In Orthodox Christianity, suicide is recognized as one of the most serious sins. Religion explains this by saying that a person simultaneously commits murder and falls into despair. He will no longer be able to repent of these sins. People who commit suicide are deprived of a funeral service before burial. Only crazy people who committed suicide in a state of mental confusion are an exception. Previously, suicides were buried outside the cemetery. During the Soviet years, it was widely believed that suicide was a clear sign of mental insanity. This means that every suicide person was posthumously given the title of abnormal. Those who managed to be saved were registered with a psychiatrist for life. Today, suicide can evoke sympathy, compassion, pity, and in some cases even condescension.
Criminal law
Today, the qualification of an act, which is provided for in Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, is associated with a number of problems. This is due to the relatively young age of suicide victims. Many of them are barely 30 years old. Undoubtedly, a person can decide for himself whether to live or die. However, it should be remembered that a criminal can lead a person to commit suicide. Despite the fact that such an act falls under the category of public accusation, identifying it without a statement from the victim himself (in the case of an assassination attempt) or the relatives of the deceased is very problematic, and in some cases impossible.
Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: punishment
Driving a citizen to suicide or attempted suicide through systematic (constant) humiliation of the victim’s dignity or threats and ill-treatment involves:
- Up to three years of restriction of freedom.
- Forced labor.
- Imprisonment.
The duration of the last two punishments is up to five years.
Commentary to Art. 110 Criminal Code
1. The crime is considered completed from the moment of suicide or attempted suicide. In rare cases, suicide can be committed through inaction (for example, refusing food).
2. The nature of the threat can be anything: threat of physical violence, destruction or damage to property, dissemination of information that the victim would like to keep secret.
3. Cruel treatment of the victim is expressed in beatings, torture, harm to health, deprivation of heat, food, etc.
4. Systematic humiliation of human dignity is expressed in repeated acts of insult, mockery, and defamation of the victim.
Since such methods are mandatory alternative signs of composition, then, as a general rule, it is enough to qualify the act only under Art. 110 of the Criminal Code, except for those cases when the method itself or its consequences are more socially dangerous, which is reflected in the sanction of the relevant crime.
5. The subjective side of a crime can be expressed in the form of intentional or careless guilt.
Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with comments
The norm does not provide explanations regarding the actions of the guilty person. For example, what should be understood by threats? They differ in their content. The commentary to Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation indicates that qualification under the norm in question does not depend on what exactly the guilty person is threatening. For example, he can talk about causing death or damage to health, disclosure of information that the victim wanted to keep secret, divorce, dismissal from work, removal of a minor, deprivation of livelihood, eviction, destruction of property, and so on. In case of suicide under the influence of such threats, Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation will be used. Judicial practice takes into account not only their content, but also their duration and repetition. In some cases, even minor threats can drive the victim to suicide if they take the form of bullying. At the same time, not all words expressed once, even those with dangerous content, can be considered as a method of inciting suicide. That is why Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation uses the plural of the word threat. To bring to justice, it will not matter how exactly the words are formulated - written, oral, anonymous, open.
Punishment
The punishment for driving a person to suicide depends on the qualifying criteria.
Part 1 art. 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is a simple form of crime, without additional signs - that is, when the victim is forced to commit suicide through threats, cruel treatment or humiliation. Punishment under this part of the article can be in the form of imprisonment from 2 to 6 years . As an additional punishment, deprivation of the right to hold certain positions for a period of up to 7 years can be imposed - usually applied to officials who are found guilty of a crime.
Part 2 Art. 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for a more severe punishment, which can be imposed in the form of imprisonment for a term of 7 to 12 with mandatory restriction of freedom for up to 2 years . This means that after the convicted person has served his term of imprisonment, he is obliged to register with the penal inspection and comply with the restrictions imposed by the court for 2 years (not to travel outside the city, stay at home at night, etc.). d.). As an additional punishment, a ban on holding certain positions for a period of up to 10 years may be imposed. Part two of Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for the following qualifying criteria (there may be only one of them or several at once):
- crime against a minor . As in other articles of the Criminal Code, an act against a child is always punished more severely than the same actions against an adult. For the perpetrator to be held accountable, there must be evidence demonstrating knowledge of the real age of the minor.
- in relation to a person who is in a helpless state due to his health, position, financial or other dependence on the perpetrator, etc. For example, an elderly person who cannot stand up for himself and provide strong resistance to the offender. It is important to understand that if a person is helpless due to his mental illness, does not understand and does not fully realize that he is committing suicide, then the criminal who pushes him to death is actually committing murder.
