Article 87. Criminal liability of minors

New edition of Art. 87 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

1. Persons who at the time of committing a crime were fourteen years old, but not eighteen years old, are recognized as minors.

2. Compulsory educational measures may be applied to minors who have committed crimes or they may be sentenced, and if released from punishment by the court, they may also be placed in a special closed educational institution.

Commentary on Article 87 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

1. Provisions of Ch. 14 of the Criminal Code apply to minors aged 14 to 18 years. In exceptional cases, according to Art. 96 of the Criminal Code, the court, taking into account the nature of the committed act and the identity of the perpetrator, can apply the provisions of this chapter to persons who committed crimes between the ages of 18 and 20 (except for placing them in a special closed educational institution of an educational authority or an educational colony).

It should also be borne in mind that if a person committed a crime as a minor, but at the time of sentencing reached the age of 18, then he is subject to Ch. 14 of the Criminal Code does not apply in full. Yes, it is unacceptable:

— collect a fine from the parents or other legal representatives of the convicted person with their consent;

- place the convicted person in an educational colony;

- apply coercive educational measures to him;

- place him in a special closed educational institution of the educational authority.

2. Compulsory educational measures, like other measures of a criminal legal nature, can be applied to a limited circle of persons, namely only to minors who have committed a crime. When exempting from punishment only in relation to this category of persons, it is permissible to decide on the possibility of their placement in a special closed educational institution of the educational management body.

Problems of criminal liability of minors

Today, the position in relation to a minor who has committed a crime is such that criminal policy in this regard has a dual content: on the one hand, the state accuses the minor of illegal actions and does everything possible to ensure that the perpetrator is convicted, and at the same time the state protects the minor. Thus, a balance is ensured between the interests of the state and the juvenile offender, with a slight advantage in favor of the latter. At the moment, this rule is not always observed in criminal law.

Today, the state is trying in every possible way to protect juvenile criminals from punishment for the atrocities they have committed, creating laws that create loopholes for juvenile criminals to avoid any sanctions against them. This ongoing policy on the part of the state is incorrect, since it leads to the fact that many minors who have committed crimes thanks to such laws remain unpunished and this pushes others to think such thoughts as: “If he did not suffer any punishment, then most likely I will be able to avoid him,” which leads to the repeated commission of this crime and as a result of which a minor who has committed the same crime under the same conditions will be able to get out of this situation with impunity. And in some cases, the guilt of a minor passes to another person responsible for him (guardianship authorities, parents). As a result, the state releases criminals with its own hands, relying on its own laws, thus exposing citizens to danger.

This article cannot analyze all the disadvantages and advantages of the provisions of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation used in relation to a minor. Therefore, we will consider only a few of them.

1. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Part 1, Article 88, approves the list of punishments applicable to a minor. The established list is complete. At the same time, a study of other norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation makes it possible to question the correctness of this conclusion.

Article 87 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation focuses on the age of the person who committed the crime, thus, depending on the age, one or another preventive measure will be applied. If the crime was committed at a time when the responsible person was not 18, but by the time the verdict was rendered he had turned 18, then in this case measures may be taken against the responsible person in accordance with Article 88 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The above suggests that the list of punishments in Part 1 of Article 88 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation must be expanded and include restriction of freedom. This expansion will make it possible to more carefully and in detail consider crimes committed by persons under the age of 18 and thereby apply certain sanctions to them depending on the severity of the crime committed. This will improve the system of criminal legal regulation and ensure its quality use. We can also conclude that in this system there is uncertainty regarding children under 18 years of age, since in the above articles there is a division into age categories. So, if a child is under 18 years of age at the time of committing an unlawful act and is convicted before turning eighteen, the responsible person will receive a less severe punishment than if he had turned eighteen at the time the decision on the case was made.

2. One of the compulsory measures is a preventive measure. This measure is the easiest and is prescribed individually for each person. A warning does not limit the rights and does not have control over a minor. Based on the above, the individual use of a preventive measure is typical for such cases when a crime of minor gravity was committed for the first time. It is necessary to make these amendments to the Criminal Code.

3. In view of the direct provisions of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, transfer to the supervision of parents or other persons, to the same extent as a warning, are not interrelated with restrictions on the rights of a minor. The free use of transfer under supervision affects the rights only of those persons who are responsible for monitoring the behavior of persons under the age of eighteen.

