The difference between hostage taking and kidnapping is always an important aspect in deciding on the qualification of a socially dangerous act. Often when determining the corpus delicti, and, accordingly, the articles of the Criminal Code, difficulties arise with the correct choice of the necessary norm. However, in order to clearly distinguish between these acts, it is enough to consider the signs and relate them, revealing similarities and differences.
What is hostage taking
Article 206 of the Criminal Code, as well as comments on it, enshrines the provisions that determine the very essence of the concept of a hostage and its capture. So, a hostage is always a person who was detained in order to force the state or society to perform or, on the contrary, not to perform any action. From this concept one can smoothly proceed to what seizure is and what is the peculiarity of just such a variant of the crime.
Hostage-taking is the taking of a person, moving him in space and restricting the ability to move a person. That is, the presence of these three actions is always necessary, which, in total, form the act stipulated by the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It is important that this crime is considered one of the most dangerous and falls into the category of especially grave, encroaching on several types of social relations.
Composition of a crime, its signs
A number of differences are always necessary for qualifying an act, and hostage taking is no exception. The composition of the crime implies a combination of mandatory and optional features, which are important elements. Without them, it is simply impossible to bring a person to justice and bring the case to court.
Mandatory features of each of the crimes are necessary, which follows from their name. To understand their essence, you can consider hostage-taking. The signs of this act - in this case, mandatory - should be part of every element of the corpus delicti. For example, the type of the latter. It is always viewed objectively. When taking a hostage, he is always formal.
Optional signs do not have to be present as part of an unlawful act. Various crime tools, methods or methods of its commission, even the place or time, can serve as an example of this. However, all this is not mandatory in determining the act and its qualifications.
Objective side
The composition of each crime involves four elements. The main one is the objective side, which reflects how the act is manifested outside. If we talk about this crime, then, as article 206 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation says, several steps are important, namely: retention, limitation of the possibility of movement and movement - all these are actions when taken hostage. That is, the person is "removed" from the usual environment, they are not allowed to freely choose their location, and they are forcibly moved. These are only active actions.
In addition, the objective side always reflects the type of composition, which allows you to establish the moment when the crime is over. In the case of hostage-taking, as mentioned earlier, the composition is defined as formal, which indicates the end of the act from the moment the criminal assault began. In this case, the consequences are completely irrelevant.
The objective side may contain not only mandatory features, but also optional ones. The instrument of a crime, for example, or the use of weapons as a threat during capture, the place and time of the commission of an unlawful act - in some cases, all this has a certain significance in the capture of the offender. However, the main thing in this matter is the moment of the end of the crime and the committed actions. This distinguishes hostage-taking from other crimes, for example, from such as illegal imprisonment.
Object, subject and subjective side
What is encroached, that is, any social relations, is an object of crime. In the event of hostage-taking it will be such an element as public safety. For example, hostage-taking by terrorists means intimidation and obtaining some benefits from the state. This is considered a hallmark of this type of crime.
The subject, that is, the one who committed a socially dangerous act, is always general. A physical sane person who has reached a certain age is the subject. The only thing that may have a difference is the last requirement, that is, the age, which in some cases can even be lower than 16 years. Hostage-taking is an act for which a person who has reached the age of fourteen is brought to justice.
The subjective side is always the fault, that is, the offender’s relationship to what he does and the consequences of these actions. When taking hostages, it always manifests itself in the form of direct intent and does not imply imprudence. This is the reason that this act is considered especially dangerous.
Qualifying signs
Aggravating circumstances entail a higher sentence. Art. 206 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation fixes an exhaustive list of those cases when hostage-taking is considered perfect in the presence of the factors mentioned above. So, these include crimes committed:
- from self-interest;
- group of persons;
- directed to a pregnant woman or against two or more persons;
- entailing death or serious harm, both through negligence and intentionally;
- using violence or weapons;
- in relation to a person who has not reached the age of majority.
This list of acts that are considered aggravating circumstances is important in sentencing, and also allows you to identify the difference between hostage taking and kidnapping.
The concept of kidnapping
The provisions on this crime are enshrined in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Abduction of a person is an act that involves the unlawful seizure of a person, his retention and movement. As you can see, several actions are carried out, which together form a dangerous act. However, the abduction is not a particularly serious crime, but simply a serious crime.
Important for qualification is the fact that the abduction of a person is an act that is carried out exclusively secretly, only close relatives can know about it, that is, those people to whom it is directed from an indirect side. All this affects the corpus delicti and makes it different from other similar unlawful acts, such as illegal imprisonment.