- in relation to a woman who is pregnant - for liability for a crime that includes this feature, evidence of knowledge of pregnancy is required. This may be indicated by external signs of the victim or close relationships of the perpetrator (for example, when a cohabitant or husband is brought to justice).
- in relation to two or more persons . Driving several people to suicide is extremely rare in practice. At the same time, if the intent of the perpetrator was aimed at driving two or more people to suicide, this qualifying characteristic will be incriminated against him.
- the crime was committed by a group of persons or an organized group . The difference between a “group” and an “organized group” is that an organized group is more stable, usually has more than 3-5 participants, roles and functions are clearly distributed, and there is a leader.
- when threats or humiliation aimed at achieving the result of leading to suicide are demonstrated publicly (in the presence of other persons), including through radio, television, the Internet (for example, a YouTube channel).
If all the actions contained in the article are completed, but the victim at the last minute changes his decision to take his own life, the actions of the perpetrator will be an attempt to incite suicide.
Until June 2021, the punishment provided for in Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was comparatively milder. Thus, for “simple” incitement to suicide, judges could impose a maximum of 3 years in prison (currently 6 years). There was only one part (the first) in the construction of the crime, and all qualifying features and the second part as a whole were absent; it was introduced by federal law dated 06/07/2017. In addition, in 2021, the same law introduced two additional articles into the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, providing for liability for incitement to suicide. Let's take a closer look at them.
Cruel treatment
This is another significant feature, which is referred to in Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The elements of a crime can be formed by actions that themselves act as a criminal offense. For example, this could be torture, intentional harm to health, etc. Illegal placement in a psychiatric hospital, wrongful imprisonment, deprivation of work, food, housing, forced sexual intercourse, and infringement of other rights of the victim also constitute ill-treatment. Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not require the systematic nature of such acts. However, it is important to determine that they were actually aimed at driving the victim to suicide.
Required elements
In fact, they are suicide or attempted suicide. It is from this moment that the crime is considered to be over. Statement of intention to commit suicide, preparation for it, writing a suicide note will not yet form the criteria established in the article in question. To apply the norm, a causal connection must be established between the behavior of the perpetrator and the consequences in the form of the death of the victim or an attempt on her life. At the same time, Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation clearly states that in order to initiate criminal proceedings, it is necessary that suicide or attempt occur under the influence of cruel treatment, systematic humiliation or threats. If suicide acted as a reaction to lawful actions (for example, with the threat of exposure, prosecution), then the norm in question does not apply.
Composition of the crime and grounds for initiating a case
The subject of this crime is a legally competent citizen who has reached 16 years of age. The subjective side is the presence of guilt: direct or indirect. The object of a criminal act is human life.
The grounds for initiating a criminal case may be manifestations of physical and moral pressure of the perpetrator on the victim, expressed in the following illegal actions:
note
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- in threats:
- physical violence
- destruction (damage) of property,
- dissemination of any personal information;
- in ill-treatment:
- beatings,
- torture,
- causing damage to a person’s physical condition,
- deprivation of freedom, food, water, heat, etc.;
- in humiliation:
- regular insults
- mockery;
- in indifference to any actions of the victim, for example, when the victim refuses food;
- misrepresentation regarding any object significant to the victim.
This criminal act can be either intentional or unintentional. Therefore, the most important evidentiary argument for committing a crime is to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between suicide (or attempted suicide) and the reasons that served as the impetus for the implementation of this extreme step of despair.
The objective side of the crime of incitement to suicide is classified by the Criminal Code as complicated, that is, it represents an event chain of 3 parts:
- negative behavior of the perpetrator, the manifestations of which are described above;
- creation by the perpetrator of a situation perceived by the victim as a dead end;
- the victim’s decision to commit suicide under the influence of the current situation.
The crime of inciting suicide or attempting to commit it is of medium severity, therefore the statute of limitations, in accordance with criminal law, is 6 years from the date of commission of this criminal act .
Delineation from Art. 105
Some lawyers believe that if there is direct intent, incitement to suicide should be considered murder. This opinion is erroneous. The authors of this position do not take into account the fact that the objective parts of Articles 105 and 110 of the Criminal Code are different. In the case of suicide, unlike murder, the perpetrator does not commit actions that directly cause death. The victim independently makes the decision to end his life and carries it out himself. He is guided by his own will and consciousness. Possibly careless incitement to suicide. However, according to Art. 24, Part 2 of the Code in this case, liability is excluded.