Nowadays, children under 18 often do not think about the consequences that may occur after committing any actions, which often leads to disastrous consequences. Unfortunately, in our time this problem occurs. Today, every third child from a young age gets everything he wants, because of this he develops delusions of grandeur, and he begins to consider himself superior to others, which leads to conflict situations and pushes the child to act outside the law. Another serious problem in our time is that children are highly susceptible to the influence of adults, and if the parents in the family treat the child poorly, periodically beat him, scold him, force him to do what he does not want, then the child remembers all this in the future commits acts unacceptable to society. From the above, we can conclude that a large role in the development of a child’s personality is played by his parents, who have been raising him for many years. If a child lives in a bad family, then with a high probability he will become a criminal in the future.

4. The list of measures that can be applied to a minor is not complete and therefore it is necessary to expand it. The unacceptability of the similarity of the criminal law provides for both a prohibition on the classification of a committed offense on the basis of a law that does not have its characteristics, and an obligation to formulate criminal legal consequences.

In cases where certain circumstances mitigate the responsibility of the guilty minor rather than increase it, an expanded interpretation of the rules of criminal law may be applied.

A free range of restrictions can transform educational measures against a minor into punishment; these actions are unacceptable, therefore it is necessary to define this list of measures at the legislative level.

5. Another shortcoming in criminal law in relation to a minor who has committed actions prohibited by law is Part 2 of Article 88 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which states that relatives, at their discretion with the permission of the court, have the right to pay a monetary penalty for the crime committed. This article denies the principle of personal, personal responsibility, since each person must be responsible for his own actions, regardless of his age, despite the fact that parents are responsible for their children, and also according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, personal responsibility begins at the age of fourteen. Since in this case the responsible person will remain unpunished, and other persons will bear his punishment. Also in this case, there is uncertainty about who is guilty and what the consequences of this action will be in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to change this paragraph of the article and apply alternative sanctions to a minor as punishment, or completely exclude this paragraph from the article.

6. Also, Part 2 of Article 92 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is not thoroughly checked, as this article states that a minor who has committed an act of moderate gravity can be exempted from criminal liability and placed in a special closed educational institution. This article allows any person under the age of eighteen who has committed a crime of average gravity to escape punishment. This possibility is unacceptable because, in essence, it blurs the line between humanity and permissiveness. In the event that no sanctions are applied to the perpetrator for the crime committed, these actions can be qualified as a deliberate release of the perpetrator from punishment, despite the fact that the perpetrator will be in a special institution. This is unacceptable from a legal point of view, since every person must be held accountable for the committed crime, regardless of age category.

M.I. Kovalev said in his works: “The more dangerous the crime was committed, the less it is necessary to pay attention to the personality traits of the criminal” since persons under the age of eighteen are in adolescence and their character often changes and it is impossible to predict what their intentions are. Today he can be an ordinary teenager who lives and does not think about anything bad, but tomorrow he will become a criminal, having been subjected to bad influence from other people, or simply not thinking about the consequences, he will commit a crime. From the above, we can say that only in the presence of certain circumstances that reduce the social danger to surrounding people can a minor who has committed a crime of average gravity be released from punishment. Such circumstances include:

1. Involvement in the commission of a crime of a person under the age of eighteen by another person;
2. Playing the role of an accomplice

Having analyzed the above, we can conclude that at the moment the justice system for minors who have committed atrocities, like any other system, is imperfect and therefore requires constant improvements and improvements. Since there is a visible tendency that the state is trying to a small extent to exempt minors from punishment for the crimes they have committed, which is unacceptable, since every citizen of the Russian Federation must be responsible for their actions according to the law. And the current system of punishments tries in different ways to reduce, and in some cases remove, the guilt from a minor. Therefore, it is necessary to finalize that part of the Criminal Code that is related to crimes committed by a minor in order to establish justice.

Another commentary on Article 87 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

1. The state’s great attention to teenagers and the prevention of crime among them is evidenced by the allocation of an independent section V (Chapter 14 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), dedicated to the peculiarities of criminal liability and punishment of minors. The legislator proceeds from the fact that they are persons who at the time of committing the crime were 14 years old, but not 18 years old. Minors who have reached this age have a clear understanding of the social danger and criminal liability of the corresponding criminal acts.

2. General issues of criminal liability, including those extending to minors, are regulated by other chapters of the General Part of the new Criminal Code. Yes, Art. 20 establishes the general (16 years) and special (14 years) age of criminal responsibility. At the same time, the age of the person who committed the crime is established in accordance with the requirements of criminal procedural law and the explanations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, given in the Resolution of 01.02.2011 “On the judicial practice of applying legislation regulating the specifics of criminal liability and punishment of minors.”

