Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: principles of criminal liability

Human activities are always aimed at achieving a specific goal. In connection with this thesis, one can conclude that people in all cases apply their intellect, which allows them to analyze information and make their judgments about it. Such a phenomenon is called consciousness. It is the presence of this category that distinguishes people from animals, which in turn act only on the basis of their instincts.

But the problem lies in the fact that human activity in some cases does not always fit into the moral framework developed in society. That is, they are violated in a certain way by individuals. Violation can be viewed both from the position of the system of human relations, and from the point of view of a legal policy. After all, any actions that are contrary to any moral standards of society, as a rule, are illegal, that is, for their commission the person is subject to legal liability.

To date, the legal sphere of the Russian Federation is divided into certain areas depending on the object of regulation, that is, specific social relations. One of the branches of jurisprudence in this case is the criminal one. Its norms are regulated by the relations that arise in the sphere of the commission of the most dangerous acts by people. At the same time, the criminal branch of law has an institution of responsibility. Its implementation is based on the existing legislative framework and certain principles, the features of which will be presented later.

The criminal branch of law

Earlier it was already mentioned that the legal sphere of the Russian Federation consists of a set of interrelated elements. Criminal law in this case is one of them. This industry, in its turn, also has its own structure. The principles of criminal liability relate to one of its components. Thus, for their full analysis it is necessary to understand the peculiarities of the industry itself.

Criminal law is the aggregate of legal norms by which public relations are coordinated in the sphere of committing socially dangerous acts. That is, in this case we are not talking about simple violations of law, but about actions that have a high level of danger for society and individuals, and cause negative consequences. As we understand, the criminal law regulation is simply necessary in the presented sphere, because in case of its development, the moral and legal foundations of society can be severely damaged.

Criminal liability

As noted earlier, the principles of criminal responsibility are elements of one of the institutions of the relevant legal branch. In accordance with the general theory of the state and law, any sphere of regulation has norms and institutions in its composition. Criminal liability, in turn, belongs to the latter category. This institution of the criminal branch is the key one. After all, by means of it, in fact, the sphere mentioned in the article is universally realized.

In addition, criminal responsibility is a kind of reaction of the state and society that is applied to a person who has realized a certain kind of deed. This phenomenon always has a negative character for the condemned, which manifests itself in various kinds of physical, moral, property and legal constraints. However, criminal responsibility is realized within the framework of strict regulations, that is, on the basis of legality and the rule of law. At the same time, there are other legal features of the implementation of this kind of reaction of the state and society. Confirmation of this is the principles of criminal responsibility.

Relationship of criminal law and institution of responsibility

The regulatory framework of any state plays a primary role in the process of regulating a particular type of relationship. In legal acts, norms are fixed that fix the main provisions of individual institutions. The importance of criminal law is characterized by the fact that it contains the main principles of criminal liability. In addition, the main normative act of the represented legal branch regulates the process of implementing a negative state reaction to crimes. In addition, it is a legal guarantee of criminal liability in relation to offenders.

Concept of principles of criminally-legal responsibility

Any legal category is based on a number of initial provisions, which are fixed in the current regulatory framework. In this case, we are talking about a category such as the principles of criminal responsibility of the Russian Federation. However, a logical question arises about what the principles are. This term characterizes the fundamental ideas that form the basis of the entire institution and the mechanism for its immediate implementation. At the same time, the principles of the criminal law (criminal responsibility) do not simply exist in legislative norms, but symbolize the guarantee of the systemic and correctness of the state reaction to the crimes committed.

Features of the principles

Given the above concepts, it can be argued that the principles of criminal responsibility of the Russian Federation have characteristic features. This proves the importance of the presented category in the system of legal regulation of a specific sphere. Thus, the principles of criminal liability are characterized by the following features:

1) The initial provisions were created with a view to framing the institution of criminal responsibility. In other words, they create a certain framework in which it is directly realized.

2) The principles of criminal liability are fixed at the legislative level, namely: in the key sectoral act, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This indicates the need for their compliance in the process of applying the institute described in the article.

3) Each principle is unique in its own essence. That is, their provisions define completely different components of the direction of criminal responsibility.