Article 110.1. Inducement to commit suicide or assistance in committing suicide
(introduced by Federal Law dated 06/07/2017 N 120-FZ)
1. Inducement to commit suicide through persuasion, proposals, bribery, deception or any other means in the absence of signs of incitement to suicide -
is punishable by restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years, or forced labor for a term of up to two years with deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years or without it, or imprisonment for a term of up to two years with deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of up to three years or without it.
2. Assisting in the commission of suicide by advice, instructions, provision of information, means or instruments for committing suicide, or removing obstacles to its commission, or a promise to conceal the means or instruments of committing suicide -
is punishable by restriction of freedom for a term of up to three years, or forced labor for a term of up to three years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to four years or without it, or imprisonment for a term of up to three years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of up to four years or without it.
3. Acts provided for in parts one or two of this article, committed:
a) in relation to a minor or a person who is known to the perpetrator to be in a helpless state or in financial or other dependence on the perpetrator;
b) in relation to a woman who is known to the perpetrator to be pregnant;
c) in relation to two or more persons;
d) by a group of persons by prior conspiracy or an organized group;
e) in a public speech, a publicly displayed work, the media or information and telecommunication networks (including the Internet), -
shall be punishable by forced labor for a term of up to four years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to five years or without it, or imprisonment for a term of up to four years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to five years, or without one.
4. Acts provided for in part one or two of this article, resulting in suicide or attempted suicide, -
shall be punishable by restriction of freedom for a term of two to four years, or by forced labor for a term of up to five years with deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to six years or without it, or by imprisonment for a term of five to ten years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of up to six years or without it.
(as amended by Federal Law dated July 29, 2017 N 248-FZ)
5. Acts provided for in parts one or two of this article, resulting in suicide or attempted suicide of a minor, or a person known to the perpetrator to be in a helpless state or financially or otherwise dependent on the perpetrator, or a woman known to the perpetrator to be pregnant, —
(as amended by Federal Law dated July 29, 2017 N 248-FZ)
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of six to twelve years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to seven years.
(as amended by Federal Law dated July 29, 2017 N 248-FZ)
6. Acts provided for in parts one, two or three of this article, resulting in the suicide of two or more persons, -
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of eight to fifteen years.
(Part 6 introduced by Federal Law dated July 29, 2017 N 248-FZ)
Article 110.2. Organization of activities aimed at inducing suicide
(introduced by Federal Law dated 06/07/2017 N 120-FZ)
1. Organization of activities aimed at inducing suicide by disseminating information about methods of committing suicide or calls to commit suicide -
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of five to ten years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to five years.
(as amended by Federal Law dated July 29, 2017 N 248-FZ)
2. The same act involving public speaking, the use of a publicly displayed work, mass media or information and telecommunication networks (including the Internet), -
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of five to fifteen years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to seven years.
(as amended by Federal Law dated July 29, 2017 N 248-FZ)
Note. A person who has committed a crime under this article, who has voluntarily stopped the relevant criminal activity and actively contributed to the disclosure and (or) suppression of crimes provided for in Articles 110, 110.1 of this Code or this article, is exempt from criminal liability unless his actions contain another crime. .
Ch. 16, “Criminal Code of the Russian Federation” dated June 13, 1996 N 63-FZ (as amended on April 23, 2018, as amended on April 25, 2018) {ConsultantPlus}
EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL
Incitement to suicide (Article 110 of the Criminal Code) presupposes:
1) a certain line of behavior of the perpetrator in relation to the victim, characterized by the application of methods of influence specified in the legislation to the latter (threats, cruel treatment, systematic humiliation of human dignity);
2) the emergence of a situation that provokes the victim to make a decision to commit suicide;
3) committing an act of suicide or attempted suicide;
4) a causal relationship between completed suicide (or attempted suicide) and the behavior of the perpetrator, which determines the action of the victim.
A mandatory sign of the objective side is the death of the victim or an act of attempted suicide, if the death did not occur for one reason or another. The assassination attempt must be over. Preparation for suicide, expressing an intention to take one's own life, including in a suicide note, a crime under Art. 110 of the Criminal Code, do not form.
A causal connection must connect the resulting result with the method by which the perpetrator objectively drives the victim to commit suicide. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that the victim himself, under the influence of violence applied to him, should strive to take his own life, and not to achieve other goals (for example, to evade violent attacks).
The victim’s suicide as a response to the lawful actions of a person (for example, lawful arrest, detention, etc.) cannot be assessed according to the rules of Art. 110 CC.
