Isaac Asimov once called violence “the last refuge of incompetence.” It is difficult to argue with the famous author, but if fate decreed that you were the object of violence, in particular during beatings, then the philosophizing of the cult science fiction writer will be of least interest.
What to do right away? How to involve law enforcement agencies in their direct responsibilities - protecting your rights? How to initiate a criminal case, how to correctly write a statement regarding the infliction of bodily harm? Let's look at all the nuances of the process from the point of view of Ukrainian legislation.
Where to file a report of assault?
To begin with, we will draw the entire scheme of actions in the most simplified form from the crime to the pre-trial investigation:
- The fact of causing bodily harm.
- (3) Application to law enforcement agencies.
- (2) Removal of beatings.
- Actions of the police upon receipt of a complaint.
- Registration of application.
- Entering information into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations.
- Appointment of an investigator.
- Conducting an investigation.
The order of points 2 and 3 may be reversed, depending on the severity of the beatings inflicted (Article 126 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). This will determine where and by whom the application is submitted.
What is beating?
This type of harm is defined in Art.
126 of the Criminal Code, and implies the deliberate infliction of blows or other violent actions that caused physical pain to the victim. Depending on the consequences - the presence or absence of bodily injuries - as well as the methods and reasons for aggressive behavior (by a group of people, intimidation, for reasons of intolerance of various kinds), a fine or deprivation / restriction of freedom may be sanctioned as measures applied to the offender.
Light damage
At the initial stage, the “lightness” of the beatings inflicted is not yet a procedural term, and is determined solely by the victim himself based on his personal feelings. In other words, if a person feels able to submit an application, then he takes these actions or entrusts them to his representative.
The application is submitted to the police (formerly the police), and is the basis for inclusion in the ERDR, and, accordingly, initiates a pre-trial investigation.
The Law of Ukraine “On the National Police” determines that this law enforcement structure is responsible for measures taken regarding this type of offense.
The law allows for reporting a crime by mail. We still recommend registering documents in person. As a last resort, use registered mail with notification.
Serious damage
This type of beating assumes that the victim cannot contact the police himself. The primary concern is health , which means the victim should first contact doctors.
The law determines that doctors in such cases are obliged to report the fact of beating to law enforcement agencies. Consequently, the initiator of the investigation will not be the victim , which means that this option is beyond our consideration.
How to prosecute
In the first hours after the incident, you must contact the police for help.
The contact with the police must be recorded, and only by following this procedure will it be possible to file a claim in court to punish the offender who caused bodily harm. Officers who arrived at the scene of the incident must describe the situation in detail with a detailed account of the reasons that led to the beatings and the nature of the injuries on the body.
Police officers will give the victim a special referral for a forensic medical examination.
In case of severe pain and the need for emergency assistance, a woman is recommended to contact a medical institution, where she will be given an accurate diagnosis and the damage to her health will be recorded.
The traumatologist will issue a certificate with a diagnosis. You can take this document to the police station, where the woman can write a statement. The application will be made on a general basis, and if there is a long queue at the specialist’s office, you should wait for it.
Some indulgences can be made for citizens with severe injuries, then the traumatologist can accept them without waiting in line. After the examination, the doctor will issue a certificate recording the injuries and the time of treatment.
If a medical specialist notices criminal traces in the injuries on the patient’s body, then he will be forced to report the incident to the police.
Independent appeal to the forensic medical examination authorities is allowed. The doctor will conduct a thorough examination of the areas of the body where the injuries are located, after which he will analyze and characterize the resulting hematomas.
Be sure to read the article about what removal of beatings is and how to remove them correctly(!)
It is also important to know: . When should this be done? What evidence other than a medical report can be used? Details here. And what to do if you remove the beatings a few days after they were inflicted.
- When should this be done?
- What evidence other than a medical report can be used? Details here.
- And what to do if you remove the beatings a few days after they were inflicted.
The court will not take into account the conclusions from a paid medical institution if it does not contain the following information:
- seal and signature of the doctor who conducted the examination;
- the circumstances under which the beating was committed;
- time and exact date of the study;
- specific information on the location and nature of injuries.
After the medical examination, the woman will be issued a certificate with which she can contact the police.
This certificate must contain the following information:
- date of medical examination.
- Signature of the doctor who conducted the study.
