At the moment, one of the central issues in criminal law remains the principle of guilt as a special principle of criminal law. There are a huge number of monographs on this topic, and in the scientific literature, authors are trying to understand it. However, complete agreement on this issue has not yet been achieved. Such discrepancies in the consideration of this principle often lead to a large number of judicial errors, which causes distrust of ordinary citizens in the state system. This article will cover what constitutes guilt and will also provide examples of the principles of guilt in criminal law.
A little about terminology
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Let us note that this topic is complex and controversial, since some discrepancies can be seen in the interpretations of experts. Before considering what constitutes the principle of guilt in criminal law, it is important to understand what legislators mean by the term “fault.” It is worth noting that throughout the existence of Russia, in different eras of its formation and development, there were different grounds for bringing people to criminal liability.
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Now criminal science has come to the realization that an act can be considered criminal only when it was committed consciously and in accordance with the will of the person who committed it. A criminal is vested with guilt only in cases where he could be aware of his actions and control his condition, and therefore it is impossible to convict an insane person. This has led to the fact that guilt has become one of the most important and necessary signs of the subjective side, a necessary part of the crime, without which criminal liability simply cannot occur.
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This term refers to the mental attitude of the person who directly committed the crime to the socially dangerous act he committed, regardless of its form (intention or inaction).
Determination of guilt
Russian criminal law allows a person to be held accountable for committing an act that poses a public danger only if there is evidence of guilt. This means that the offender commits the act knowingly and of his own free will. Actions that are committed reflexively, involuntarily, impulsively, with a lack of will and intellectual origin cannot be assessed from the point of view of criminal law.
Guilt is not a personality trait. It refers to an objectively existing fact, manifested among the objective signs of an act. Guilt requires establishment, knowledge and evaluation by the law enforcement officer.
The absence of guilt excludes the criminality of the act. The reason for this is the mandatory presence of this element to qualify the actions of the violator. Guilt is a mandatory sign of the subjective side and requires not only establishment, but also indisputable proof. In some cases, guilt may not be proven, but rather presumed.
The concept of guilt, studied in the science of criminal law, is understood as the mental attitude of the offender to the act he committed, which has a public danger and the consequences that this act entailed.
Guilt can be expressed in one of two forms: intent and negligence. In exceptional cases, the form of guilt may be mixed. For example, in relation to an act, a person’s guilt manifests itself in the form of intent, and in relation to the consequences – in the form of negligence.
The concept of principles in criminal law
To consider the principle of guilt in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, you must first find out what science means by this concept. As you might guess, this is a kind of beginning of the theory, its basis, which embodies the teaching and its essence. In any legal science you can easily find its basic principles, according to which the spirit and letter of the existing law are determined.
In criminal law, its principles are also incredibly important, since it is believed that only if they are observed can the goals be achieved. Despite the importance of the principles, they were enshrined in law relatively recently - their first appearances in legislative acts date back to 1991, and then they were transferred to the Criminal Code, adopted in 1996.
Types of principles
At the moment, the Criminal Code officially enshrines 5 principles of criminal law, which must be followed strictly. These include:
- The principle of legality.
- The principle of equality of citizens before the law.
- The principle of humanism.
- The principle of justice.
Of course, we should not forget about the main topic of this article - the principle of guilt. Let us repeat, it is enshrined in Article 5 of the Criminal Code.
general characteristics
For the first time, the development of the principle of guilt in criminal law began only at the end of the 18th century. It began to take hold in the laws of civilized countries much later and implied the personal nature of criminal liability and subjective imputation. At the moment, the law directly states that a person cannot be held accountable in cases where there was unknowing harm.
The consolidation of this principle in the legislation of the Russian Federation came from international law, since the principle of guilty responsibility was enshrined in one of the most famous documents - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted in 1948. In addition, it was also enshrined in a number of other important international covenants and conventions.
The principle of guilt in the Constitution
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Art. 328 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Evasion from military and alternative civil service One of the most famous doctrines used in Russian courts is the presumption of innocence. If we talk about it in simple language, then a person is considered innocent until his guilt is proven by a court in the manner established by law. The presumption of innocence is officially enshrined in Article 49 of the most important law of the country - the Constitution. In many ways, it is this provision that directly affects the principle of guilt enshrined in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Concept, content and forms of guilt. Subjective and objective imputation?