The subjective side is characterized by direct or indirect intent.
Ch. 22, § 2, “Criminal law of Russia. General and Special parts: Textbook" (ed. by Yu.V. Gracheva, A.I. Chuchaev) ("CONTRACT", 2017) {ConsultantPlus}
Document provided by ConsultantPlus
NEW IN CRIMINAL LEGAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN LIFE <1>
ON THE. EGOROVA
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<1> Dedicated to the blessed memory of Professor Vasily Vasilyevich Maltsev.
Egorova Natalya Aleksandrovna, professor of the Volgograd Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Doctor of Law.
The article is devoted to the novelties of the Russian criminal legislation on crimes against life associated with suicide (“suicidal” crimes), as well as on the involvement of a minor in committing actions that pose a danger to the life of a minor. Possible law enforcement problems are considered and ways to solve them are proposed.
Key words: incitement to suicide; inclination to commit suicide; assisting suicide; organizing activities aimed at inducing suicide; involvement of a minor in committing actions that pose a danger to the life of the minor.
The new in life protection of a person under criminal law
N.A. Yegorova
Yegorova Natalya Alexandrovna, LLD., Professor, Volgograd Academy of the Ministry of the Interior of Russia.
The article is devoted to novels of the criminal legislation of Russia on the crimes against human life related to the suicide (“suicide” crimes), and the involvement of minors in the commission of acts dangerous to the life of minors. The possible law enforcement problems are considered, the solutions to them are proposed.
Key words: incitement to suicide; the abetment of committing suicide; assisting suicide; organization of activities aimed at encouraging to commit suicide; involvement of minors in the commission of acts dangerous to the life of minors.
Federal Law No. 120-FZ of June 7, 2021 amended the wording of Art. 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the criminal law is supplemented by Articles 110.1, 110.2 (let’s conditionally call the acts prohibited by them “suicidal” crimes) <2> and Art. 151.2. A number of qualifying criteria have appeared as part of incitement to suicide (Part 2 of Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation); inducement to commit suicide and assistance in committing suicide (Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the organization of activities aimed at inducing suicide (Article 110.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), as well as the involvement of a minor in committing actions that pose a danger to the life of a minor (Article 151.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
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<2> After this, the updated Art. 110 and new art. Art. 110.1 and 110.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation have undergone changes related to tougher sanctions and (or) differentiation of liability, and are in effect as amended by Federal Law No. 248-FZ of July 29, 2021.
Without affecting the criminological basis of these prohibitions <3>, we note that Art. Art. 110.1 and 110.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation eliminated the gap in criminal legislation associated with the lack of grounds for responsibility for inciting suicide and assisting suicide (responsibility for such acts has long been known to the legislation of foreign states <4>), as well as for new types of socially dangerous behavior (in particular, organizing the activities of “death groups” on social networks). At the same time, the application of these articles will inevitably cause difficulties due to the lack of uniform standards for interpreting the characteristics of these compounds.
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<3> See: Explanatory note to the draft federal law “On amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation in terms of establishing additional mechanisms to counter activities aimed at inducing children to suicidal behavior.” URL: https://asozd2.duma.gov.ru/main.nsf/%28Spravka%29?OpenAgent&RN=118634-7 (date of access: 08/15/2017).
<4> See, for example: Dodonov V.N., Kapinus O.S., Shcherba S.P. Comparative criminal law. A special part. M.: Yurlitinform, 2010. P. 55 - 60.
The compositions provided for in Art. Art. 110 and 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, is united by the presence of a specific victim (victims), which is not typical for a crime under Art. 110.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In Part 1 of Art. 110.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for responsibility for organizing activities aimed at inducing suicide by disseminating information about methods of committing suicide or calls to commit suicide. Despite the fact that the legislator considers these acts to be attacks on human life, they are addressed to an indefinite circle of people, which makes us think about their actual main object: human life or public safety.
It is impossible not to pay attention to the fact that it is criminally punishable in Part 1 of Art. 110.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation recognizes only the organization of such activities, but not this activity itself. Dissemination of information about methods of committing suicide and calls to commit suicide that are not directed at specific individuals do not constitute a crime.
