Leaving drowning or sick people in danger, resulting in their death: what does this crime involve, what is its composition, criminal liability under Art. 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and other articles of laws?

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for punishment not only for persons who have committed criminal acts against human life and health, but also for citizens who have not taken the necessary actions to save the life of another person and help him in dangerous circumstances.

Responsibility for failure to take rescue measures is specified in Article No. 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Let us consider in more detail the aspects of leaving an adult in danger.

What it is?

Leaving an adult in danger is considered a crime during which inaction is shown or timely assistance is not provided to a person in need.

The subject of the crime in this case is a person who has reached the age of 16 years, who understood that the life of another was under threat, on the basis of:

laws or regulations obliging to provide assistance or assistance to persons participating in the rescue;
agreement (labor obligation) between the accused and the victim for care or inspection;
marriage and family relations (spouses must provide support to each other);
the nature of the profession (if the official is responsible for the physical safety of people);
actions of a person preceding the event that created potentially dangerous conditions for the victim.

In this case, the accused person had the opportunity to provide timely assistance, but withdrew or did not make sufficient efforts to save him, showing professional carelessness or civic irresponsibility.

Note! According to existing legislation, adult (capable) children must help their infirm parents; doctors or caregivers to their patients; other officials with protection and assistance functions.

The statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of the event.

Second commentary to Art. 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

1. Objective side: leaving in danger is an inaction (the same as when failing to provide assistance to a patient), characterizing the evasion of the culprit from fulfilling his duty.

2. A condition for liability for leaving in danger is the existence of an obligation to take measures to save a person who finds himself in a condition dangerous to life and health. This responsibility can be legal (the instructor, as the leader of a group of tourists, is obliged to be responsible for their safety on the tourist route), service (a police officer is obliged to carry out activities to rescue citizens in a dangerous state), social (parents are obliged to take care of their minor children, and adults children are obliged to take care of elderly and helpless parents). The obligation of one person to help another in a situation dangerous to his life and health may be based on the relationships of people in specific life situations in which one person, by the will of another, finds himself in a dangerous situation.

A condition accompanying liability for inaction, in addition to the existence of an obligation, is a real opportunity to fulfill it. In this case, without endangering your life.

3. The crime is over at the moment of being left in danger. The consequences of leaving one in danger are not included in the objective side of this crime.

4. The subjective side includes only intentional guilt (emphasis on the sign of knowledge).

5. The subject of the crime is a person who has reached the age of 16 years, characterized by special characteristics (the presence of a corresponding obligation).

Can the most ordinary passerby on the street become guilty?

If the court establishes the identity of a witness to the incident who could help, taking into account:

health indicators;
professional preparedness;
absence of circumstances that prevented rescue;
having the opportunity to resort to the help of others.

This person can be recognized as a subject at the request of the victim, the persons representing him or on the basis of data obtained during the investigation. However, if the passerby did not have a legal obligation to help the person in distress, it will be difficult to find him guilty. In other words: based on the list above, you can try to recognize such a passerby, but it will be very difficult.

In what cases can you not be held accountable?

A citizen is not held accountable:

he does not have the necessary knowledge and experience in providing assistance in the conditions that accompanied the circumstances of the tragedy;
the accused was forced to fight for his own life or health;
the accused person was sincerely mistaken that the victim needed help.

If these or other important circumstances are proven in court, the person is released from liability.

Situations when an adult drowns

The circumstances of someone in distress on the water have their own nuances:

If a person is drowning in front of an excellent swimmer, and even more so if the witness is on the shore (watercraft) in the role of a lifeguard, his inaction can be regarded as inaction.
If the accused does not know how to swim or does not float well enough, realizing that he may not be able to save the drowning person or die himself, he should quickly draw the attention of other people to the situation or use any available means or objects to try to help the person in trouble on his own .

