1. Depending on the nature and degree of public danger, the acts provided for by this Code are divided into crimes of minor gravity, crimes of medium gravity, serious crimes and especially serious crimes.
2. Crimes of minor gravity are recognized as intentional and careless acts, for the commission of which the maximum punishment provided for by this Code does not exceed three years of imprisonment.
3. Crimes of average gravity are recognized as intentional acts, for the commission of which the maximum penalty provided for by this Code does not exceed five years of imprisonment, and careless acts, for the commission of which the maximum penalty provided for by this Code does not exceed ten years of imprisonment.
4. Grave crimes are intentional acts, for the commission of which the maximum penalty provided for by this Code does not exceed ten years of imprisonment, and careless acts, for the commission of which the maximum penalty provided for by this Code does not exceed fifteen years of imprisonment.
5. Particularly serious crimes are intentional acts, the commission of which is punishable by this Code in the form of imprisonment for a term of more than ten years or a more severe punishment.
6. Taking into account the actual circumstances of the crime and the degree of its public danger, the court has the right, in the presence of mitigating circumstances and in the absence of aggravating circumstances, to change the category of the crime to a less serious one, but not more than one category of crime, provided that for committing the crime specified in part three of this article, the convicted person is sentenced to a sentence not exceeding three years of imprisonment, or another more lenient punishment; for committing a crime specified in part four of this article, the convicted person is sentenced to a punishment not exceeding five years of imprisonment, or another more lenient punishment; for committing a crime specified in part five of this article, the convicted person is sentenced to a punishment not exceeding seven years of imprisonment.
- Article 14. Concept of crime
- Article 16. Lost force
Categories of crimes depending on the nature and degree of public danger of the act
Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for four categories of crimes:
- minor crimes;
- crimes of moderate gravity;
- serious crimes;
- especially serious crimes.
The classification is based on the nature and degree of social danger of the act.
The nature of public danger depends primarily on the significance of the object of encroachment and is its qualitative characteristic.
For understanding, let’s compare violent and non-violent attacks on property.
Non-violent types of assault are provided for, for example, by Articles 158, 159, 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
For example, theft, that is, the secret theft of someone else's property, is punishable by imprisonment for up to 2 years (Part 1 of Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). A similar maximum penalty is provided for in Part 1 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for committing fraud, that is, theft of someone else’s property or acquiring the right to someone else’s property through deception or abuse of trust.
Committing robbery, that is, open theft of someone else's property, is already punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to four years.
Violent types of assault are provided for, for example, in Articles 161 and 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
So, for example, robbery (open theft of property) committed with the use of violence that is not dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of using such violence, is punishable by imprisonment for 7 years (Part 2 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Another example: robbery, that is, an attack for the purpose of stealing someone else’s property, committed with the use of violence dangerous to life or health, or with the threat of such violence, is punishable by imprisonment for up to 8 years (Part 1 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
It is obvious that non-violent attacks on property are less significant in terms of the nature of social danger than violent ones, since in the first case the criminal encroaches only on one group of social relations - property, while in the second case, the criminal encroaches on two groups of social relations (the health of the victim and his own). The sanctions for encroaching on two groups of relations at once are more severe, which seems logical.
The degree of public danger is considered a quantitative characteristic of the attack. It is influenced by the nature and magnitude of the damage (consequences), the form of guilt, the methods of committing the act, the stage of the crime, etc.
The degree of public danger of a crime is determined by the circumstances of the crime (for example, the degree of implementation of the criminal intent, the method of committing the crime, the amount of harm or the severity of the consequences, the role of the defendant in the commission of the crime as an accomplice).
Second commentary to Art. 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
1. The commented article establishes the classification (categorization) of crimes at the legislative level. Its main criterion is the nature and degree of public danger, and auxiliary importance is given to the form of guilt. According to these indicators, all crimes provided for by the Criminal Code are divided into crimes of minor gravity, crimes of medium gravity, serious crimes and especially serious crimes.
2. The court, taking into account the factual circumstances of the crime committed and the degree of its public danger, has the right to change the category of the crime to a less serious one, but not more than one, if the following conditions are met:
— the presence of mitigating circumstances and the absence of aggravating circumstances;
- the punishment imposed by the court for a crime of average gravity does not exceed three years of imprisonment, or is a more lenient type of punishment; for a serious crime - does not exceed five years of imprisonment, or is another milder type of punishment; for a particularly serious crime - does not exceed seven years of imprisonment.
3. The legislative classification of crimes is important for: determining the type of recidivism, the punishability of preparation for a crime, determining the criminal community, assigning the type of correctional institution and the regime of the correctional colony, etc.
Form of guilt, type and amount of punishment as criteria for distinguishing categories of crimes
In relation to each category of crime, there are two more criteria that make it possible to distinguish between categories of crimes: the form of guilt, the type and amount of punishment.
A crime of minor gravity is an intentional or careless act, for the commission of which the maximum punishment provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not exceed three years of imprisonment (Part 2 of Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This category includes, for example, crimes under Art. 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Beatings”, Part 1 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Theft”, Part 1 of Art. 260 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Illegal felling of forest plantations”, Part 1 of Art. 292 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Official forgery”, Part 1 of Art. 327 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Forgery, production or sale of counterfeit documents, state awards, stamps, seals, forms”, Part 2 of Art. 245 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Cruelty to animals”. Minor crimes can be either intentional or careless.
