Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the latest edition:
Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Intentional infliction of minor bodily harm
1. Intentional infliction of slight harm to health, causing short-term health disorder or minor permanent loss of general ability to work, -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to forty thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to three months, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred eighty hours, or by corrective labor for a term of up to one year, or by arrest for a term of up to four months.
2. The same act committed:
a) for hooligan reasons;
b) for reasons of political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or for reasons of hatred or enmity towards any social group;
c) using weapons or objects used as weapons;
d) in relation to a person or his relatives in connection with the performance of official activities by this person or the performance of public duty, -
shall be punishable by compulsory labor for a term of up to three hundred sixty hours, or correctional labor for a term of up to one year, or restriction of liberty for a term of up to two years, or forced labor for a term of up to two years, or arrest for a term of up to six months, or imprisonment for a term of up to two years.
Return to the table of contents of the document: Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the latest edition
Lawyer under Art. 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Intentional infliction of minor harm to health
A person’s life largely depends on the state of his health, therefore the value of health is enshrined at the legislative level and is reflected in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
A significant part of crimes against health is the commission of intentional infliction of minor harm to health.
When defending such cases, a lawyer must have knowledge of the tactics and methods of investigating these crimes, the types of examinations used to establish the truth in the case, when determining the line of defense, and take into account the state of health of the victim.
Taking into account the specifics of bodily injuries and the circumstances of the case, the lawyer can file requests for additional, comprehensive and commission examinations, try to prove that the harm to health was not caused intentionally, or was not caused by the client, including as a result of necessary defense, which excludes onset of criminal liability.
Having extensive experience in law enforcement agencies and the legal profession, I have accumulated significant experience in providing legal assistance to persons brought to criminal liability for intentionally causing minor bodily harm to victims of such acts.
Procedure for bringing to responsibility
In order to bring the offender to justice, you must write a statement to the police. Anonymous requests are not taken into account. If you cannot submit a written statement yourself, it can be oral. The law enforcement officer himself will draw up an appeal from your words, and you just sign it. After registering the application, you will be notified within 30 days whether a criminal case will be initiated regarding your matter or not. A copy of the medical examination must be attached to the application. It is necessary to visit a doctor before going to the police.
If a person is admitted to a hospital with a stab wound, hospital staff are required to notify law enforcement if there are moderate or severe injuries. Crimes against life and health are matters of public prosecution and do not require the consent of the victim.
The application is submitted in accordance with Article 141 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. You can ask the police for a sample application or use the following writing structure:
- The name of the police chief of the department where your application will be processed.
- Your personal information and contacts.
- Document's name.
- Main text. Here it is necessary to indicate a request, for example, I ask that a specific citizen who struck with a knife or an unknown subject be held accountable. All circumstances of the incident are described - date, place, time, nature of injuries received, etc.
- Date of application and signature.
If a criminal case has been initiated for causing moderate injuries, the plaintiff cannot withdraw the statement, even after reconciling with the offender. In any case, the latter will be punished for what he did. The judge may take into account the fact of reconciliation with the victim and the fact that the victim has no claims against the perpetrator, but this will not be a reason for exemption from liability.
Definition and differentiation of intentional infliction of minor harm to health under Art. 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
Minor harm to health entails criminal liability only if it caused a short-term (more than 6 and not more than 21 days) health disorder or a minor (less than 10%) permanent loss of general ability to work.
In judicial practice, minor harm to health is recognized, for example, as traumatic loss of teeth, dislocations and fractures of small bones, loss of a finger (except the thumb and index finger), etc.
As punishment under Part 1 of Art. 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a fine may be imposed in the amount of up to 40 thousand rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to 3 months, or compulsory work for a period of up to 480 hours, or corrective labor for a period of up to 1 year, or arrest for up to 4 months.
Part 2 of this article provides for liability for the same acts committed out of hooligan motives, motivated by political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or motivated by hatred or enmity against any social group, with the use of weapons or objects, used as a weapon against a person or his relatives in connection with the performance of official activities by this person or the performance of public duty.
Punishment - compulsory labor for up to 360 hours, or correctional labor for up to 1 year, or restriction of freedom for up to 2 years, or forced labor for up to 2 years, or arrest for up to 6 months, or imprisonment for a term up to 2 years.
In order for legal assistance to be most effective, regardless of the procedural status of the criminal case, it is necessary to enter into an agreement with a qualified lawyer as early as possible.
