment of up to 5 years.
An additional punishment may be imposed, which is expressed in the deprivation of a special right to work in a certain position or to engage in one or another professional activity for a period of up to 3 years.
Particularly qualifying characteristics of the composition
A particularly qualifying composition takes place when, as a result of a criminal act specified in the first part of the article, two or more people were killed by negligence. In this case, the punishment is expressed in:
- forced labor up to 5 years;
- imprisonment of up to 7 years.
Additionally, the court may impose another punishment. Such is the deprivation of a special right to work in a certain position or to engage in one or another professional activity for a period of up to 3 years.
Characteristics of the objective side and the object
Crimes qualified under Art. 215 of the Criminal Code, have two objects (primary and secondary). In the first case, it is the safety of society in the field of design, placement, construction and subsequent operation of facilities related to nuclear energy. An additional object is the property of people, their health and life.
The objective side of the composition of this criminal act can be characterized by the signs listed below:
- violation of safety rules in this area;
- the onset of consequences dangerous to society in the form of a threat of death of a person, or infection by environmental radiation;
- a causal relationship established between the first two paragraphs.
Subject and subjective side
In this case, the subjective side can be described as negligence in relation to harmful consequences, while the safety rules of facilities belonging to the nuclear energy sector themselves can be violated quite consciously.
The subject of this crime is special, these are persons who have reached the age of 16 years and are officials or other rank-and-file employees who, by occupation, are directly related to compliance with safety rules at nuclear facilities.
Comments
This criminal law norm has a rather complex character and structure, with all its simplicity. Art. 215 of the Criminal Code with comments will allow you to most fully familiarize yourself with the nuances. They relate mainly to disposition, which is blanket. It is absolutely necessary to determine exactly which rules were violated by the guilty person. For this, one should turn to federal laws, as well as departmental regulatory acts related to nuclear energy.
Comparison with Articles 215.2, 215.3
All three criminal law norms belong to the same category and at first glance have common species characteristics. However, the main differences can be traced when considering the objective side of these criminal acts. So, in the case of Art. 215.2 of the Criminal Code, this is not public safety, but relations that are connected with the supply of life support sources for consumers. The corpus is material, the crime is considered committed at the moment when any of the actions specified in the norm is carried out. The subject is common.
They explain a lot under Art. 215.2 of the Criminal Code comments. So, power plants and substations, power lines, etc. belong to power facilities.
A committed criminal act is subject to qualification in conjunction with other relevant crimes against property.
A similar objective side has a criminal act falling under Art. 215.3 of the Criminal Code. This is also destruction, disabling, this time of gas pipelines, oil pipelines and oil product pipelines, as well as objects that are technologically connected with them. In this case, the composition is considered material and formal. The subject is also general.