ST 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Beatings or other violent actions that caused physical pain, but did not entail the consequences specified in Article 115 of this Code, committed out of hooligan motives, as well as for reasons of political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or for reasons of hatred or enmity in in relation to any social group, -
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.
Corpus delicti
The corpus delicti under Article 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation arises when the following conditions are simultaneously met:
- the victim suffered physical pain;
- there were no consequences in the form of causing minor harm to the victim’s health;
- the beating was committed out of hooligan motives or based on political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity.
Thus, as a result of beatings, minimal damage is caused to a person’s health compared to other crimes involving intentional harm to a person’s health. In addition, an important qualifying feature of beatings is the motive of the person who inflicted the beatings on the victim. Explanations on the essence of the motives are given in the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated November 15, 2007 No. 45. According to paragraph 12 of the Resolution, criminal acts committed out of hooligan motives are understood as intentional actions that were committed without reason or with little reason. To correctly qualify motives, it is necessary to establish who initiated them, whether the victim was the instigator of the quarrel, and whether the victim’s unlawful behavior served as a reason for the conflict.
Actions after a fight
If an attack occurs, the victim should act as follows:
- Contact the law enforcement authorities at your place of residence and write a statement. Its sample can be downloaded from the link. The address and telephone number of the required police station is on the official Internet resource of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation at the link.
- Pass a medical examination. The police will give you the direction and address of the institution.
- Wait for the summons and appear at the court hearing.
You can report an attack within 2 years after the crime, if you have evidence of it. However, it is better not to delay this.
When you are the culprit of the crime, you need to apologize to the beaten person and try to resolve the issue pre-trial, without involving law enforcement agencies (for example, offer money for rehabilitation). If this was not possible, it is better to hire a good lawyer and confess to the police. This will reduce the sentence.
Classification of beatings
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for criminal liability for crimes against personal health, including through beatings, depending on the circumstances and consequences:
- infliction of grievous bodily harm (Article 111);
- moderate beating (Article 112);
- serious or moderate harm to health caused in a state of passion (Article 113);
- infliction of grievous or moderate harm to health when exceeding the limits of necessary defense or when exceeding the measures necessary to detain the person who committed the crime (Article 114);
- infliction of minor bodily harm (Article 115)
- beatings for hooligan reasons or for reasons of political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity (Article 116);
- beatings not falling under Art. 116, inflicted by a person punished under Art. 6.1.1 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
In 2022, Federal Law No. 8-FZ dated 02/07/2017 on the so-called decriminalization of domestic violence was adopted, which caused a lively debate in society. This law excluded from the previous version of Art. 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for bringing the perpetrators to criminal liability for beatings against loved ones. Close persons are understood to mean spouses, parents, children, adoptive parents, adopted children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, guardians, trustees, persons related to the culprit, persons conducting a common household with him. If such beatings were committed for the first time, they will be qualified under Art. 6.1.1 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, in case of repeated commission - under Art. 116.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Second commentary to Art. 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
1. The commented article provides for the following condition: the absence of signs of harm to health provided for in Article 115 of the Criminal Code.
Battering - multiple blows. The consequences of these strikes do not have criminal legal significance for the reasons stated above. However, if they resulted in the infliction of light, medium or severe harm to health, the act is qualified under the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation that provides for liability for causing this harm.
Other actions that cause physical pain (one blow, thermal effects, pinching, etc.).
2. The crime is completed at the moment the actions are committed.
3. The subjective side of the crime is characterized by direct intent. A mandatory feature of this crime is a motive: hooligan or extremist (for the content of these motives, see commentary 6 to part two of Article 105 of the Criminal Code).
4. Subject - a person who has reached the age of 16 years.
Criminal liability
The legislation of the Russian Federation provides for administrative and criminal liability for beating a person in Russia. For beating a person, the perpetrator faces an article of the Criminal Code or the Administrative Code, depending on the circumstances of the incident and the consequences for the health of the victim. The article for causing bodily harm (111-115) is applied when causing grave, moderate or slight harm to the health of the victim. Whether a prison term will be given for beating a person if it is classified as beating is stated in Art. 116 and 116.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, as well as in Art. 6.1.1 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
According to the provisions of Art. 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for beatings or other actions that caused physical pain to the victim, but did not cause slight harm to her health, committed out of hooligan motives or motivated by political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, the offender faces one of the following punishments:
- compulsory work up to 360 hours;
- correctional labor up to 1 year;
- restriction of freedom for up to 2 years;
- forced labor for up to 2 years;
- arrest up to 6 months;
- imprisonment for up to 2 years.
Art. also talks about whether someone can be imprisoned for beating a person. 116.1. According to its provisions, for beatings or other actions that cause physical pain, but without causing minor harm to health and not containing signs of a crime under Art. 116, a person subjected to administrative punishment under Art. 6.1.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, one of the following penalties may be awarded:
- a fine of up to 40 thousand rubles or in the amount of the convicted person’s income for a period of up to 3 months;
- compulsory work up to 240 hours;
- correctional labor for up to 6 months;
- arrest up to 3 months
Taking into account any special circumstances when beating the norms of Art. 116 and 116.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation do not provide. For example, the punishment for beating a minor child or group beating, or beating by a group of persons by prior conspiracy is not specified separately.
Nevertheless, these circumstances are taken into account by the courts when sentencing guilty persons.
According to Art. 6.1.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the offender faces a fine from 5 thousand to 30 thousand rubles, or arrest from 10 to 15 days, or compulsory labor from 60 to 120 hours.