Examples in everyday life and at work

Situation 1. During a showdown between spouses that took place on the bank of a canal, a woman slipped and fell into the water, hitting her head on a metal support during the fall. The husband did not help her get out of the water, but began to mock her and film her with his mobile device. Random witnesses rescued the drowned woman, carried out resuscitation measures and called an ambulance. (The victim’s husband must be punished under Article 125 of the Criminal Code).
Situation 2. A son, having quarreled with his paralyzed mother, who could hardly move, left her alone for 3 days without food, water or proper care. Neighbors heard the woman scream and called law enforcement. The man will be held accountable, since looking after his mother was his responsibility as a son.
Situation 3. The tractor driver collided with a minibus that was standing at a bus stop, and one of the passengers was injured. The tractor driver offered the victim a ride to the nearest medical center for examination by a doctor and assistance, but the woman refused, leaving the scene on her own. The driver of a vehicle that caused an emergency under Article 125 will not be punished, since he stopped and tried to provide the necessary assistance.
Situation 4. A man saw a guy who was about to jump from a railway bridge. Attempts to physically restrain him and persuade him not to commit a rash act did not affect the suicide plans. The young man broke free and jumped, resulting in death. (The person is not held accountable because the victim had the opportunity to take action for self-preservation, but did not do so).
Situation 5. The guide, who had assembled a group for a hike in the mountains, constantly reminded two young people who strove to deviate from the course to adhere to the general line of movement and follow the guide.
However, the guys repeatedly ignored the warnings, which was witnessed by the entire group. As a result, one of them fell into the well of the cave, into which he went without the permission of the leader, and received serious injuries. The conductor called the rescuers because he could not help on his own (he will be spared punishment because he did not create a dangerous situation for the victim, and the tragedy occurred through the fault of the latter. But here it is worth noting that he may be punished according to other standards if he was responsible for safety and did not keep an eye on the tourists).

From what moment is the offense considered committed?

A crime is committed if there is a fact of failure to provide assistance.

Attention! In order for a criminal case to be opened on such a fact, it is not necessary that serious consequences occur.

For example, a tram driver continued his route after the vehicle hit an elderly woman, explaining his actions by the schedule and the fact that there were many people at the stop who could help. In this case, the driver is charged under Article 125, regardless of the actions of others present at the incident.

Important for qualifying a crime:

the person is accused of inaction;
literally;
awareness that it leaves the victim in a life-threatening condition.

Third commentary to Article 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

1. The objective side of being left in danger is characterized by inaction, i.e. failure to perform, without good reason, actions to provide assistance to another person if there is an opportunity and obligation to provide it. Inaction is also punishable in the case where the perpetrator himself put the victim in a condition dangerous to life or health. The composition is formal in design; for liability, only leaving one in danger is sufficient.

2. The subjective side is characterized by guilt in the form of direct intent, while the perpetrator realizes that his actions are deliberate, i.e. he is aware of the danger of leaving the persons specified in the law without help and wants to do so. In this case, the intent of the perpetrator must cover the available opportunity to provide assistance and the duty of care for the victim or the fact of placing such a person in a dangerous state. The perpetrator knowingly knows that the victim is a minor or sick, elderly or in a helpless state.

3. A special subject of a crime is a sane person who has reached the age of 16 years, who is obliged to take care of the victim or who has placed him in such a dangerous state.
In connection with the decriminalization of the crime provided for in Art. 265 of the Criminal Code, the driver’s deliberate abandonment without assistance of a victim as a result of a traffic accident who is in a condition dangerous to life or health must be qualified under Art. 125 of the Criminal Code. ‹Article 124.1. Obstruction of medical careUpChapter 17. Crimes against freedom, honor and dignity of the individual ›

How to correctly qualify completed actions?

The crime is qualified under Art. 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, if available:

Subject - a person over 16 years of age who had the opportunity to come to the rescue without risk to himself and others and was obliged to care, but did not show it in circumstances that were dangerous for the victim.
The subjective side is guilt in the form of direct intent (awareness of the opportunity to help and having such an obligation, the subject of the crime wants to evade this, and does not take any steps to save). To qualify a crime under the article in question, the motives do not matter (they can be different: personal hostility, revenge, fear of criminal punishment, etc.).
The object of this crime in the form of the life and health of a person who, for certain reasons, found himself helpless to take measures for self-preservation (due to pathological conditions in the body that arose at the time of danger, chronic disease, old age, disability, natural disasters or misdeeds of other people).
The objective side is inaction, namely the lack of targeted actions to save life or preserve health.

Criminal liability under Art. 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

The Criminal Code provides for different types of liability for leaving in dangerous conditions.

penalties - up to 80 thousand rubles (withdrawn from the perpetrator’s salary or other types of income for a six-month period);
compulsory work - up to 360 days;
correctional, forced labor - up to a year;
arrest for three months;
imprisonment for a year.

Situations leading to death

According to Art. 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, aggravating circumstances include grave consequences as a result of the crime committed.

In case of death, the highest degree of punishment is determined , since the death of the victim is a serious consequence.

Reference. According to the comments to Article 125 of the Criminal Code, the death of the victim does not allow qualifying to be limited only to this article, since the consequences always require independent assessment.

Specifically, according to the same comments:

for death resulting from leaving the scene of an accident during an accident, liability is assigned under a combination of Articles 264 and 125;
and if the patient is abandoned by a person who was obliged to provide medical care, and this leads to death, liability arises under Art. 124 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

In other words, death is an aggravating circumstance.