- Stamp of the medical institution where it was carried out.
In court, when considering a case, it is allowed to attach photographs taken during a medical examination in a special institution.
This certificate has no expiration date and can be used at any time. If the victim applied for a medical examination on her own, then the doctor will give the certificate to her personally. In cases where law enforcement agencies have directed the victim to undergo an examination, a certificate will be sent to her address. It is important to remember that usually the party who applied for a medical examination first is considered the victim, but sometimes it happens that the person against whom the accusations are made was not harmed less than the first one.
The husband, in turn, can also remove the beatings and go to court to prove his rights. If we consider the question of when is the best time to conduct a medical examination as part of a forensic medical examination, we can clearly answer that experts recommend doing this in a short time.
If a lot of time passes, then even with a medical certificate, the offender may claim that it was not he who caused the injuries, but someone else. After passing a medical examination, the victim has the right to contact the police and write a statement. The police examine it within ten days and issue a decision to initiate criminal proceedings.
In the future, the victim is recommended to take care of having receipts for medications and a certificate from the medical examiner. expert. A woman also has the right to demand compensation for moral damage caused to her.
How to properly write a statement to the police about a beating?
There are no clear requirements for reporting battery specified in the regulations.
However, we would like to remind you that the submitted application must be registered in the ERDR, and the data to be entered into the register is established by law. Based on the Regulations of the Prosecutor General’s Office “On the procedure for maintaining the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations” (clause 1 of Article 2), as well as the general provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure of Ukraine, it is possible to formulate a list of data that the application must contain:
- To whom . As a rule, the head of the police department to which the victim applies, or the person performing his duties. There may be another authorized person. The employee on duty should provide accurate information.
- From whom . Data of the person submitting the application that uniquely identifies him (full name, date of birth, residential/registration addresses, passport, contacts). In the case of a representative, his details are indicated, as well as information about the person on whose behalf he acts.
- Circumstances . A statement of what happened, with an emphasis on acts that may be classified as criminal offenses. Place, time and other parameters of what happened. Indication of the exact articles of the laws violated is not required, but it is not prohibited if they are known to the applicant.
- Information about the attacker . Everything the applicant knows about the person or persons who committed the crime.
- Witnesses . If available, information about such persons is indicated.
- "Ask" . A separate section that includes a list of the applicant’s demands (initiate a case, detain the perpetrators, report the results, etc.).
- List of attached documents . Everything that may be relevant to the case, including medical certificates, powers of attorney for a representative, etc.
The document may contain any other relevant information. The application ends in the standard way: date and signature.
The police officer on duty must accept the application, make an appropriate mark on it or issue a special ticket. For these purposes, the application must be written in two copies so that one of them, with a mark, remains in the hands of the applicant.
Where to go first
Despite the fact that there are many possible answers to this question, only one is correct. The point is that there is essentially no difference in where to go initially.
, first of all, is not a procedural procedure to establish the guilt of the offender, but rather timely medical care. Those. the examination procedure itself does not have any special distinctive qualities. Everything happens according to a scenario familiar to everyone: you turn to a doctor for help, who is obliged to provide you with this very help, and record all existing injuries in a medical journal. Is it necessary to have a police referral in hand to see a doctor? Naturally not, so the question of whether the beatings will be removed from you before you file a statement with the police disappears by itself.
Procedure for filing a complaint about beatings
Let's consider the complete sequence of actions from the moment the offense was committed to the initiation of the case.
Step 1. Place of delivery
The Code of Criminal Procedure establishes several different methods of notification of an offense.
It has already been mentioned that this can be by mail or personal submission. We will consider the last option as an example. The application can be filed at the victim’s place of residence, the scene of the incident, and other places. To simplify understanding, we can conclude:
The victim has the right to file a complaint at any police station 24 hours a day.
Step 2. Documents of the applicant and about the attack
We've already talked about this, so let's briefly summarize:
- Application – 2 copies.
- Passport of the victim/applicant.
- Power of attorney, if the applicant is an authorized representative.
- Medical certificate about beatings. If there is one, more about this in the next step.
- Other documents relevant to the case.
To control what is happening, you need to receive your sample application with the appropriate mark from the duty officer. However, the fact of filing does not always mean that registration will be made immediately.
