Concept
In criminal law, child substitution is considered in Article 153 of the Criminal Code of Russia . What action is implied? This act is a crime against the family , as well as against a minor .
This concept means an action when a stranger’s child is given to parents without their consent, instead of a child born to them. This concept also means the replacement of a healthy child with a dead or sick one. This usually happens to newborn babies before the first feeding, when the mother has not yet had time to remember the appearance of the baby she gave birth to.
But there are situations when communication between the mother and the newborn is postponed for medical reasons, or the child is handed over to the father due to the death of the mother.
Then the replacement of the child can occur at any time during the absence of contact between relatives and the newborn. Such situations are extremely rare.
In fact, the crime can be formed by either replacing one’s own child with someone else’s or replacing someone else’s child with one’s own. Changing a child always has the consequence of breaking blood ties.
Corpus delicti
The crime is considered over when the child cannot be identified by his own parents.
This can happen when an entry is made in the maternity hospital register about a newborn child who has been replaced.
If the substitution is discovered during the process of transferring the child, then the act will be qualified as an attempted crime, liability for which is provided for in Article 30 of the Criminal Code.
The objective side of the crime is characterized only in the action of replacing a child with another. At the same time, the child is officially registered when an entry is made in the register of the maternity hospital. This is done without the mutual consent of the parents.
The immediate object of the crime is the full development of the family.
From the subjective side, a crime is committed with direct intent. For the subjective side, motive is obligatory . These may be base or some kind of selfish motives. As an example, we can cite the replacement of children by a nurse who did this for financial compensation.
Base motives can be envy, revenge, religious and national views. If the act was committed with other motives, then there will be no crime.
The subject of the crime will be a person over 16 years of age and of sound mind.
Criminal legal characteristics
Back in 1990, Russia took part in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. At the same time, this Convention is part of Russian legislation, in accordance with the fifteenth article of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
A country that has signed the Convention is obliged to protect and defend the rights of the child as an independent individual in every possible way. In 1998, a law was passed establishing guarantees for the rights and legitimate interests of persons under 18 years of age , that is, children.
The composition of this act is formal. The legislation underestimates the significant degree of danger of this act.
.
Commentary to Art. 154 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
1. The object of the crime provided for in the commented article is the interests of the family, parents and children, the procedure for adoption established by law. According to Art. 21 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November 1989, States Parties ensure that the adoption of a child is authorized only by competent authorities in accordance with applicable laws and established procedures. The Family Code of the Russian Federation determines the grounds and procedure for the adoption of children, the establishment of guardianship or trusteeship, and the transfer of a child to a foster family.
2. The objective side of the crime is the commission of illegal actions to adopt children, transfer them to guardianship (trusteeship), to be raised in foster families, committed repeatedly or for selfish reasons.
Thus, the disposition of the commented article is blanket and establishes criminal liability in case of violation of the norms of the Insurance Code, the Civil Code, and the provisions of other federal laws, for example, the Federal Law of April 24, 2008 N 48-FZ “On Guardianship and Trusteeship” (as amended on July 1, 2008. 2011), as well as other regulations, for example, Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation dated March 29, 2000 N 275 “On approval of the Rules for the transfer of children for adoption and monitoring the conditions of their life and upbringing in adoptive families on the territory of the Russian Federation and the Rules for placement for registration by consular offices of the Russian Federation of children who are citizens of the Russian Federation and adopted by foreign citizens or stateless persons" (as amended on May 12, 2012). Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated April 20, 2006 N 8 deals with issues of adoption. ——————————— NW RF. 2008. N 17. Art. 1755; 2009. N 29. Art. 3615; 2011. N 27. Art. 3880.
NW RF. 2000. N 15. Art. 1590; 2002. N 15. Art. 1434; 2005. N 11. Art. 950; 2006. N 16. Art. 1748; 2012. N 19. Art. 2416; N 21. Art. 2644.
For example, illegal actions can be expressed in the preparation of documents for the adoption of children by persons recognized by the court as incompetent or partially capable, persons deprived of parental rights by the court or limited by the court in parental rights, persons removed from the duties of a guardian (trustee) for improper performance the duties assigned to him by law; registration of documents for children whose parents have not given consent to adoption by others; execution of documents without the consent of a child over 10 years of age; registration of documents for the adoption of a child by foreign citizens or stateless persons, without mandatory verification of the possibility of adoption of the child by his relatives or families of citizens of the Russian Federation. The law also prohibits intermediary activities in the adoption of children, i.e. any activity of other persons for the purpose of selecting and transferring children for adoption on behalf of and in the interests of persons wishing to adopt children.
