What does Article 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation say? Inadvertent death

Unlike the Criminal Code, which was in force in the Soviet era and adopted in 1960, Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, death by negligence is not considered a murder. Moreover, the punishment for this act is differentiated. Let us consider in more detail Art. 109 of the Criminal Code: corpus delicti, liability, signs.

The essence of the article

Part 1, Art. 109 of the Criminal Code establishes punishment in the form of:

1. Correctional work.
2. Restrictions of freedom.
3. Forced labor.
4. Deprivation of liberty.

The duration of any of the above sentences is up to 2 years. Part two contains a different qualification. Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for liability for persons who improperly performed their professional duties, as a result of which the death of the injured person occurred. In this case, the perpetrator faces:

1. Deprivation or restriction of freedom.
2. Forced work.

The duration of any of these punishments is up to 3 years. In this case, correctional labor and restriction of freedom may be appointed with the prohibition to engage in certain activities or to stay in specific positions for up to three years or without it. The charge under Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for the death of two or more persons as a result of the reckless behavior of the subject provides for the following punishment:

1. Restriction of freedom.
2. Forced work.
3. Deprivation of liberty.
   

The duration of these sentences is up to 4 years. In this case, deprivation of liberty may be appointed with a ban on certain activities or being in a specific position for a period of up to three years.

Objective side

Qualification of the crime under Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation considers a personality as a generic object, a species as its life, and direct as its life activity. Negligence is irreparable harm. It must be remembered that the life of every person is not reduced only to the bodily essence. It includes not only biological processes. Human life also consists of social relations, which are protective in nature and ensure its existence. All other values ​​and benefits are of secondary importance in this case. In this regard, it is considered unlawful to take a person’s life in any of its manifestations, regardless of the age of the victim, physical and moral appearance. The objective part of the crime established in Art. 109 of the Criminal Code, is formed from inaction or action. The behavior of the guilty person causes the onset of consequences and the result itself is death. The subject violates the established rules of staying at work, being at home, and so on. This, in fact, leads to the death of another person. Judicial practice under Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation knows many such cases. For example, the culprit unauthorizedly connects a faulty gas installation in the apartment. As a result of his actions, an explosion occurs that entails the death of one or more citizens living in the house or premises. The act provided for in Art. 109 of the Criminal Code, is considered completed with the onset of consequences. In addition to the fact of violation of the established precautionary rules and the death of the victim, a connection should also be established between these events.

Subjective side

Art. 109 of the Criminal Code establishes such a sign as negligence. She, in turn, acts as a form of guilt. In addition to her, the content of the subjective side includes such signs as a goal and a motive. In Art. 5 of the Criminal Code provides for the principle of imputation. It consists in the fact that criminal liability does not occur for the innocent damage. Thus, guilt acts as a mandatory subjective prerequisite. Its legislative consolidation has great legal, moral and political significance. In Art. 26 of the Code defines reckless fault. In particular, an act of negligence is an act that is committed through negligence or frivolity. In the latter case, it is assumed that the person foresaw the likelihood of a dangerous consequence of his behavior. Moreover, it, not having sufficient justification, counted on its prevention. Negligence is an act in which the subject did not foresee the onset of a dangerous consequence. However, with the necessary forethought and attentiveness, he should and could have assumed it.

Important point

The legislation does not say that the subject must be aware of the socially dangerous nature of his own behavior. This is due to the fact that when committing a crime through negligence, inaction or the action of the perpetrator, which is taken without consequences, may not pose a threat to society. However, if a dangerous result arose as a result of it, then in general, behavior forms the objective part of a reckless act.

Volitional content

There is an opinion that its specificity in a careless act consists in the presence of goals and motives that do not apply to dangerous social consequences, but consisting in behavioral acts that are incompatible with the duties of the subject. When committing reckless acts, the death of the victim acts as a secondary, by-product. Indeed, a careless act is distinguished by the presence of its own purpose and motive. However, they can be different. In this case, the terminology must be used accurately. In criminal law, the goals and motives of reckless acts relate directly to the behavior of the guilty person.

Aggravating circumstances

Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes liability for a reckless act committed in case of improper performance by an entity of official duties. In this case, we are talking about people who, by virtue of their profession, could and should have assumed the onset of death of those to whom they did not timely and fully render proper assistance and attention. Such subjects include teachers, educators, health workers, trainers and others.

Responsibility of doctors

The society traditionally makes high demands on medical workers, which imply that professional activities do not allow professional errors that entail irreparable losses. In an era when the work of a doctor was identified with something supernatural, with unfavorable outcomes of one or another disease, doctors were subjected to cruel punishments. For example, according to the Hammurabi Laws, if the healer makes the patient a heavy incision with a knife, as a result of which the person dies or unsuccessfully removes the thorn, then his fingers will be cut off. In Russia, in the seventeenth century, for the death with improper treatment or significant harm to health, the guilty doctors had to undergo church repentance. They were forbidden to practice until they pass a certain test and receive appropriate evidence that they have the proper knowledge of their field. Over the past few decades, in many states there has been an increase in the number of medical workers who are brought to legal, criminal, including liability. For example, in the UK the number of convicted doctors doubled between 1995 and 2005. At the same time, the amount of damage caused by them as a result of committed negligent actions amounted to about 60 thousand pounds. Cases of improper performance by doctors of their professional duties in Russia also spread.

The specifics of the objective side in professional acts

Composition of a crime by health workers under Part 2 of Art. 109 of the Criminal Code has its own characteristics. The objective side, in particular, includes, first of all, the mandatory presence of a negative result of the medical service provided of a certain type and the death of the patient. In addition, it is necessary to identify defects in medical care. They consist in the discrepancy of the specialist’s actions with the norms, rules, and customs that are in force in the modern world in relation to a particular case. And, of course, a direct causal relationship must be established between defects and the ensuing adverse consequences in the form of the death of the patient.

Conclusion

As mentioned above, the legislation in force today does not consider causing death by negligence as a murder. In this regard, the punishment for this act is relatively lenient. Nevertheless, it is included in the Criminal Code, which indicates a high degree of danger to society. The guilty person has no intention of doing harm. However, as a result of the negligent actions of the subject, the victim suffers irreparable harm - death. This problem is particularly relevant among specialists whose professional duties are directly related to the health, life and safety of other people. Responsibility for reckless crimes is not only educational, but also precautionary. It is aimed at increasing the attention of citizens to their behavior, compliance with established rules and standards of stay in certain places.