In connection with the above, it is not entirely clear how it is consistent with the dispositions of Parts 1 and 2 of Art. 110.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a note to this article regarding the reference to Art. Art. 110 and 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The said note states: “A person who has committed a crime under this article, who has voluntarily stopped the relevant criminal activity and actively contributed to the disclosure and (or) suppression of crimes provided for in Articles 110, 110.1 of this Code or this article, is exempt from criminal liability if in his the actions do not contain any other corpus delicti.” Logical and systematic interpretation of Part 1 and Part 2 of Art. 110.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation allows us to state that organizational actions aimed at inducing suicide are not associated with incitement to suicide, inducement to commit suicide or assistance in committing suicide of specific victims, therefore, it is hardly possible to contribute to the detection and (or) suppression of crimes provided for Art. Art. 110 or 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (unless, of course, the culprit also acted as a subject of crimes provided for in Article 110 or Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
At the same time, the voluntary cessation of inducement to commit suicide or assistance in committing suicide by their subject and the active contribution of this subject to the disclosure and (or) suppression of these crimes (parts 1, 2, 3 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) - acts that create a higher probability suicide than the organization of its propaganda - does not entail for a person such a legal consequence as exemption from criminal liability on a special basis.
Differentiation of responsibility for incitement to suicide and the appearance of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not solve the problem of distinguishing these crimes from murder (Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Moreover, with the advent of such qualifying signs of incitement to suicide as minority and the helpless state of the victim (clause “a”, part 2 of article 110, clause “a”, part 3 of article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), it becomes even more relevant .
The criminal law does not specify the minimum age before which a minor victim is not capable of making an independent and voluntary decision to end his life. We believe that until a direct regulatory settlement of this issue is made by minor victims of crimes under Art. Art. 110 and 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, persons who have reached the age of 12, but not 18 years of age, can be recognized. As follows from the note to Art. 131 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a person under 12 years of age “is in a helpless state, that is, cannot understand the nature and significance of the actions performed on him.”
The criminal law does not specify the nature of the victim’s helplessness (physical, mental), in which the helpless person is a victim of “suicidal” crimes, and not of murder. It seems that only a physically helpless person can definitely be a victim of “suicidal” crimes. As for mental helplessness (for example, severe mental disorder, age under 12 years), it, in our opinion, excludes the ability of a person to understand the nature and significance of the actions performed on him and should be the basis for raising the question of responsibility for the murder of such a person.
It is possible to induce suicide, incite suicide or facilitate the suicide of persons suffering from mental disorders that do not deprive them of the ability to correctly perceive the surrounding reality, as well as those in a state of alcohol, drug, or toxic intoxication, but it would be incorrect to state that such persons are helpless. At the time of committing a crime, a person is either helpless or not; one cannot have this characteristic to a greater or lesser extent.
Summarizing the above, it can be argued that “suicidal” offenses (Article 110, 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) are characterized by a so-called special victim - an individual who has reached the age of 12 years and is capable of understanding the nature and significance of the actions performed on him by his mental state, for whom suicide has a certain personal meaning, with the freedom to choose just such behavior.
In Art. 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the list of methods of incitement to suicide has not changed - Part 1 of the said article still specifies methods such as 1) threats, 2) cruel treatment, 3) systematic humiliation of the victim’s human dignity.
“Bringing” in a broad sense includes inducing and promoting something. In Russian, “bring” means to bring into some state, to cause, to give rise to certain consequences in someone (something) <5>. You can bring a person into a certain state in various ways (including by inducing something and providing assistance in something) <6>. However, “bringing about”, in contrast to “inducing” and “assisting,” may not have a direct and immediate focus on the victim’s suicide; under the influence of socially dangerous actions (inaction) of the perpetrator, qualified as “intimidation”, the victim independently decides to die.
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<5> Ozhegov S.I., Shvedova N.Yu. Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. M.: AZ, 1995. P. 166.
<6> See, for example: Tsyrkalyuk A.A. Criminal liability for incitement to suicide: Dis. ...cand. legal Sci. Tambov: Tambov State. University named after G.R. Derzhavina, 2011. pp. 11 - 12.
As can be seen from the dispositions of Part 1 and Part 2 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the legislator sees a problem in the distinction between “incitement” and “inducement” (as evidenced by the clause “in the absence of signs of incitement to suicide” in Part 1 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), but does not see such a problem when qualifying assistance in committing suicide (Part 2 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not contain such a clause).
Inducement to commit suicide means that the perpetrator forms in the victim the determination to commit suicide; the desire to commit suicide arises as a result of the direct and immediate influence of the perpetrator. Such inducement occurs through “persuasion, proposals, bribery, deception, or other means in the absence of signs of incitement to suicide.”