Mandatory (alternative) signs of a crime are the commission of these actions repeatedly or for selfish reasons. In the absence of selfish motives and signs of repetition, liability for illegal actions of adopting a child, placing him under guardianship (trusteeship) or to a foster family is provided for in Art. 5.37 Code of Administrative Offences.
3. Repeated activity means performing the specified actions at least twice. Selfish motives are understood as a person’s desire to receive material benefit (monetary or other material reward - a valuable gift, an expensive service) from illegal adoption, establishment of guardianship and trusteeship.
4. The crime is considered completed from the moment the actions specified in the disposition of the article are performed.
5. The subjective side is characterized by direct intent. The person is aware that he is committing illegal acts of adoption or placement under guardianship (trusteeship) or foster families, and wishes to commit these acts.
6. The subject of the crime is common. At the same time, as a rule, these criminal acts are committed by persons who are entrusted with the responsibility for drawing up official documents for adoption, establishing guardianship, trusteeship, and transferring a minor to a foster family (employees of orphanages, boarding schools, medical institutions, educational authorities etc.).
stykrf.ru
What is the difference between kidnapping and child switching?
It is necessary to clearly distinguish between these two, at first glance, similar crimes. Because when criminal acts are classified incorrectly, the perpetrators are often unjustifiably acquitted .
Child substitution is usually carried out secretly or through deception. As a result of such actions, one child will be replaced by another. At the same time, the perpetrator commits a crime when he is firmly convinced that the parents do not yet know the individual characteristics of their child and cannot identify him.
From the subjective side, a mandatory feature of this act is the replacement of one child with another. If the replacement does not occur, then we can talk about a crime such as kidnapping, responsibility for which is provided for in Article 126 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation .
general information
For the crime committed, the perpetrator receives more than one year in prison. He is given about 5 years and a large fine of two hundred thousand rubles.
This serious crime has a judicial nature, because the child is deprived of the right to know his parents. This crime is a criminal offense and is especially serious.
During the substitution, the criminal believes that by stealing the baby and replacing him, the parents will not notice this change. Most often this happens and many do not notice the substitution. Therefore, you must always be careful.
A criminal may not be sentenced if:
- if they could not find the criminal;
- if there is insufficient data;
- The work of professionals is quite difficult to recognize.
You need to be careful in your actions and contact law enforcement agencies.
Arbitrage practice
In most cases, the court not only chooses imprisonment as a preventive measure for the perpetrator , but also obliges the injured party to pay a large sum for compensation for moral damage.
An example is the court decision of the Kopeisk District Court, which ordered the payment of 3 million rubles to two families who suffered from the substitution of children in a local maternity hospital.
Child substitution always carries criminal liability. However, it must be taken into account that punishment occurs if it is proven that the act was committed for selfish or base motives.
You can learn about one of the cases of child replacement in a maternity hospital from the video below:
The Right Action
Many scammers often manage to get away with this crime unpunished.
The object of this crime is public relations. This is characterized by the fact that the child is deprived of the right to know his family, grow up and be brought up with them in the same house.
To achieve punishment for a criminal, you must first hire a consultant so that you can discuss all the intricacies of this issue together. The consultant will help you resolve all your questions and make a presentation that will help you take your child away from the hands of the scammer. From an objective point of view, this crime is due to the substitution of a baby.
Article 153 of the Criminal Code tells us everything about this in detail. Fraud in this case sometimes has a tragic character.
The Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is addressing this problem and they will try to do everything to help you in this situation.
Therefore, you need to contact the judicial staff of the law enforcement agencies of your country. And don't try to solve this problem yourself. Fraudsters most often achieve this by draining victims of all their savings.
An example of child theft is abduction not only in a maternity hospital:
- But also in different rooms.
- On the streets.
- Sometimes a child can be kidnapped right from your home.
That is why you need to try to keep an eye on your children and not leave them unattended for a long time, because even a few seconds can be enough to make you panic.
