Private territory is a territory that belongs to a specific individual or legal entity.
In Art. 35 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation states that the right to private property is protected by law.
If a person decides to violate this rule, that is, wants to enter someone else's territory, then he may face criminal liability.
Which article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation describes liability for entering private territory?
Illegal entry into private property: what does the offender face?
If a person illegally entered the home of a person, and the owner was against it, then the person may be punished as follows:
- pay a fine of up to 40 thousand rubles or in the amount of salary for a certain period;
- may be involved in socially useful work on a free basis for up to 360 hours;
- involved in correctional labor served at the main place of work for a period of up to 12 months. If the convicted person does not have a job, then he is involved in correctional work as determined by local government bodies together with the criminal-executive inspection;
- he could be arrested for up to 90 days.
If a person entered the territory of someone else’s house (apartment) and began to threaten the person living there, or committed some kind of violent act (for example, beat the owner of the apartment, raped him, etc.), then the punishment becomes more severe.
Sanction Art. 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for the following punishment for such an act:
- fine up to 200 thousand rubles;
- correctional labor for up to 24 months;
- forced labor for up to 24 months;
- imprisonment for up to 2 years.
Other liability is assigned to persons during execution who unauthorizedly entered private territory.
If the court finds that a person took advantage of his official position, then he will face one of the following penalties:
- fine from 100 to 300 thousand rubles;
- deprivation of the right to hold a certain position for a period of 2-5 years;
- forced labor for up to 3 years;
- arrest for up to 4 months;
- imprisonment for up to 4 months.
Corpus delicti
The object is the right of citizens to their own real estate and the inviolability of their home, which is ensured by Article 25 and Article 35 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and the subject is the apartments and houses themselves, dachas, etc. They cannot be warehouses, any office premises, utility rooms, etc.
The subject of the offense is real estate.
The right to the inviolability of a home is recognized as the right to use or own property in the presence of appropriate documents (lease or rental agreements, certificate of ownership, etc.) confirming this, as well as the right of those persons who live there legally at the will of the owner himself.
For Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the subject is a legally competent person who has already crossed the age line of 16 years , and for Part 3 - also a person who has used his privileges at work.
Objective and subjective sides
The objective side is characterized as an active form of action by a person in the form of illegal entry into a home, without any right to do so. The way in which this is done is not particularly important.
It can be secret or open, in the presence of the owner himself or other persons, using technical or other means . If in this case deception was used on the part of the criminal, then there will be no corpus delicti, since he entered the residential premises with the permission of the victim, although he was in error.
The subjective side is expressed in the form of guilt - direct intent.
Situations in which criminal liability does not arise under Art. 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
A violation of the inviolability of the home is not formed in the following cases:
- if police officers or law enforcement officers who carry out their direct duties enter private territory (for example, they participate in the capture of a criminal). At the same time, police officers have the right to enter private territory without the consent of its owner if they have a corresponding prosecutor’s resolution in their hands, or without such a resolution, if they suspect signs of a crime being committed in an apartment (house), signs of a threat to state security, or they will contain information about persons hiding from investigative authorities;
- the goal of a person who entered someone else's territory was to save people's lives or their property (for example, a neighbor broke down the door when none of the owners of the apartment was at home to put out the fire);
- if the bailiffs came;
- a person who entered private territory helped stop a crime (for example, he caught a burglar in a neighbor’s apartment).
When Art. 139 of the Criminal Code of Russia?
Responsibility for entering private territory occurs only if the person intending to enter someone else's house carries out his plan for some purpose, for example, to rape, rob, or kill.
What is illegal home entry? This is when intruders break down a door, break into a living space, enter through a window, or enter a home in any way, while the entry itself occurs without the consent of the people living in it.
If a person allowed a stranger to enter (opened the door and invited him), then this will not be considered illegal entry.
Answers on questions
Question: Is the act of trespassing into someone else's yard a criminal offense?
Answer: The legislation of the Russian Federation does not provide for liability for intrusion into territory, even a plot of land without any purpose, for example, to commit a crime (theft, robbery, hooliganism, etc.). The maximum punishment is a warning from the local police officer.
Question: Can a person who enters the territory of an abandoned or unfinished private house be punished?
Answer: If no one lives in the house, and the house itself is uninhabitable, then the person will not bear any responsibility. If he entered such a house for some purpose, for example, to steal something, break something, etc., then liability may arise, but not under Article 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, but under another, for example, Art. 158 “Theft”, Art. 167 “Deliberate destruction or damage to property”, etc.
Question: Can a minor citizen who trespassed onto private property be punished?
Answer: No, they cannot, if the person did not have malicious intent, and yes, they can, if he entered private territory for some purpose. However, in the latter case, his parents (guardians) will be responsible for the actions of the minor.
Question: An intruder entered the territory of my house, broke the windshield of the car, and also broke 2 windows in the house. What threatens the villain?
Answer: Criminal liability in this case arises, but not under Art. 139, and under other articles of the Criminal Code, namely, under Art. 167 “Deliberate destruction or damage to property.”
Question: What does a person face for attempting to enter private territory?