Answer: Guilt is an obligatory sign of the subjective side of a crime. Russian criminal law takes the position of subjective imputation, i.e. a person is subject to criminal liability only for those socially dangerous actions (inaction) and socially dangerous consequences for which his guilt has been established. Criminal liability for innocent causing of harm is not permitted.
There is no criminal liability for thoughts, dangerous conditions, convictions, or accidental causing of harm. Criminal law, unlike morality and religion, protects society from attacks in the form of actions (inaction), but not from moods, thoughts, and beliefs.
Guilt is a person’s mental attitude towards the socially dangerous action (inaction) he commits and its consequences.
It includes:
– intellectual signs – reflect the cognitive processes occurring in the psyche of a person. It is the thinking-based ability of a person to understand both the factual features of the situation in which he finds himself and the consequences of his behavior in this situation, as well as their social meaning;
– volitional signs – conscious direction of mental and physical efforts to make a decision, achieve goals, refrain from action, choose and implement a certain behavior option;
– emotional (sensual) signs. Intellectual and volitional characteristics are taken into account by the legislator when determining intent and negligence as forms of guilt. Emotional signs are not included in these concepts, however, they also play a certain role and are taken into account in the process of law enforcement practice as circumstances taken into account by the court in the process of individualizing punishment.
Guilt content:
– this is a category to designate the subjective reality that took place during the preparation or direct execution of the unlawful act;
– this is a connection in the form of a mental relationship;
- this is an attitude towards people, society, its values and ideals, objects of the outside world and one’s interests. All this forms and predetermines the content of guilt, that is, the content of intellectual, volitional and emotional mental processes, with the help of which outwardly similar, but socially different actions and their consequences are distinguished. Guilt is not any mental attitude, but only an attitude in a certain form:
- in the form of intent;
- in the form of negligence.
The content of most forms and types of guilt is also manifested in foreseeing the consequences of an act, that is, awareness of the prospects, possible results and product of one’s actions.
Meaning of guilt:
1) guilt is a subjective basis of criminal liability as a mandatory element of a crime;
2) guilt, its forms, motives and purpose make it possible to distinguish between many crimes that are similar in objective characteristics;
3) guilt is important for establishing the nature and degree of public danger of the crime and the criminal, influencing the qualifications and determining the degree of responsibility and punishment for the act.
Objective imputation is bringing a person to criminal responsibility without establishing his guilt. Objective imputation can consist of both bringing to criminal responsibility for the accidental consequences of a person’s actions, and bringing to justice persons whose actions are not at all causally related to the harm caused, but whose punishment for some reason seems appropriate.
Objective imputation is criminal liability for innocent harm. According to Part 2 of Art. 5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, objective imputation under Russian criminal law is not allowed. In modern Russian criminal law, the principle of subjective imputation applies (Part 1 of Article 5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), according to which a person is subject to criminal liability only for those socially dangerous actions (inaction) and socially dangerous consequences that have occurred for which his guilt has been established.
Subjective imputation is a principle of criminal law, the content of which is that only those circumstances of the act that were realized by the person who committed the act are legally significant and capable of entailing the application of penalties.
Answer: Guilt is an obligatory sign of the subjective side of a crime. Russian criminal law takes the position of subjective imputation, i.e. a person is subject to criminal liability only for those socially dangerous actions (inaction) and socially dangerous consequences for which his guilt has been established. Criminal liability for innocent causing of harm is not permitted.
There is no criminal liability for thoughts, dangerous conditions, convictions, or accidental causing of harm. Criminal law, unlike morality and religion, protects society from attacks in the form of actions (inaction), but not from moods, thoughts, and beliefs.
Guilt is a person’s mental attitude towards the socially dangerous action (inaction) he commits and its consequences.
It includes:
– intellectual signs – reflect the cognitive processes occurring in the psyche of a person. It is the thinking-based ability of a person to understand both the factual features of the situation in which he finds himself and the consequences of his behavior in this situation, as well as their social meaning;
– volitional signs – conscious direction of mental and physical efforts to make a decision, achieve goals, refrain from action, choose and implement a certain behavior option;
– emotional (sensual) signs. Intellectual and volitional characteristics are taken into account by the legislator when determining intent and negligence as forms of guilt. Emotional signs are not included in these concepts, however, they also play a certain role and are taken into account in the process of law enforcement practice as circumstances taken into account by the court in the process of individualizing punishment.