Compensation for moderate health damage
The manner and process for adjudicating personal injury claims differs significantly between criminal and civil proceedings. What is common is that in such cases two types of damage can be compensated – property and moral.
Material damage
Material, or property, damage may consist of:
- earnings that the victim received less due to incapacity for work;
- expenses for treatment, additional food, care, medicines, rehabilitation means, a sanatorium, if the victim needs them, they were paid for and were not provided free of charge.
This type of harm is compensated based on the data from the relevant medical and payment documents.
Moral injury
The rights to personal integrity and health are classified by law as personal non-property rights, and therefore their violation provides the victim with the right to compensation for moral damage caused by damage to health.
Moral damage is suffering caused by pain, the consequences of injuries, wounds, other damage, and their impact on the life of the victim and the life of his family.
The decision on the amount of material compensation according to the rules of Art. 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is decided by the court, based on the facts found out at the court hearing - the degree of guilt of the criminal, his lifestyle, the suffering of the victim, taking into account his individual characteristics, and others.
There is no specific amount or limit established by law. The victim determines it himself, but the decision on the final amount is made by the court based on the results of an examination of relevant circumstances and documents.
The procedure for recovery in criminal proceedings
The process of compensation for harm caused is the same for all criminal cases, including those involving damage to the victim that resulted in moderate harm to his health. The only difference is the possibility of compensation for moral damage, which may not be available in other cases.
Article 44 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation directly states that a person who has suffered from a crime has the right to file a civil claim for compensation for material damage and compensation in property or monetary terms for the suffering suffered (moral damage). This also applies to all cases of causing moderate harm to the victim’s health.
Filing claims for damages
A civil claim in a criminal proceeding may be filed from the moment the case is initiated until the end of the judicial investigation stage. There are no strict requirements for its form or content, as when filing a claim in civil proceedings.
It is addressed to the investigator, inquiry officer, or court, and must contain a request for recognition as a civil plaintiff. recognize him as a civil plaintiff (recognition is formalized by a resolution). Together with the confession, the victim acquires all his rights and obligations (Part 4 of Article 44 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation).
You can abandon the claim until the moment when the court retires to the deliberation room to make a final decision on the case.
The undoubted advantages in this case are:
- There is no obligation to pay the state fee for the statement of claim (Part 2 of Article 44 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation).
- Absence of complex requirements for the form and content of the claim, its justification.
- The responsibility to establish the nature and extent of the harm caused by the crime (Article 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation) lies with the person who is investigating the criminal case (investigator/inquirer). This does not deprive the victim of the right to present evidence to substantiate the extent of the harm.
- Simultaneous consideration of the claim and the criminal case itself, or a separate statement of claim in civil proceedings, is not necessary.
Possible court decisions on the claim
Based on the results of consideration of the claim, the court may make one of the following decisions:
- Satisfy it partially or fully (if the right to compensation and its amount are proven and justified).
- Refuse satisfaction (for example, if the damage is not subject to compensation, or if the person is acquitted);
- Recognize the plaintiff's right to satisfy the claim, while transferring consideration of the amount of compensation through civil proceedings. In this case, you will have to file a claim according to the requirements of civil law.
Amount of compensation for damage
The amounts that can be recovered from the perpetrator of causing moderate bodily injury in favor of the victim are completely different . The courts rely on practice, including that developed in the region. Moral damage, for example, can reach 500 thousand rubles. And, of course, intentional harm caused as a result of a crime under Art. 112, should be assessed higher than under Art. 113 and 114 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The nature and extent of the harm must be established during the proceedings (clause 4, part 1, article 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). The amount of damage, both property and moral, must be confirmed by relevant documents, checks, witness statements, etc. Property damage is compensated for a confirmed and justified amount. Moral - in the amount that the court considers adequate to the suffering that resulted from the crime.
Compensation for harm outside of criminal proceedings
In all other cases of injury to another person, which is regarded as harm to health of moderate severity, exclusively the provisions of civil law are applied to compensate for moral and material damage.
The possibility of filing a claim in the course of proceedings in cases of administrative offenses, including in cases of moderate harm to health in an accident under Art. 12.24 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, not provided for by law.
Therefore, in order for a decision to be made to recover money from the person who caused such harm to compensate for it, it is necessary to independently file a corresponding statement of claim with the court.
For property damage, the provisions of Chapter 59 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation apply, for moral damage - Art. 151 Civil Code.