4) The basic ideas correspond to the trends of democracy and the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

5) The principles are endowed with specificity due to the peculiarities of the criminal branch of law to which they belong.

Principles of criminal liability of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

The current legislation of Russia lists all the basic ideas of the institute described in this article. Thus, the main principles of criminal liability include the following:

- legality;

- the principle of guilt;

- the principle of justice;

- the principle of humanism;

- the provision on the equality of all citizens without exception before the criminal law.

All the presented principles of criminal law and criminal responsibility play quite a significant role in the application of this institution to individuals. Therefore, their provisions need to be considered separately, in order to more fully understand the mechanism of state reaction to offenses of a socially dangerous nature.

Legality of responsibility (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

The implementation of any legal institution should take place within a strict regulatory framework. The general principles of criminal responsibility listed above fully prove this thesis. In this case, the initial position of the legality of the legal response to crimes is of great importance. The essence of this principle is that criminal liability can only be realized within the framework of the legal norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In this case, the seriousness of the crime does not play any part. Responsibility must be carried out in accordance with the norms of this legislative act.

Failure to comply with the principle of legality by representatives of state power in the process of implementing punishment for crimes leads to a lack of legitimacy in their actions. In some cases, this kind of "mistake" can become a real problem, which will not allow to bring a person to account for the acts committed by him. In addition, the legality is manifested in the fact that criminals can only be subjected to such punishments, which are directly enshrined in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Other measures of influence on them are not allowed.

The principle of the inevitability of criminal responsibility

Any act that falls within the normative framework of the criminal branch of law must comply with a number of specific requirements. If in actions of this or that person there are all elements of the composition of a socially dangerous act, then it is subject to criminal liability. At the same time, the principle of guilt or the inevitability of negative consequences is of great importance. Its presence testifies to the universality of the legal protection of the criminal nature of all, without exception, legal relations that arise today in society. That is, regardless of the circumstances, persons who commit criminal offenses will be punished.

But in this issue, competent work of law enforcement bodies is necessary. After all, their activities are aimed at proving guilt in certain situations. If the fact of the involvement of a particular person in a crime is not proved, then the principles of exemption from criminal liability will come into effect .

Equality of citizenship

Article 4 of the Criminal Code establishes a rule that no person has any advantages over criminal law. In this case, the principle of equality of citizens is manifested. The main feature is that criminal responsibility is realized primarily in the interests of society, that is, the population of the Russian Federation. At the same time, social origin, status, size of personal status, religion, race, color, etc., do not play any role.

In other words, in the case of a negative act, any person, regardless of his personal qualities, will answer on general grounds before the law. In addition, the principle of equality of citizens does not allow also to infringe certain social groups in their powers. It should be noted that the presented initial position plays a significant role, because it is a manifestation of the main constitutional principles and democratic tendencies of modern Russia.

The principle of fairness (personal responsibility)

In the process of administering justice, the issue is not only of its legitimacy, but also of justice. This feature is manifested in one of the principles of the current legislation. The fundamental idea about the fairness of criminal liability or the personal guilt of criminals lies in two key points:

- Punishment for a crime can be incurred only by the person who directly committed it. That is, to shift responsibility to other people is prohibited.

- The prosecution is allowed only on the basis of proven guilt and the relevant decision of the court. Some scholars singled out this thesis as a separate principle of the establishment of criminal liability in criminal law.

Failure to comply with the provision on fairness and personal guilt is a gross violation, since there is a great risk of bringing to justice a person who is not involved in the crime.

Humanism of criminal law relations

The democratism of social contacts in our state, as well as the penetration of certain European tendencies into the legislation, generates unique principles of its kind. One of these is humanism. Based on this category, many legal relationships are being built, including criminal liability. In this case, the humanism of the region mentioned in the article is manifested in two ways:

- Firstly, the criminal law provides protection of human fundamental freedoms, because each individual and his life are the highest state value.

- Secondly, it is necessary to treat humanely and criminals, because they are also people. At the same time, their rights may be restricted to a commensurate degree of the crime committed.

Conclusion

So, we tried to find out, by what principle the responsibility is determined by criminal law. In conclusion, it can be concluded that this institution of the relevant industry is implemented through a whole system of initial assumptions that ensure its legitimacy and humanity.