Assistance in committing suicide, in contrast to inducement, strengthens the desire to commit suicide that has already arisen in the victim and, possibly, according to the legislator, in such ways as advice, instructions, provision of information, means or instruments for committing suicide, or the removal of obstacles to its commission, or a promise to conceal the means or instruments for committing suicide.
Through a systematic interpretation of the criminal law, we can come to the conclusion that incitement to suicide differs from inducement or assistance to suicide not only in the ways and nature of their influence on the mental sphere of the victim. When inciting suicide, the subject does not necessarily pursue the goal of depriving the victim of his own life; the perpetrator may consciously allow such an outcome, or be indifferent to it, or, without sufficient grounds, arrogantly count on preventing it. The behavior of a person guilty of incitement to suicide can only be aimed at the suicide of the victim objectively. Inducement to commit suicide (Part 1 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and assistance in committing suicide (Part 2 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) are acts committed only with direct intent. This follows from the design of these compounds as formal (consequences in the form of suicide or attempted suicide are recognized as a qualifying feature - see parts 4, 5, 6 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Others, except those expressly specified in Part 1 of Art. 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, methods of incitement to suicide (for example, a once-expressed threat or a one-time humiliation of the victim’s human dignity), which do not have signs of inclination to suicide or assistance to it, cannot be qualified under Art. 110, nor under Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The normative description of the objective side of inducement to commit suicide is an open list of the actions of the guilty person (Part 1 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). In describing the objective side of facilitating suicide (Part 2 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), such a set of options for the behavior of the perpetrator is exhaustive. It is easy to notice the similarity of the legislative characteristics of inducement to suicide and assistance to suicide and, accordingly, incitement to a crime (Part 4 of Article 33 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and (especially) aiding and abetting a crime (Part 5 of Article 33 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The closed list of options for aiding and abetting a crime does not cover all conceivable situations of aiding a crime <7>, which raises the assumption of similar problems that may arise in practice when qualifying assisted suicide (for example, the responsibility of the person transmitting information, instruments and means of committing suicide from the person providing them to the victim).
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<7> See, for example: Shchepelkov V.F. Criminal law: overcoming contradictions and incompleteness. M.: Yurlitinform, 2003. P. 247 - 248.
Traditionally, the question of the forms and types of guilt as part of incitement to suicide (Part 1 of Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) has been and, apparently, remains controversial. When inciting suicide, indirect intent and negligence <8> are possible (we agree with the position that intent in committing this crime can be direct <9>), which does not contradict the design of this composition as material.
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<8> See, for example: Borodin S.V. Crimes against life. M.: Yurist, 1999. P. 252; Maltsev V.V. Incitement to suicide: problems of qualification and responsibility // Serial murders and their prevention: legal and psychological aspects: Materials of the international. scientific-practical conf. Rostov n/d: RyuI Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 1998. Part 2. P. 54.
<9> See, for example: Elmurzaev D.I. Criminal liability for incitement to suicide: abstract. dis. ...cand. legal Sci. M.: Academy of Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, 2004. P. 9.
It is unlikely to raise doubts that as part of the crime provided for in Art. 110.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, only direct intent is possible (parts 1 and 2 of this article contain formal elements).
As for such a “suicidal” crime as inducement to commit suicide or assistance in committing suicide (Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), here the solution to the problem of forms and types of guilt is not so obvious. In crimes with formal elements (parts 1, 2, 3 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), no other types of guilt other than direct intent are acceptable. But qualified offenses (parts 4, 5, 6 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) are material in design (socially dangerous consequences in the form of suicide or attempted suicide of the victim or suicide of two or more victims are obligatory).
What should be the subjective attitude of the perpetrator to such consequences? To answer this question, it is necessary to turn to the provisions of the theory of criminal law about the guilt of such accomplices in the crime as the instigator and accomplice. Suicide as such is not considered a crime under modern Russian criminal law, however, as already noted, the legislative description of incitement to suicide and assistance to suicide is very similar to the content of the norms of the General Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on instigator and accomplice; To denote a suicide attempt in the criminal law (Article 110, 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the term “attempt” is used, which is acceptable only to characterize an unfinished crime (Part 3 of Article 30 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) <10>.
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<10> On the incorrectness of the concept of “attempt” in Art. 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, see, for example: Ukolova Yu.A. Problems of qualifying incitement to suicide as a criminal act: Author's abstract. dis. ...cand. legal Sci. M.: MSYuA, 2008. P. 9.