The objective side of kidnapping
This element of the crime, as mentioned above, is a manifestation of the act in the external environment. The abduction can be implemented by various methods: withdrawal, retention and movement of the victim. The presence of all these steps together is a prerequisite for the existence of a crime.
As for the type of composition of the unlawful act, just as in the case of hostage-taking, it is formal, completed from the moment the action commences, which simplifies the qualification process, since the onset of consequences and the connection between them and the committed actions are not necessary. This symptom does not distinguish this crime from the one considered above, but it is of considerable importance.
Object of crime
As mentioned above, those social relations, which are committed a criminal assault, are the object of the act. Article 126 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation determines the freedom of an individual as an object when abducting a person. This is said precisely because this element of the corpus delicti is a distinguishing feature of this act from that referred to in article 206.
The peculiarity of this object is that it affects subjective human rights, that is, the right to free movement and choice of location. Accordingly, if a person agrees to his so-called abduction, then there will be no illegal act, the corpus delicti will disappear by itself. That is, unlike hostage taking, where the object is public safety, in this case only the personal interests of the person are important.
The subject and subjective side of the crime
The common subject of the crime is an indispensable element for every illegal act. To characterize a person who violates the law, you just need to determine the age at the onset of which you can be held criminally liable. This is the 14th anniversary, as is the case with the hostage-taking. That is, the punishment for kidnapping, imprisonment, etc. will not be different from punishment for hostage-taking.
The guilt in this crime is manifested in the form of direct intent, there simply cannot be any other development of events. The person committing this act is always aware of all the consequences of his own actions and directs them, which makes him the subject, confirming sanity. Also, there can be no difference from capture in this matter.
Aggravating circumstances
Article 126 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains an exhaustive list of features that turn a simple crime into a qualified or specially qualified one. These include the commission of an act by a group of persons; with the use of violence; based on self-interest; in relation to a pregnant woman, two or more persons, a minor; entailing the death of the victim, crimes committed through negligence and, possibly, causing serious harm to health.
This list is practically no different from what was presented when considering hostage-taking. However, as you can see, during the abduction there is no qualifying sign that would speak of intentional murder. That is, the onset of death as an aggravating circumstance is recorded only when the hostage is taken.
Disclaimer
The articles of the Criminal Code under consideration contain notes that usually explain to law enforcement the occurrence of some exceptional situations and describe the actions that must be taken in this case. Art. 126 and 206 are no exception, and they include resolving the issue of exemption from criminal liability.
The abduction of a person even with the full corpus delicti and the presence of all necessary signs allows the release of persons from criminal liability, of course, under certain conditions. In the event that the subject of the crime voluntarily releases the victim, that is, the kidnapped, he can be released from punishment. It is important that in this case there is no other corpus delicti in his actions.
In the case of hostage-taking, the conditions are similar, with the exception of one important point. A person can voluntarily release the victim as well as at the request of the authorities. Such actions, despite their relatively coercive nature, will also be considered permissible in order to avoid criminal liability.
Problems of qualification of crimes under Art. 126 and 206 of the Criminal Code
The question of how to correctly evaluate from the legal point of view the actions of a suspect in order to obtain a corpus delicti arises quite often when it is necessary to understand the difference between hostage taking and kidnapping. It is they who create the most difficulties for law enforcement officers.
The qualification of a crime is an important stage in the transfer of the case to the court and further proceedings, since a correctly chosen norm implies the type of sanction, the responsibility that the criminal will bear. It is quite easy to confuse the two crimes under consideration, since their compositions are similar. However, to solve the existing problem, it is sufficient to accurately determine the object of the attack and some specific features of the act itself.
The difference between hostage taking and kidnapping
If we fully assess the composition of each of the above crimes, analyzing them separately, and then compare all the components, then we can distinguish several obvious differences that help to further see a clear line between these acts.
First of all, an object. This is the most important thing to remember. Hostage-taking implies an encroachment on public safety, abduction - on freedom of the person. Secondly, openness. In the first case, the crime can be committed both secretly and openly, in the second - only secretly. Thirdly, the persons to whom the requirements are addressed. During the seizure, this state, society and other persons who have no relations with the victim, during the abduction - close relatives.
And the last thing worth mentioning separately is the moment of graduation; it plays a considerable role in determining the corpus delicti. So, the hostage-taking is considered completed from the moment of the presentation of the requirements, the abduction - from the moment of removal of a person from his usual environment. It is this difference, as well as the signs listed above, that will help determine the type of crime and qualify it.