Guilt content:
– this is a category to designate the subjective reality that took place during the preparation or direct execution of the unlawful act;
– this is a connection in the form of a mental relationship;
- this is an attitude towards people, society, its values and ideals, objects of the outside world and one’s interests. All this forms and predetermines the content of guilt, that is, the content of intellectual, volitional and emotional mental processes, with the help of which outwardly similar, but socially different actions and their consequences are distinguished. Guilt is not any mental attitude, but only an attitude in a certain form:
- in the form of intent;
- in the form of negligence.
The content of most forms and types of guilt is also manifested in foreseeing the consequences of an act, that is, awareness of the prospects, possible results and product of one’s actions.
Meaning of guilt:
1) guilt is a subjective basis of criminal liability as a mandatory element of a crime;
2) guilt, its forms, motives and purpose make it possible to distinguish between many crimes that are similar in objective characteristics;
3) guilt is important for establishing the nature and degree of public danger of the crime and the criminal, influencing the qualifications and determining the degree of responsibility and punishment for the act.
Objective imputation is bringing a person to criminal responsibility without establishing his guilt. Objective imputation can consist of both bringing to criminal responsibility for the accidental consequences of a person’s actions, and bringing to justice persons whose actions are not at all causally related to the harm caused, but whose punishment for some reason seems appropriate.
Objective imputation is criminal liability for innocent harm. According to Part 2 of Art. 5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, objective imputation under Russian criminal law is not allowed. In modern Russian criminal law, the principle of subjective imputation applies (Part 1 of Article 5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), according to which a person is subject to criminal liability only for those socially dangerous actions (inaction) and socially dangerous consequences that have occurred for which his guilt has been established.
Subjective imputation is a principle of criminal law, the content of which is that only those circumstances of the act that were realized by the person who committed the act are legally significant and capable of entailing the application of penalties.
Historical reference
To understand how the principle in question operates now, we should delve a little deeper into history. In Russia, the path to the formation of the principle of guilt was very long and controversial, which led to so many views on it at the present time.
Until the beginning of the 18th century, a religious theory reigned in the Russian Empire, according to which guilt was considered more of a theological concept of sin, its individualization. This significantly influenced the criminal legislation of that era. Only in the 18th century in Italy, Beccaria was the first to try to justify guilt, saying that harm is the only sign by which a crime can be determined. Later, the famous philosophers Kant and Hegel tried to substantiate his theory, who began to consider guilt itself from the standpoint of “free will.” It was Hegel’s point of view that was chosen by the founder of Russian criminology, Baryshev. It became entrenched in the country’s criminal legislation for a long time, although the concept of guilt in the world history of criminal law continued to actively develop.
Soviet period
Such a system was destroyed only after the October Revolution, when in Soviet criminal law many teachings that were used during the empire simply turned out to be unclaimed. New interest in the topic of guilt began to develop only in the post-war period, when the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, adopted in 1960, enshrined the principles of culpable liability, and also provided formulas for the concepts of intent and negligence. After this, legal scholars gradually began to develop this theory and concretize it. The main ideas that were developed at that time are reflected in the Criminal Code that exists in our time.
Content
Now let's move directly to the consideration of the content of the principle of guilt in criminal law. As the Constitution of the country states, criminal liability can occur only when there is guilt of the person who committed the crime. In addition, according to the presumption of innocence, a person is initially considered innocent until proven guilty by a court verdict. Based on this, one can easily understand that one of the mandatory signs of a crime, its psychological component, is guilt.
Article 5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation directly states that the principle of guilt as a principle of criminal law means that a person can be held criminally liable only in cases where his actions or inaction led to dangerous consequences for which his guilt was proven. This formulation separated criminal law from morality and religion, which prohibit even thinking about committing assaults, forcing punishment only in cases where the actions were committed.