A crime of average gravity is an intentional act, for the commission of which the maximum penalty provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not exceed five years of imprisonment, and a careless act, for the commission of which the maximum penalty provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation exceeds three years of imprisonment (Part 3 of Article 15 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This category includes, for example, crimes provided for in Part 1 of Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Extortion”, Art. 106 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Murder of a newborn child by a mother”, Art. 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Incitement to suicide”, Part 1 of Art. 241 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Organization of prostitution.” Crimes of moderate gravity can be either intentional or careless.
A serious crime is an intentional act for which the maximum punishment provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not exceed ten years in prison (Part 4 of Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This category includes, for example, crimes provided for in Part 1 of Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Intentional infliction of grievous harm to health”, Part 1 of Art. 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Promotion of terrorist activities”; Part 1 Art. 206 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Hostage-taking”; Art. 300 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Illegal exemption from criminal liability.” To be considered a serious crime, it must only be intentional.
A particularly serious crime is an intentional act, for the commission of which the Criminal Code provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of over ten years or a more severe punishment (Part 5 of Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This category includes, for example, crimes under Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Murder”; part 2, 3 tbsp. 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Terrorist act”; Part 3 Art. 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Organization of a criminal community (criminal organization) or participation in it (it).” To recognize a crime as particularly serious, it must only be intentional.
To classify all four categories, one type of punishment was used - imprisonment. However, they can be distinguished by the size of the maximum punishment in the form of imprisonment provided for in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for the crime committed (precisely provided for in the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and not assigned for the committed act). Since the minimum amount of imprisonment is not specified in Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, in accordance with Art. 56 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it cannot be less than two months.
Attention!
Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), depending on the nature and degree of public danger of the act, defines four categories of crimes: crimes of minor gravity, crimes of moderate gravity, serious crimes and especially serious crimes.
According to the law, intentional and careless acts are recognized as crimes of minor gravity, the maximum punishment for which does not exceed three years of imprisonment.
Crimes of medium gravity are considered intentional acts, for which the maximum penalty does not exceed five years of imprisonment, and reckless crimes, for which the maximum penalty exceeds three years of imprisonment.
Serious crimes are intentional acts, the maximum punishment for which does not exceed ten years in prison.
Particularly serious crimes are intentional acts, the commission of which is punishable by more than ten years of imprisonment or a more severe punishment (life imprisonment).
The division of crimes into categories is associated with certain legal consequences that each of the categories entails, including these consequences affecting the recidivism of crimes, the type of correctional institution assigned, the solution of issues of release from punishment, the terms of expungement of a criminal record, and others.
In accordance with the requirements of Part 6 of Art. 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the court has the right, taking into account the actual circumstances of the crime and the degree of its public danger, in the presence of mitigating circumstances, and in the absence of aggravating circumstances, to change the category of the crime to a less serious one.
Provisions of Part 6 of Art. 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has long been used in practice.
Changing the category of crime to a less serious one improves the legal status of the convicted person, since it affects:
— designation of the type of correctional institution (Article 58 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation);
- assignment of punishment based on the totality of the crime (Article 69 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation);
- the assignment of a suspended sentence (clause “b” of Part 1 of Article 73 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the abolition or maintenance of a suspended sentence, affects the terms of expungement of a criminal record, and makes it possible to resolve other issues.
Thus, by changing the category of a crime from serious to medium gravity, the court has the right to impose punishment on a convicted person who has not previously served a sentence in a penal colony.
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation adopted Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on May 15, 2018 No. 10 “On the practice of application by courts of the provisions of Part 6 of Art. 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation." The Supreme Court indicated that if conditions are met, the court may decide to change the category of crime to a less serious one, by no more than one category.
The resolution also emphasized that the presence of one or more aggravating circumstances, in accordance with parts 1, 1.1 of Art. 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation excludes the possibility of changing the category of crime to a less serious one.
Changing the category of a crime to a less serious one does not affect the qualification of the crime for which the guilty person is convicted.
Make a decision on the application of Part 6 of Art. 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, not only the court of first instance, but also the appellate and cassation courts have the right.
How is the severity of a criminal act determined?
There is a certain gradation of such atrocities and it is based on the degree of severity of a particular action. If we talk about general features, they look like this:
- whether there is intent in the actions of the accused, or whether the crime was committed through negligence;
- the object of the crime was another citizen, officials or social system.
Taking into account these signs, it is possible to divide all offenses according to their degree of severity. There are the following types of acts of minor gravity:
- theft;
- making a transaction of an illegal nature;
- spreading slander;
- action of hackers that caused damage.
Offenses that do not have serious consequences cannot be considered criminal offenses. For example, various immoral acts may be regarded as criminal, or may also be considered disciplinary. In addition, there is a rule that if a person has committed an offense for the first time, then the guilty person is automatically released from criminal punishment. Usually such cases end in a fine.
Some examples of criminal offenses related to acts of minor gravity
So that readers can get an idea of such crimes, in addition to the listed actions, such as theft or slander, it is worth giving examples of actions that provide for capital punishment in this category of crimes:
- Death by negligence, in case of exceeding self-defense measures or when a criminal is detained by an official (Article 108 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
- Murder by negligence (Article 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
- Causing severe or moderate harm to health in a state of passion (Article 113 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
- Battery or violent acts that have minor health consequences (Article 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)
In each case, a criminal case is opened, but in the future, factors are considered that make it possible to reclassify a particular case as a crime of minor severity.