Commentary to Art. 125 Criminal Code

1. A victim is recognized as a person who is in a condition dangerous to life or health and is deprived of the opportunity to take measures for self-preservation due to childhood, old age, illness or due to his helplessness (for example, intoxication or sleep).

2. A condition dangerous to life or health should be understood as the presence of a real threat to life or harm to health (severe or moderate severity). A situation dangerous to life or health can be created either on its own (for example, fainting) or as a result of previous actions of the perpetrator that put the victim in a state dangerous to life or health.

3. The objective side of the crime is characterized by inaction - deliberately leaving a person without help.

4. The crime is considered completed from the moment the victim is left in a condition dangerous to life or health.

5. The subjective side is characterized by direct intent.

6. Special subject - a person who has reached the age of 16 and: a) is obligated to take care of the victim who is in a dangerous condition, by virtue of the law, profession, type of activity or family relationship, or due to the fact that his previous behavior himself has put him in a dangerous condition ; b) had the opportunity, without serious danger to himself or others, to provide assistance to this person.

A person who intentionally committed any crime against a victim cannot be held responsible for leaving the victim in danger; on the contrary, the commission of a careless crime against the victim (for example, provided for in Article 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) does not exclude the combination with Art. 125 of the Criminal Code.

Detailed action plan - what to do if you see that a person is in danger?

Assess the situation and make sure that the person is really in distress.
Assess your own rescue capabilities.
If possible, move the person to a safe place yourself.
If the attempt fails, attract others (call, call, run for help).
(Parallel with 4). If you have a telephone, call: ambulance, Ministry of Emergency Situations, police, traffic police (depending on the circumstances).
Possibility of returning to the scene of the incident to provide the services with the necessary witness information.
If necessary, act as a witness in court in this proceeding.

Where to go and submit an application, and what to include in it?

You can submit your application to the justice authorities at your place of residence , namely:

to the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the region;
law enforcement agencies;
prosecutorial authorities (it is especially advisable to conduct prosecutorial checks in cases at work).

If the applicant does not agree with the court's decision, appeals to higher authorities are possible.

When filing an appeal regarding the case, indicate:

name of the body (or full name and position of the body’s representative);
personal data, address and contact details of the applicant;
name (application, complaint, claim);
description of the incident with clarifying details;
an indication of the offense with reference to the legislative framework (preferably);
the applicant's requirement;
list of documents that are attached (if any);
date;
signature of the compiler with transcript.

Legal settlement

To make a decision on a case, the following components are required:

the jurisdiction of the accused person, which presupposes the existence of a crime;
necessary documents: statement of claim, on the basis of which a court order is issued and a criminal case is opened;
proof.

You can draw up an application yourself or use the services of a lawyer. Claimants who go to court for compensation for personal injury do not pay a state fee.

What to use as evidence?

Evidence can be any information on the basis of which it is possible to establish the presence or absence of circumstances that need to be proven:

testimony of the victim himself;
witnesses;
conclusions of examinations (specialists) or testimony of experts (specialists);
evidence;
protocols of investigative actions or court hearings;
other written, photographic, video or audio documents.

Is it possible to claim moral damages and how to determine the amount?

The victim or his legal representative may file a civil claim for compensation for moral damage when leaving an adult in danger, but the circumstances on the basis of which such a claim is made must be proven in court on the basis of Art. 73 Code of Criminal Procedure, clause 1.4.

Important! When determining the possibility and amount of compensation, the moral damage that the perpetrator actually caused is not taken into account, but he did this not as part of the crime charged under Article 125, but for other reasons, including criminal ones.

It should also be noted that legislative provisions on specific amounts of payments for moral damage have not been developed, therefore compensation is awarded based on the requirements of the victim, the region and on the basis of the criteria established in Articles 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and 1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, as well as clarifications of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation No. 10:

the degree of guilt of the defendant;
the degree of physical and moral suffering of the victim, taking into account his individual characteristics;
requirements of reasonableness and fairness;
facts of partial voluntary compensation for moral damage;
other significant circumstances in the case.

Article 125. Leaving in danger

The objective side of the crime is characterized by inaction

- deliberately leaving without help a person who is in a condition dangerous to life or health and is deprived of the opportunity to take measures for self-preservation due to childhood, old age, illness or other helplessness, in cases where the culprit had the opportunity to help this person and was obliged to take care of him or he himself put him in a condition dangerous to life or health.