A crime committed out of frivolity
What does it mean that a crime was committed frivolously? A crime is considered to be committed due to frivolity if a person foresaw the possibility of socially dangerous consequences of his actions (inaction), but without sufficient grounds, he arrogantly hoped to prevent these consequences. Negligence in criminal law is understood as a case when a person did not foresee the possibility of socially dangerous consequences of his actions (inaction), although with the necessary care and forethought he should and could have foreseen these consequences. The presence of direct intent can be discussed in the case when the person brought to criminal liability in one form or another was aware of the social danger of his actions (inaction), foresaw the possibility or inevitability of the occurrence of socially dangerous consequences and desired their occurrence. Indirect intent can be recognized as a situation where the person held accountable was aware of the social danger of his actions (inaction), foresaw the possibility of socially dangerous consequences, did not want to, but consciously allowed these consequences or was indifferent to them. The presence or absence of one or another form of guilt, its proof plays a decisive role in making decisions in criminal cases. In this regard, understanding the terms and concepts used in criminal law is necessary for the effective defense of the accused, defendant, or suspect. Contact professional and experienced lawyers, they will always help you understand the theoretical and practical issues of jurisprudence. It is best to contact professional lawyers; having the status of a lawyer is a guarantee of professionalism.
Criminal lawyer Maxim Shemetov.
Chapter 5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
If in Article 5 of the Code only a definition of the principle of guilt was given, then guilt itself is disclosed in more detail in Chapter 5 of this law, namely:
- In article 24, where its forms are considered.
- In articles 25 and 26, which deal with cases where the crime was committed intentionally or through negligence.
- Article 27 talks about liability for committing an unlawful act with two forms of guilt.
- In article 28 about innocent causing of harm.
It is worth noting that in the Criminal Code there is not a single fixed term “guilt” or “guilt,” which often leads to confusion during the consideration of the case, since there is no unambiguous understanding. And the very concept of the principle is also explained quite vaguely, which has led to the fact that the principles of guilt and subjective imputation are often confused with each other.
Causing harm through negligence
Negligence, as a type of careless form of guilt, can be characterized by negative or positive signs.
A negative characteristic is the person’s failure to foresee the consequences that occurred as a result of actions the illegality of which was not realized by the offender. We are talking about events in which a person understood that he was violating the rules provided for by law, but did not expect the consequences to occur, as well as those cases when a person was not aware of the fact of violating the rules, or did not have volitional control due to his own fault.
A positive sign is the opportunity and obligation to show attentiveness, forethought, and anticipate the onset of consequences that pose a public danger. This intellectual moment gives negligence the characteristics of criminal liability.
Negligence, which is a type of guilt due to negligence, has certain similarities with frivolity, which is expressed in the ability to foresee consequences that, for a number of reasons, were not foreseen by the person.
Subjective side
As mentioned earlier, guilt is a mandatory feature of the subjective side of a crime (as well as purpose and motive). Thus, no matter how dire the consequences are, a person cannot be criminally liable for them unless proven guilty. Therefore, any criminally punishable socially dangerous act only leads to conviction when a person committed it guilty. Any objective imputation for him is absolutely excluded. One example of the principle of guilt in action is the reversal of a conviction and the termination of proceedings on it in cases where it has been proven that the person was not guilty of committing it.
Based on all this, it can be assumed that in order to commit a crime, a person needs a free choice to commit this socially dangerous act. Therefore, incompetent persons or children who have not reached the age of criminal responsibility cannot be punished, because they cannot understand and adequately evaluate their actions. If it is proven that the act was not a person’s fault, then his behavior is not even recognized as socially dangerous, but only objectively harmful, since there was simply no conscious choice in the antisocial form of behavior. In general, for this principle to work, it is required that a person has a negative attitude towards the values existing in society and has a desire to violate the foundations.
Forms of guilt
Guilt is a mandatory feature that characterizes the subjective side of the crime. It can manifest itself in a deliberate form, in the form of negligence.
The intent inherent in guilt must have intellectual characteristics that characterize the awareness of the act, as well as will, meaning the person’s intention to achieve specific consequences. Volitional content is inherent in a crime with a material composition.
The form of direct intent indicates the offender’s awareness of the social danger of the act, the anticipation or inevitability of the consequences and the desire for their occurrence.
The form of indirect intent speaks of awareness of the social danger of an act, anticipation of a dangerous consequence, in the absence of desire, but showing indifference to the possibility of their occurrence.
Carelessness can manifest itself in the form of criminal recklessness or criminal negligence.
Frivolity should be understood as foresight of consequences associated with arrogance to avoid or prevent them.