3. If there is evidence of mental retardation in minors, the courts, in accordance with the requirements of the criminal procedure law, must find out its degree, whether the teenager could realize the significance of his actions and to what extent he could control them. If necessary, an examination should be carried out by specialists in the field of child and youth psychology (psychologists, teachers); relevant questions can be put to the permission of an expert psychiatrist.

4. Depending on the nature and degree of public danger of the crime committed, the court in accordance with Part 2 of Art. 87 of the Criminal Code can apply not only punishment to a minor, but also compulsory educational measures.

Statute of limitations for crimes committed by minors

Speaking about the statute of limitations provided for in Articles 78 and 83 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it should be noted that for minors they are:

• 12 months – if the child has committed a minor crime;
• 3 years – for committing a crime of medium gravity;
• 5 years – for committing a serious crime;
• 7.5 years – for a particularly serious crime.

Question: A minor driving: what punishment does he face?

Answer: Such a person will bear administrative liability in accordance with Art. 12.7 part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The sanction of the article provides for the imposition of a fine on the perpetrator in the amount of 5-15 thousand rubles. If an adult organized the transfer of the steering wheel to a minor, then he will also be punished - he will pay a fine of up to 30 thousand rubles. If a child was driving a car while drunk, then he or she may additionally be registered with a narcologist.

Question: What punishment will a minor suffer for theft?

Answer: The penalty depends on the value of the stolen goods or thing, as well as the circumstances under which the theft occurred. Punishment for a minor may consist of collecting money from him or his parents, in the form of compulsory, corrective labor or imprisonment. In practice, a minor often pays a fine - if he works or his parents pay money for him.

Read also:  The elements of the crime, qualifying features and types of human trafficking

Bringing persons under 18 years of age to justice for criminal offenses

According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, prosecution of minors is carried out according to the same scheme as adults, only with some significant features:

1. Criminal cases involving minors must be considered with the participation of a lawyer. Moreover, according to Article 51 Part 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, a lawyer is invited even in cases where the accused does not require it.
2. Criminal proceedings in cases of minors are carried out with the participation of the legal representatives of the accused. The latter may be parents, guardians, adoptive parents and other persons described in Article 48 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.
3. The interrogation of perpetrators under the age of 16 must be carried out exclusively in the presence of a teacher or psychologist. At the same time, for developmentally delayed minors, there are special conditions described in Article 425 Part 3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, thanks to which the presence of a psychologist and teacher is mandatory, even if the teenager is 16 years old.
4. Interrogation of minors is carried out for no more than two hours at a time and no more than four hours a day. This norm for adult suspects is twice as high.
5. Detention of teenagers is possible only if they are suspected of committing a serious or especially serious crime. In all other situations, isolation from society is carried out only as an exceptional measure.
6. When sentencing, the defendant’s young age is a mitigating circumstance.
7. The restriction of freedom of a teenager should not exceed two years.
8. The maximum prison term for teenagers between 14 and 16 years old is six years. The only exceptions are particularly serious crimes.

Important! A complete list of features of detention and bringing minors to criminal liability is set out in Article 108, Part 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

During a court hearing on juvenile cases, government officials must pay attention to:

• intellectual and physical development of a teenager;
• a person’s ability to adequately assess the consequences of his actions;
• conditions for raising a juvenile offender;
• correspondence of mental development to age.

Age of criminal responsibility

Criminal liability for teenagers begins from the moment they receive a passport, namely from the age of 14. At the same time, the list of crimes for which fourteen-year-olds are convicted is limited:

Note! Monetary penalties from minors are imposed by the court even if the offender has no official income. At the same time, contrary to popular belief, parents are not required to pay the fines of a juvenile offender.

In conclusion: what are the features of the responsibility of minors?

Expert opinion Konstantin Viktorovich Area of ​​scientific interests: civil law, family law, consumer protection, criminal law, inheritance law

Adolescents under eighteen years of age have the right to receive relief in terms of sentencing for criminal offenses.

Thus, when committing serious offenses, persons under the age of 18 receive a maximum of 10 years in prison. Moreover, for minors there are certain preferences that allow them to completely avoid punishment for a crime of minor or moderate gravity.