Marina Aksenova Lawyer, website author
Expert commentary
What is the punishment?
An unlawful act in this case can only be carried out in intentional actions, because beating by negligence is impossible. The case may end with administrative punishment if the act was committed for the first time in life, did not cause health problems for the victim, and was not committed out of hatred or hooligan motives. Otherwise, the punishment is provided for by the criminal article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
An administrative measure of restraint refers to new legislation. It was decided to transfer beatings inflicted on relatives and friends from criminal liability to the section of administrative violations.
However, if a person is recorded to have suffered moderate injuries, then the culprit will face criminal liability. True, the case may be dismissed due to the reconciliation of the parties. If there is no reconciliation, then with a high degree of probability it can be argued that the punishment will be associated with the imprisonment of the culprit. If there are aggravating circumstances, the term of imprisonment may be increased.
Thus, if the act is classified under Article 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, then the convicted person can be punished with imprisonment for up to three years. But in the presence of aggravating circumstances, this period can be extended to five years. An aggravating circumstance is, for example, the beating of not one, but two people, or the beating of a child under fourteen years of age.
How to record and prove beatings
To bring the offender to justice, it is necessary to record the beatings in an emergency room or in a forensic medical examination institution (clause 6 of the Rules for determining the severity of harm caused to human health, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 17, 2007 No. 522). According to clause 9 of the Appendix to the Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development dated April 24, 2008 No. 194n, injuries that do not cause harm to human health (namely, they arise as a result of beatings) include injuries that do not entail a short-term health disorder or a slight permanent loss of general ability to work . These include, for example, abrasions, bruises, soft tissue bruises, and superficial wounds.
Since injuries caused by beatings can heal quickly, they should be fixed as quickly as possible. Removal of beatings is carried out in a short time after the victim contacts a medical institution. Based on the results of the examination by a doctor (expert), the victim is issued a certificate of beating. This document will help prove beatings without the presence of witnesses.
Definition of “beating”
Important! Please keep in mind that:
- Each case is unique and individual.
- A thorough study of the issue does not always guarantee a positive outcome. It depends on many factors.
To get the most detailed advice on your issue, you just need to choose any of the options offered:
- Use the online chat in the lower corner of the screen.
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These are several blows with legs, arms, heads, brass knuckles and other objects, after which the person experienced pain. After a crime, there are always bruises, abrasions, scratches, swelling and other marks. Such actions are almost always considered intentional, because it is impossible to cause multiple injuries by accident. However, there are situations when the court still recognizes them as unintentional. For example, perfect:
- in self-defense;
- in a state of passion;
- as a result of an accident caused by the culprit.
Impacts can be mild, moderate or severe. The first category includes:
- abrasions, contusions, bruises;
- scratches and minor cuts;
- sprains;
- mild cracks of the collarbone;
- other bodily injuries, after which the body quickly recovers.
Moderate severity is characterized by:
- need for bed rest for a short period of time;
- persistent but short-lived health problems;
- loss of ability to work by less than 1/3;
- no likelihood of death.
This group includes:
- brain concussion;
- fracture of the nose or jaw;
- large hematomas on the skin;
- broken legs and arms;
- joint dislocations;
- bites, deep cuts, etc.;
- rib fractures when internal organs are not affected.
In other words, a person must be completely rehabilitated after some period.
Serious beatings are considered to be injuries and mutilations from which the victim will not be able to fully recover:
- severe physical harm was caused;
- the victim lost more than 30% of his ability to work.
Law enforcement agencies will decide that the beating is severe if:
- some disturbances in the functioning of the body are irreversible;
- the functioning of internal organs and systems is seriously deteriorated;
- acquired a chronic disease;
- some parts of the body had to be amputated;
- hearing is lost, eyes cannot see, etc.;
- the person became disabled.
How to apply
Battery is a crime of minor gravity, the statute of limitations for it is two years (Article 78 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). To bring the culprit to justice, you must file a police report.
reports of assault to the police
Based on the application, a pre-investigation check is carried out, the time frame for considering a statement to the police about beatings is up to 10 days, in special cases it can be extended up to 30 days. Based on the results of the inspection, one of several decisions can be made:
- refuse to bring the perpetrator to justice;
- bring the culprit to administrative responsibility under Art. 6.1.1. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation;
- bring the perpetrator to criminal liability under Art. 116 or 116.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
If the victim agrees with the culprit on compensation for the damage suffered, he can withdraw the statement from the police about the beatings and resolve the conflict. Otherwise, the culprit will be held accountable by law.
Marina Aksenova Lawyer, website author
Expert commentary
What to do if you are injured?
Having become a victim of street hooligans, having received intentional injuries at work or in a domestic quarrel, it is necessary to record the beatings. The procedure for such an examination is called a forensic medical examination. The beatings can be removed in the hospital.
Instructions for further actions are as follows:
- If you were injured, call the police to inspect the scene. During the investigation of the territory, the police will draw up a report. It may include found material evidence, traces of criminals, weapons of attack, etc.
- Write a statement about causing bodily harm. The duty officer must issue a sample document, and after accepting it, a special coupon (stub). In addition, the police will give you a referral to undergo a forensic medical examination.
On a note! It is not recommended to take beatings immediately after receiving them. Only the procedure that was carried out after the statement of beatings was written, and not before, will be considered an official conclusion.
- Finally, the final action should be to undergo a forensic medical examination. During this process, the severity of the injuries will be accurately determined.