Incitement to a crime is possible only with direct intent; complicity - both with direct and indirect intent <11>. According to this logic, when there is an inclination to commit suicide, which entails consequences in the form of a successful or unsuccessful suicide (parts 4, 5, 6 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), there must always be direct intent, i.e. the perpetrator wants the victim to commit suicide or at least attempt suicide as a result of his actions. Assisting in committing suicide, provided for in Part 4, 5 or 6 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, can be committed with both direct and indirect intent, i.e. the subject can either desire the occurrence of such consequences or not, but consciously allow them or be indifferent to them.
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<11> See, for example: Galiakbarov R.R. Combating gang crimes. Qualification issues. Krasnodar: Kuban State. Agrarian University, 2000. P. 27, 28; Kozlov A.P. Complicity: traditions and reality. St. Petersburg: Legal Center Press, 2001. P. 66.
The correctness of such conclusions is cast into doubt by the disposition of Part 6 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Acts provided for in parts one, two or three of this article, resulting in the suicide of two or more persons”). It would seem that if inducement to suicide is possible only with direct intent, then the above norm applies only to cases of committing a crime against two or more persons (clause “c” of Part 3 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) both with a single intent and in the absence of such, if we remember the legal position of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the qualification of murder of two or more persons (clause 5 of the Resolution of January 27, 1999 No. 1 “On judicial practice in murder cases (Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)”).
But from Part 6 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation it follows that an act in the form of inducement to commit suicide does not necessarily have to be provided for in paragraph “c” of Part 3 of the same article, i.e. be committed against two or more persons. According to the literal meaning of the law, even one person can be persuaded to commit suicide (Part 1 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), including in the presence of qualifying criteria provided for in paragraphs “a”, “b”, “d”, “d” Part 3 Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, but as a result of this, consequences may occur in the form of suicide not only of the named person, but also of other persons (one or more). It turns out that inducement to suicide, provided for in Part 6 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a person who acted with direct intent in relation to the suicide of one victim and with indirect intent, and even negligence (and both frivolity and negligence), in relation to the suicide of another victim (other victims) can be incriminated. . These considerations also apply to assisting in the commission of suicide, which entails the suicide of two or more persons (with the only difference that the intent of the perpetrator in relation to the suicide of at least one victim can be not only direct, but also indirect).
Literal interpretation of Part 5 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation leads to the conclusion that suicide or attempted suicide of a minor, or a person known to the perpetrator to be in a helpless state or in financial or other dependence on the perpetrator, or a woman known to the perpetrator to be in a state of pregnancy, may be the result of inducement to suicide or assisted suicide committed against other persons. This gives reason to believe that in relation to the suicide of the victims specified in Part 5 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the perpetrator may have both intent and negligence.
Motives for “suicidal” crimes are among the optional features of these offenses. Note that with the advent of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation criminalizes assistance to suicide committed for any motive, including compassion for a seriously and hopelessly ill person. At the same time, the presence of a motive of compassion does not in any way affect the qualification of the act and is taken into account only when assigning punishment (clause “d”, part 1 of article 61 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Contents of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation raises other questions related to the criminal legal assessment of inducement to suicide and assistance to suicide. It is not clear how to qualify the acts provided for in Part 3 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, if they resulted in suicide or attempted suicide of the persons specified in this part of the article (for example, the perpetrator incited a obviously pregnant woman to commit suicide, and his actions entailed precisely such consequences), because in Part 5 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation we are talking about acts provided for by “parts one or two of this article,” i.e. committed in the absence of qualifying features enshrined in Part 3 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. There are two possible options for qualifying such crimes: 1) according to the totality of paragraph “a” or paragraph “b” of Part 3 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Part 5 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (actually means the imputation of two crimes); 2) according to Part 5 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, since it is understood that the commission of acts (incitement to suicide or assistance to it) in relation to special victims is covered by this norm.
In law enforcement practice, the question may arise about the qualification of inducement to suicide and assistance to suicide, resulting in the attempted suicide of two or more persons or the suicide of one (one) and the attempted suicide of another (other) victim(s). In such situations, Part 6 of Art. 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is inapplicable (in the case of the suicide of one victim and the attempted suicide of another victim, there is a combination of crimes provided for in Part 4 and (or) Part 5 of Article 110.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) or must be applied along with other parts of this article (in case of suicide of two or more persons and attempted suicide of one or more victims will also be aggregation of crimes).
