1. Threat of murder, harm to health, destruction or damage to property against a judge, juror or other person participating in the administration of justice, as well as their relatives in connection with the consideration of cases or materials in court -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to two years, or by imprisonment for a term of up to three years.
2. The same act committed against a prosecutor, investigator, person conducting an inquiry, defense lawyer, expert, specialist, employee of the enforcement authorities of the Russian Federation, as well as their relatives in connection with the conduct of a preliminary investigation, consideration of cases or materials in court or execution sentence, court decision or other judicial act, -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to two hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to eighteen months, or by forced labor for a term of up to two years, or by arrest for a term of three to six months, or by imprisonment for a term of up to two years. .
3. Acts provided for in parts one or two of this article, committed with the use of violence not dangerous to life or health, -
shall be punished by forced labor for a term of up to five years or imprisonment for the same term.
4. Acts provided for in parts one or two of this article, committed with the use of violence dangerous to life or health, -
shall be punishable by forced labor for a term of up to five years or imprisonment for a term of five to ten years.
Commentary to Art. 296 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
1. The criminal offense provided for by the commented article encroaches on two objects: relations that develop in the sphere of administration of justice and ensuring its goals and objectives, and relations that ensure the safety of persons participating in the administration of justice or contributing to the achievement of its goals and objectives, as well as their loved ones and their property.
2. For information on persons who can act as victims of crimes provided for in this article, see the commentary to Art. 295.
3. The objective side of the crimes provided for in the commented article involves the commission of actions of a threatening, intimidating nature, which can be expressed both orally and in writing, as well as in the form of demonstrative manipulations. Moreover, the threat can either be expressed directly to the person to whom it is addressed, or transmitted through other persons or posted in the media or on the Internet.
Liability under this article, in contrast to Art. 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, is punishable by threat not only of murder or causing grievous bodily harm, but also of causing any harm to health or destruction (damage) of the victim’s property. The threat of committing actions provided for in Art. 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not entail liability under the commented article.
4. Responsibility for a threat can only arise if at the time of its utterance there was a real possibility of its implementation and (or) that the victim perceived the threat as real. In this regard, uttering a threat against an indefinite number of persons (“anyone who will undertake the investigation or consideration of this criminal case”), and not a specific judge, investigator or investigator in whose proceedings the case is, does not entail liability under the commented article.
At the same time, if a threat is made against a certain judge or investigator not in connection with the proceedings on a specific case, but in order to impede his activities in considering or investigating any category of cases (for example, related to the suppression of drug trafficking), liability for this article is not excluded.
5. The corpus delicti is formulated as formal, i.e. as not presupposing as an obligatory sign the occurrence of consequences desirable for the perpetrator.
6. The crimes provided for in the commented article can only be committed with direct intent, presuming that the perpetrator is aware of the content of the threat, knows who its addressee is, and strives to achieve the result he desires in the form of one or another decision or action (inaction).
Responsibility for uttering a threat against a person named in parts 1 and 2 of the commented article also occurs in the case when the perpetrator of such a threat is guided by the motive of revenge for a decision already made or an action taken.
7. A qualifying and especially qualifying feature of the crimes provided for in parts 1 and 2 of the commented article is the use of violence, respectively, not dangerous to life or health or dangerous to life or health (parts 3 and 4).
8. Violence dangerous to life and health is understood as violence that results in serious harm to the health of the victim, moderate harm or light harm that causes short-term health problems or minor permanent loss of ability to work. Causing minor bodily injuries to the victim that did not result in a short-term health disorder or minor permanent loss of ability to work, as well as beating him or committing other violent acts that cause physical pain, restriction of freedom, etc., are regarded as violence that is not dangerous to life and health. .
9. If a threat against a judge, investigator or other person named in the commented article is intended to force him to make a particular decision or to commit a particular action (inaction), the responsibility of the perpetrator shall arise for the totality of crimes provided for Art. Art. 296 and 295 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Commentary on Article 297 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
The victim can be any person directly involved in the proceedings:
- juror;
- judge;
- plaintiff;
- defendant;
- victim;
- defendant;
- representatives of third parties;
- the third parties themselves;
- expert;
- prosecutor;
- defender;
- translator;
- witness.
The subjective side of the crime is provided in the form of disrespectful actions addressed in the form of insult to the persons participating in the proceedings.
Insults in this case are understood as disrespectful actions, expressions, gestures that are aimed at belittling the dignity of participants in the trial and reducing the position of the judiciary.
Insults must be made public. An offense can be committed not only in court, but also in any other place, even in a cafe, park, theater and more. The recognition of any actions as offensive to those participating in the proceedings in the courtroom takes into account the specificity of the case and the situation of the proceedings.
The differences between insult and slander are expressed in the fact that the greatness and reputation of a person is belittled by insults of a general nature, when slander is usually called the dissemination of incorrect or distorted information.