Liability requires the conditions

a) the person is in a helpless state

threatening his life or health;

b) the face itself

due to childhood, illness, old age, or other condition,
he cannot provide help to himself
or seek help from other persons;

c) the culprit had a real opportunity

provide assistance to someone in such a state;

d) the culprit was obliged

show concern for a person who is in a dangerous condition, or has himself put him in such a condition

The immediate object of the crime is the safety of human life and health

Victim - a person who is in a condition dangerous to life or health and is deprived of the opportunity to take measures for self-preservation due to childhood, old age, illness or due to his helplessness (for example, intoxication or sleep).

Under a life- or health-threatening condition

it should be understood
that there is a real threat
to life or harm to health (severe or moderate). A situation dangerous to life or health can be created either on its own (for example, fainting) or as a result of previous actions of the perpetrator that put the victim in a state dangerous to life or health.

Subjective side - direct intent

. The perpetrator realizes that he is leaving without help a person who is in a condition dangerous to life or health and is deprived of the opportunity to take measures for self-preservation, to whom he should and could have helped, and wants to leave him.

Subject special

- a sane person who has reached the age of 16 and:

a) obligated to take care of the victim who is in a dangerous condition, by virtue of the law, profession, type of activity or family relationship, or due to the fact that by his previous behavior he himself put him in a dangerous condition;

b) had the opportunity, without serious danger to himself or others, to provide assistance to this person.

Composition - formal

. The crime is considered completed from the moment the victim is left in a condition dangerous to life or health.

Question No. 12. Kidnapping. Difference from hostage taking and illegal placement in a psychiatric hospital.

For the first time in the Russian Federation, liability for kidnapping was introduced on April 29, 1993 (Article 125¹ of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR).

The objective side of the crime is expressed in the commission of active actions

, in secret or open kidnapping, i.e.
in removal against his will from his place of residence
(residence, work, study, recreation, etc.) and moving to another place determined by the abductor, for example, to another house, basement, garage, where he is held in captivity.
In some cases, kidnapping can be carried out through deception, abuse of trust of the victim
, when he, unsuspectingly, goes with the kidnapper to the place where he will be forcibly detained in the future.
When abducted, a person is deprived of his freedom
,
the ability to move freely
at his own discretion.

The immediate object of the crime is social relations that ensure physical freedom

specific victim(s).

An additional object may be the safety of life, health of the victim, his relatives, property relations

and etc.

The victim can be any person, regardless of citizenship, age, gender, social origin, etc.

Cases of parental abduction

(including those deprived of parental rights)
of their own child
, an adoptive parent from another parent or other persons to whom the child was transferred in accordance with the procedure established by law for upbringing, as well as the abduction of a child by close relatives, if these
actions are committed in the interests of the child
, including
falsely witnesses
not
form a crime
under Art. 126 of the Criminal Code.

The subjective side is characterized by direct intent

. The person is aware that he is unlawfully abducting another person, moving him to another place against his will, restricting his freedom of movement, and desires this.

The subject of this crime is any person over 14 years of age.

Formal corpus delicti

, it is considered completed from the moment of the actual abduction of a person, i.e. removal of the victim from his location. For how long a person will be deprived of liberty (hour, day, month, etc.) does not matter for the crime.

Consent of the victim

his
movement
to another place,
which is unknown to persons interested in his release
,
does not constitute
this
crime
.

Qualified staff

(Part 2 of Article 126 of the Criminal Code) - the same act committed:

a) by a group of persons by prior conspiracy;

c) with the use of violence dangerous to life and health, or with the threat of such violence;

d) using weapons or objects used as weapons;

e) in relation to a known minor;

f) in relation to a woman who is known to the perpetrator to be pregnant;

g) in relation to two or more persons;

h) for selfish reasons.

Kidnapping is recognized as committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy

, if it is established that at least two persons participated in it, who agreed in advance to commit such a crime, and each of them carried out the objective side of the crime or part of it, i.e. directly participated in the capture of the victim, moving him to another place or his subsequent detention there.

Under violence

, dangerous to life and health, or the threat of such violence is understood to mean the actual infliction of harm to the victim’s health of any degree of severity, or violence that did not cause actual harm to health, but created a real threat of causing it, a mental threat of causing physical harm. Such violence also includes the introduction of potent, poisonous and intoxicating substances into the human body, and the use of a gas canister, if this could cause harm dangerous to life and health.