Answer: An attempt to enter is equivalent to entering private territory, therefore such an offense is subject to criminal liability under Art. 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. What does it mean to attempt to invade someone else's territory? For example, an offender decided to break the door of someone else's apartment, being sure that no one was there. However, at that moment there were people at home. The attacker managed to break into the lock, but was met at the door by the owner, who called the police. The offender's actions were recorded on a video camera, so the owner did not have to collect evidence for the trial for long. The intruder did not get into the house, but there was an attempt to break in.
Question: Will a child who entered someone else’s house, but without malicious intent, but just for the sake of interest, be punished?
Answer: If the owner of the apartment (house) writes a statement to the police about this child, then during court proceedings the judge may decide to register the child with a psychoneurological dispensary, and a fine may be imposed on the parents.
Examples of situations from judicial practice involving home invasion
Example 1 . A certain citizen Skvortsov I.V. illegally entered a neighbor’s apartment through an open door and stayed there for 3 hours. The neighbor in her haste forgot to close the door, so her neighbor entered her home without hindrance. It happened like this: the man was walking home drunk, but he couldn’t get into his room - his wife wouldn’t let him in. Then he saw an open door in his neighbor’s apartment and entered it. In an unfamiliar apartment, the man continued the banquet: he drank alcohol, had a snack and went to bed. When the neighbor returned home, she found that the door to her apartment was locked from the inside. She called the police, they came and took the neighbor away. The woman sued him. The judge sentenced the unfortunate neighbor to a fine of 30 thousand rubles for illegal entry into the home against the will of the owner of the apartment.
Example 2 . Citizen Petrov V.K. was convicted of a crime under Art. 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Being intoxicated, this man decided to visit his neighbor and talk to her, but she refused to open up to him. Outraged by her inhospitality, he forcefully pulled the door handle, broke the bolt and the door opened. Petrov V.K. entered his neighbor’s apartment without her permission, thereby violating her right to the inviolability of private territory. The judge sentenced V.K. Petrov to compulsory labor for a period of 360 hours.
Example 3 . A certain investigator Pupkin A.A. secretly from the owner of the apartment entered it without a warrant. The purpose of his penetration was to search for evidence. The investigator was unlucky, because at the moment when he was in the house of the owner of the apartment, V.K. Mikhailov, he unexpectedly came home. The owner of the home immediately called the police and filed a report about trespassing on private property. Mikhailov V.K. filed a statement of claim against investigator Pupkin A.A. The judge granted his claim and punished the investigator with a ban on him engaging in his previous activities, and also imposed a fine on him in the amount of 100 thousand rubles.
Statute of limitations under Art. 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
Trespassing onto private property is a minor crime. The statute of limitations for such a crime is 2 years.
Therefore, if an attacker entered a house (apartment), and the owner of the premises decided not to contact the police, but the actions of the criminal are repeated, then the owner has the right to contact the police or the prosecutor’s office and write a statement.
Unfortunately, in Russia, as of 2022, legislation only protects housing for illegal entry into private territory.
But there is no penalty for entering another part of the house (for example, into the yard, veranda, etc.).
Home owners need to independently protect their homes from invasion by ill-wishers: put up fences, hire security guards, install an alarm system.
For entering someone else's house, the offender faces Art. 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
What types of punishments can be imposed
Responsibility for entering private territory can only be criminal, therefore punishments are imposed only under Article 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. From its first part the following can be determined:
- a fine of 40,000 rubles or more. or salary for 3 months;
- compulsory work for 360 hours;
- corrective labor for a year;
- arrest for a period of up to 3 months.
If the crime has been classified under Part 2 of this article, then the following sanctions may be imposed:
- a fine of up to 200,000 rubles. or salary for 1.5 years;
- correctional or forced labor for 2 years;
- imprisonment for the same period.
According to Part 3 of Article 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the court may order the following preventive measures:
- fine in the amount of 100,000 rubles. or salary for 1-2 years;
- ban on holding certain positions or activities for 2-5 years;
- forced labor for 3 years;
- arrest for 4 months;
- imprisonment in a colony for a period of up to 3 years.
The specific type of punishment is assigned taking into account the factors that accompanied the incident, as well as whether the citizen had a criminal record, and his social, financial and family status is taken into account.
The punishment is imposed taking into account all the circumstances of the case.
Based on judicial practice, the highest measure – imprisonment in a colony – is very rarely used. Most often, the judge chooses a punishment such as paying a fine.
If the offender has already been prosecuted, the court will apply harsher sanctions to him. Otherwise, he will prefer to give the criminal a chance to reform.
Is it possible to be released from liability?
It can rarely be applied in this case. If in theory it is provided for by the legislative acts of the Russian Federation upon surrender and compensation for damage caused to the owner in the form and amount that were established by the latter, then in practice everything happens somewhat differently.
In most cases, the offender is fined, and if he has a criminal record, he may be sentenced to imprisonment.
For example, citizens rented housing from the owner, who constantly came there both during their presence there and during their absence. They terminated the rental agreement, but before that they submitted an application to the law enforcement department for compensation for moral damage. The court examined the case, determined this act of the housewife under Part 1 of Article 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentenced her to a fine.