The crime provided for in Art. 151.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it is quite acceptable to consider it as belonging to the group of attacks on the life of a person (in this case, a minor). Competition with elements of incitement to suicide, involvement of a minor in committing a crime or committing antisocial actions is permitted in Part 1 of Art. 151.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - Art. 151.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is subject to application in the absence of signs of crimes provided for in Art. Art. 110.1, 150, 151 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Thus, if a minor who has reached the age of criminal responsibility is involved by an adult in committing theft with illegal entry into a home through a second-floor window (which posed a danger to the life of the minor performer), the adult must be held responsible for involving the minor in the commission of a serious crime (h 4 Article 150 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and for incitement to theft (Part 4 of Article 33 and paragraph “a” of Part 3 of Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation); imputation Art. 151.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation will be redundant.
The question of the lower limit of the age of a minor in Art. 151.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is not permitted in criminal law, i.e. The age of the victim may be significantly lower than the minimum age of criminal responsibility (14 years). This article covers, in addition to “train surfing,” “roofing,” “hooking,” etc., the transfer of control of a car or other mechanical vehicle to children of preschool and primary school age <12>.
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<12> See, for example: A resident of Novosibirsk taught his 9-year-old daughter to drive a car, putting her behind the wheel on a busy street. URL: https://auto.newsru.com/article/14jun2017/girl (date of access: 08/11/2017).
The moment of completion of the crime in question should be determined in the same way as the crimes provided for in Art. Art. 150 and 151 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (clause 42 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 1, 2011 No. 1 “On the judicial practice of applying legislation regulating the specifics of criminal liability and punishment of minors”) - it ends from the moment the victim commits unlawful actions representing danger to his life.
Thus, new provisions of criminal legislation on the protection of human life can cause qualification problems, and therefore require deep theoretical understanding and testing in practice.
Article bibliographic list
1. Borodin S.V. Crimes against life. M.: Yurist, 1999.
2. Galiakbarov R.R. Combating gang crimes. Qualification issues. Krasnodar: Kuban State. Agrarian University, 2000.
3. Dodonov V.N., Kapinus O.S., Shcherba S.P. Comparative criminal law. A special part. M.: Yurlitinform, 2010.
4. Kozlov A.P. Complicity: traditions and reality. St. Petersburg: Legal Center Press, 2001.
5. Maltsev V.V. Incitement to suicide: problems of qualification and responsibility // Serial murders and their prevention: legal and psychological aspects. Materials of the international scientific-practical conf. Rostov n/d: RYUI Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 1998. Part 2.
6. Ozhegov S.I., Shvedova N.Yu. Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. M.: AZ, 1995.
7. Ukolova Yu.A. Problems of qualifying incitement to suicide as a criminal act: Author's abstract. dis. ...cand. legal Sci. M.: MSYuA, 2008.
8. Tsyrkalyuk A.A. Criminal liability for incitement to suicide: Dis. ...cand. legal Sci. Tambov: Tambov State. University named after G.R. Derzhavina, 2011.
9. Shchepelkov V.F. Criminal law: overcoming contradictions and incompleteness. M.: Yurlitinform, 2003.
10. Elmurzaev D.I. Criminal liability for incitement to suicide: abstract. dis. ...cand. legal Sci. M.: Academy of Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, 2004.
Egorova N.A. New in the criminal legal protection of human life // Criminal Law. 2021. N 6. P. 11 - 17.
13. Criminal-legal characteristics of intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm.
14. Criminal law characteristics of intentional infliction of harm of moderate severity or minor harm to health.
Set of acts
It occurs if a person is driven to suicide by an official. In addition to Art. 110, Part 3 (clause “c”) of Art. 286, establishing liability for exceeding one’s powers with grave consequences. The combination also occurs if incitement to suicide or attempted suicide was committed using actions that constitute an independent criminal act (torture, extortion, etc.).
Examples from judicial practice
Example one
Gr. A.A., while undergoing military service in the ranks of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, while holding military weapons at the guard post of a military unit, committed suicide. As a result of the investigation, it turned out that approximately 3 months before the suicide occurred, he was subjected to humiliation, regular insults and periodic beatings by colleagues, citizens B.N. and M.G. In connection with this fact, a criminal case was opened under Article 110, part two - incitement to suicide by a group of persons by prior conspiracy. The court examined the case and sentenced the perpetrators B.N. and M.G. to imprisonment for 8 years.
Unfortunately, there are often cases of people driven to suicide due to drugs. In search of money for the next dose, drug addicts get into debt and, unable to pay them off, commit suicide. On our website you can find out how drug propaganda is prosecuted and punished under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