The crime is completed from the moment when the insult was publicly expressed towards the person taking part in the trial; it can occur either in the form of an oral, handwritten, or online statement.
The subject of this offense can only be a person whose age has reached 16 years.
If we look at the crime from the subjective side, then it is committed in the form of direct intent.
Judicial practice: sentences and punishment under Art. 296 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
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- Decision of the Supreme Court: Determination N 203-APU17-21... THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION Case No. 203-APU17-21 APPEAL DECISION Moscow August 31, 2022 Judicial Collegium for Military Personnel of the Supreme...
- Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated... PLENARY OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION DECISION of November 15, 2016 N 48 ON THE PRACTICE OF APPLICATION BY COURTS OF LEGISLATION GOVERNING FEATURES...
- Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated... PLENAUM OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION DECISION dated June 25, 2022 N 18 ON JUDICIAL PRACTICE IN CASES OF CRIMES,...
- Ruling of the ECtHR dated 02/14/2017 EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS THIRD SECTION CASE “MASLOVA VS. RUSSIAN FEDERATION” (Complaint No. 15980/12) JUDGMENT…
- Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated... PRESIDIUM OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION DECISION dated December 5, 2018 N 126-P18 ON RESUMING PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE DUE TO NEW...
- Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated... PLENAUM OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION DECISION dated December 17, 2022 N 43 ON SOME ISSUES OF JUDICIAL PRACTICE IN CASES...
- Decision of the Supreme Court: Resolution No. 310P13 dated... DECISION OF THE PRESIDIUM OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION Case No. 310-P13 Moscow January 23, 2014 Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation...
- Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases, appeal:... THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION Case No. 72-APU 17-21 APPEAL DECISION Moscow October 04, 2022 Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases...
- Decision of the Supreme Court: Determination No. 56-КГ16-46 dated... THE SUPREME COURT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION No. 56-КГ16-46 DETERMINATION Moscow March 6, 2017 Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases of the Supreme Court...
Commentary on Article 296 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
1. The object of a criminal attack is the safety of persons participating in the administration of justice or assisting it, as well as their loved ones as a condition for the proper administration of justice, preliminary investigation or execution of a judicial act.
The legislator names judges, jurors, other persons involved in the administration of justice, and their relatives as victims (Part 1); prosecutor, investigator, person conducting the inquiry, defense lawyer, expert, specialist, bailiff, bailiff, their relatives (Part 2).
2. The objective side of the crime involves the commission of actions of a threatening nature in relation to the listed persons.
3. For the concept of “threat”, see the commentary. to Art. 119. The content of the threat in relation to the comment. The article is broader and includes the threat of murder, causing harm to health of any severity, destruction or damage to property.
3.1. The circle of threat recipients is specific. Unlike Art. 119 in comments. The article does not directly call the presence of grounds to fear the threat will be carried out as a sign of a crime. However, even in this crime, the reality of the threat is mandatory. A threat that cannot be objectively perceived as feasible is not capable of causing harm to the safety of the subjects of the relevant activity.
3.2. Criminal liability for threats under Art. 296 is possible only on the condition that such actions are in connection with the consideration of cases and materials in court, the investigation of the case, or the execution of a judicial act (for the nature of this connection, see the commentary to Article 295).
4. The subject of a criminal offense is a sane individual who has reached the age of 16.
5. A crime can only be committed with direct intent. The subject realizes that he is committing actions of a threatening nature, understands what the content of this threat is and who is its addressee, and wants to commit such actions precisely in connection with the implementation of a certain type of activity by the victims or their relatives.
6. Qualified and especially qualified types of crime are its commission with the use of violence, respectively not dangerous and dangerous to the life or health of the persons specified in parts 1 and 2 of the comment. articles. The content of these concepts is identical to the content of violence in the elements of robbery and violent robbery (see commentary to Articles 162 and 161).
7. Comment. The article cannot be considered as special in relation to obstruction of justice or preliminary investigation, since prosecution under Art. 296 does not depend on what goal the threatening person is pursuing. Influence on administrators of justice and other persons specified in the law with the aim of inducing them to issue an illegal judicial act through a threat of relevant content must be qualified under the totality of Art. 294 and 296.
8. Acts provided for in Parts 1 and 3 are crimes of medium gravity, while those provided for in Part 2 are crimes of minor gravity. The acts enshrined in Part 4 are included in the category of serious crimes.
Part 2 art. 296 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
The same act committed against a prosecutor, investigator, person conducting an inquiry, defense attorney, expert, specialist, bailiff, bailiff, as well as their relatives in connection with the conduct of a preliminary investigation, consideration of cases or materials in court, or the execution of a sentence or decision court or other judicial act - is punishable by a fine in the amount of up to two hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to eighteen months, or by forced labor for a term of up to two years, or by arrest for a term of three to six months, or imprisonment for a term of up to two years.