Use of weapons

or objects used as weapons, involves the use of
any type of weapon
(firearms, gas, cold, pneumatic), as well as
various household items
- an ax, hammer, scissors, screwdrivers, etc.
It does not matter whether weapons or other items were specially brought with them or picked up at the scene of the abduction. The use

a faulty weapon or its mock-ups during a threat cannot serve as a basis for qualification under the specified point
, since a real threat to the life and health of the victim is not created.

kidnapping a minor

means reliable knowledge by the perpetrator that the kidnapped person has not reached the age of 18 years. The opinion of some authors that the perpetrator should be held accountable even when he admitted that he was committing a crime against a minor is not based on the law, which uses the term “knowingly.” The holding of a lost young child against his will or the substitution of a young child cannot be considered kidnapping. In the first case, the act must be considered as an unlawful deprivation of liberty (Article 127 of the Criminal Code), and in the second - as the substitution of a child (Article 153 of the Criminal Code).

Kidnapping of a woman known to be pregnant

, also assumes that the perpetrator knew about this circumstance reliably. The increased danger is that both the woman herself and the unborn child are at risk.

Kidnapping of two or more persons

involves the abduction of at least two persons, both simultaneously and at different times, the presence of
a single intent is not required
, it is important that the person has not previously been convicted of any of the abductions.

Kidnapping for personal gain

involves the desire of a person during a kidnapping to obtain some material benefit for himself personally or for other persons, for example: to receive a ransom for release, to register an apartment, car, bank deposit in his name, to deprive the victim of the opportunity to participate in an auction, a commercial transaction, in order to as a result, receive material benefits, etc. Otherwise, there is no selfish motive.

When kidnapping involves

simultaneous illegal
demands for the transfer of money, property, and other valuables
,
then
the actions of the perpetrator
are qualified under the totality of paragraph “h” of Part 2 of Art.
126 and art. 163 of the Criminal Code as kidnapping and extortion .

Particularly qualified personnel (Part 3 of Article 126 of the Criminal Code) - an act provided for in Parts 1 and 2 of the article in question, if they were committed by an organized group or negligently resulted in the death of a person or other grave consequences.

The concept of an organized group is given in Art. 35 of the Criminal Code. When qualifying the actions of the perpetrators, references to Art. 33 of the Criminal Code (Types of accomplices) is not required.

Causing death by negligence

refers to cases where the perpetrator chose a method of abduction in which, due to his frivolity or negligence, the death of the victim occurred, for example: placed in a basement where there was poor ventilation and the victim suffocated, while accompanying the victim, pushed him, as a result of which he fell and hit his head on sidewalk curb and died, etc.

If the death of a person occurred as a result of the intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm, then the act is qualified according to the totality of crimes provided for under Part 3 of Art. 126 and part 4 of Art. 111 CC

, since such consequences are not covered by the elements of kidnapping.
Similarly, the murder of a kidnapped person is also qualified under the totality of Part 3 of Art.
126 and paragraph “c” of Part 2 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code .

Other grave consequences include, in particular, suicide of the abducted person, serious illness, mental disorder, infliction of serious harm to the victim or his relatives, infliction of major property damage, riots, national clashes, etc.

In Art. 126 of the Criminal Code there is a note according to which a person who voluntarily or at the request of the authorities frees a hostage is exempt from criminal liability unless his actions contain another crime.

Under voluntary

is understood as such
a release
in which the guilty person realizes that he has every opportunity to hold the kidnapped person, but releases him and hands him over to relatives and authorities.

Note to Art. 126 of the Criminal Code gives the kidnapper the opportunity to change his mind and release the kidnapped person. In addition, it can help deter accomplices from further violent actions against the abducted person.

The reasons for the exemption do not matter for the application of the note to the article. They can be, for example, repentance, fear of punishment or revenge from relatives for what they have done, satisfaction of the request of the victim, demand of the authorities, etc.

For the purposes of the note, the absence of other elements of a crime means a crime that is associated specifically with the kidnapping of a person, for example: the acquisition of weapons with which the victim was threatened during his abduction, theft of a vehicle for transporting a kidnapped person, causing harm to health while holding the stolen person, etc.

It should also be borne in mind that since the kidnapping of a person involves his capture and detention in captivity, then additional qualifications under Art. 127 of the Criminal Code, which provides for liability for deprivation of liberty, is not required; all actions of the perpetrator are covered by Art. 126 of the Criminal Code.

Comparison. With hostage taking . Kidnapping is similar in appearance to hostage taking

(Article 206 of the Criminal Code).
However, these crimes are different in object, objective side and subjective side. The object of the crime provided for in Art. 206 of the Criminal Code is public safety
.
A mandatory sign of the subjective side is the goal
:
setting any condition to the state
, organization or citizen as a basis for the release of the hostage.

During a seizure, the perpetrator, as a rule, is interested in wide publicity of his demands, but during a kidnapping, he is not; the ransom demand is presented to a narrow circle of people, usually relatives, and the place where the kidnapped person is kept is kept secret.