Sources

• https://myjus.ru/criminal-law/ugolovnaya-otvetstvennost-nesovershennoletnix/
• https://RuLaws.ru/uk/Razdel-V/Glava-14/Statya-87/
• https://ug-ur.com/nakazanie/nesovershennoletnih
• https://yurist-rossiya.ru/ugolovnoe-pravo/ugolovnaya-nesovershennoletnix.html
• https://pravo.team/uk-i-koap/ugolovnyj-kodeks/otvetstvennost-nesoversennoletnih.html
• https://ugolovnoe.com/otvetstvennost/nesovershennoletnie/vidy-nakazaniy
• https://ugolovnyi-expert.com/naznachenie-nakazaniya-nesovershennoletnim/

Exemption from liability: features and conditions

The use of educational measures described in Articles 90, 91 and 92 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is one of the methods of replacing criminal punishment for minors. Teenagers who have committed crimes of up to moderate severity have the opportunity to evade responsibility by replacing it with:

• warning or reprimand;
• restriction of movement;
• compensation for financial damage;
• transfer of the offender to parental supervision.

For teenagers who have committed serious offenses, it is possible to be released from prison with placement in a closed special institution. However, on the basis of Article 92 Part 5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, teenagers will not be able to avoid imprisonment if they have committed:

• torture;
• robbery;
• causing serious harm to health.

The circumstances under which the court will issue a mitigating verdict to a minor are presented:

• the harmful influence of relatives or parents;
• provoking a teenager to commit a crime on the part of relatives;
• committing a minor or medium-sized crime for the first time.

Important! Relaxations for adults also apply to parole. Thus, when committing serious crimes, teenagers only need to serve a third of their sentence to apply for parole. By comparison, adult offenders must serve half their prison sentence to be released early.

Arbitrage practice

Situation 1 .
For 3 months, a group of minors (they were 17 years old) carried out the illegal sale of narcotic drugs (marijuana and hashish) on the territory of the Russian Federation. Juvenile offenders were sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 6 years. Situation 2 . In February 2022, the police duty station of the Volgograd region received a message that an explosive device had been planted in one of the schools. Police officers and representatives of emergency services arrived at the scene. But it turned out that it was a false call. The suspect was soon identified as a 15-year-old teenager from the same school. A criminal case was initiated against the minor under Art. 207 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “False report of an act of terrorism.” The teenager was sentenced to 3 years in prison, and his parents were ordered to compensate the losses caused to the state for calling emergency services to a false incident.

Situation 3 . A seventeen-year-old teenager tricked his peer, who was his ex-girlfriend, and then brutally beat her and stabbed her several dozen times. Initially, the teenager was placed under house arrest. However, the regional court of the Moscow region overturned this decision. Then a series of examinations were carried out regarding the teenager’s sanity. It turned out that he is quite sane, so he can be responsible for his actions. The teenager was found guilty of committing a crime under Art. 105 part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and imposed a sentence of imprisonment for a period of 9 years in an educational colony.

Situation 4 . In Moscow, a black SUV driven by a 17-year-old teenager rammed another car moving towards him. Two passengers of the rammed car died on the spot. A sentence was passed against the minor motorist, who caused the accident: to find the teenager guilty of committing a crime under Part 5 of Art. 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentence him to imprisonment for a period of 4.5 years, serving the sentence in a probationary colony, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to driving vehicles for a period of 3 years.

Situation 5 . The Moscow District Court sentenced two 17-year-old teenagers to suspended sentences of 1 year in prison. The guys committed theft of someone else's property. They entered houses when the owners were at work and stole their property.

Juveniles who commit crimes are held accountable from the age of 16, and in some cases even from the age of 14.

The punishment for such offenders is mitigated due to their age. An alternative to imprisonment is the placement of a minor offender in an educational institution.

Often in Russia, teenagers commit crimes of moderate gravity, for which a fine is provided . It can be paid by both the perpetrators themselves and their parents. The maximum penalty for teenagers cannot exceed 10 years in prison.

In what cases is a reprieve given?

Deferred sentences allow criminals to postpone their sentence to a later date or avoid punishment altogether. The following have the right to apply for a deferment:

• pregnant women, including minors;
• mothers raising children under 14 years of age;
• single fathers raising children under 14 years of age;
• persons addicted to drugs.

The deferment periods for each category are:

• drug addicts - until the end of the rehabilitation period, but not more than 5 years;
• persons raising small children - until the child reaches the age of fourteen.

Providing a reprieve for criminals due to the presence of serious illnesses is not provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and is a myth.

A deferment for all of the above categories of accused is issued only in the absence of the following factors:

• punishment in the form of restriction of freedom;
• committing serious crimes;
• committing crimes against the sexual integrity of children under 14 years of age;
• conviction for committing a terrorist attack or calling for terrorist activities.