Step 3. Removing the beatings
This is a special procedure that we discussed in detail in this material. Let us remind you that if the beatings were not removed before filing a statement, then the police must refer the victim to this type of examination, the result of which will be a detailed certificate about the state of health of the victim and the likely consequences of the impact in question on the victim.
Step 4. Entering personal injury data into the register
Having provided all the documents, the application is registered. The applicant is warned against giving false testimony. An investigator is appointed. Within 24 hours, the application must be entered into the ERDR (Article 3 of the Regulations on the procedure for maintaining the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations).
The victim, on the basis of paragraph 2 of paragraph 2 of Article 56 of the Code of Civil Procedure, has the right to receive a document confirming the entry of his application into the Unified Register of Registered Register of Registers. Based on Article 4 of the Regulations, such a document is an extract from the register.
It is in the interests of the victim to control the entry of the application into the register, as well as the data indicated in it.
Statute of limitations
Specifically for this type of case, the statute of limitations is not prescribed by law. However, there are general provisions within which beatings can be considered.
Assault is a criminal offense. Accordingly, the provisions of the Criminal Code regarding statute of limitations are also applicable to it. In the context of the issue at hand, this is:
- Two years , if the crime did not involve imprisonment (clause 1, clause 1, article 49 of the Criminal Code).
- Three years , if imprisonment could have been applied due to the circumstances of the incident (clause 2, clause 1, article 49 of the Criminal Code).
We will return to the topic of punishment for beatings in a little more detail at the end of the material.
When can a document be refused?
The application will not be registered, and, therefore, the case will not be initiated if the responsible officer considers that the evidence presented is insufficient for a pre-trial investigation .
A person who considers himself a victim has the right to challenge such a decision within ten days.
Compensation for damage to health
In addition to criminal and administrative liability, the victim of beatings has the right to recover damages to health from the culprit through civil law.
To receive such a penalty, the victim must remove the beatings and file a claim in court. If the victim estimates the damage to health to be worth up to 50,000 rubles, the claim should be filed in the magistrate’s court, if more, in the district court.
During the review process, in addition to the fact of assault, it will be necessary to prove the amount of damage.
Claims for compensation for personal injury are not subject to statute of limitations rules. A person may submit such an application without any time limit. However, if the claim is filed after three years from the date of the event, the damage is compensated only for the three years preceding the filing of the claim.
What kind of beating will happen?
Punishment in cases of beatings is determined by Article 126 of the Criminal Code:
- If grievous bodily harm is not inflicted : a fine of up to 50 non-taxable minimums;
- community service up to 200 hours;
- correctional labor for up to 1 year.
- restriction of freedom up to 5 years;
The severity of the damage inflicted is determined procedurally on the basis of a medical examination.
Beatings in Russian legislation
Liability for battery is established both by the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
In accordance with Article 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a citizen is subject to criminal liability if he inflicts beatings on another person:
- for hooligan reasons;
- based on racial, political, religious, national hatred.
According to Article 116.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a citizen is held criminally liable if, at the time of beating another person, he has the status of a person subjected to administrative punishment, that is, within a year from the moment he was brought to trial and punished under Article 6.1.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
The article of the Code of Administrative Offenses, in turn, implies liability for all other, unqualified types of beatings.
Previously, the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation also included beatings inflicted by a loved one, for example, a spouse. Later, this feature was removed from the article and domestic violence, widespread in Russia, was, in fact, decriminalized.
Now, on the fact of domestic violence, that is, beatings in the absence of harm to health, only administrative proceedings can be initiated. This rule does not apply to persons who have been subjected to administrative punishment in the recent past - they are subject to Article 116.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
How to withdraw a complaint from the police?
For this type of crime, in accordance with current legislation, the concept of “withdrawing a statement” does not exist.
All cases, upon acceptance for consideration, are registered in the ERDR. The case may be closed. However, in case of beatings, this is extremely difficult to do. If, for example, we were talking about suspicion of theft, and then the allegedly stolen items were found, then you can insist on closing the case (in the absence of mutual claims).
But in case of beatings, it is not worth declaring that the initially presented evidence does not correspond to reality! In this case, the applicant may be charged with perjury.
Where and how to record?
Self-examination of the fact of beating can be done at any nearby medical institution.
The procedure is similar to the examination carried out at the direction of the investigative authorities. You must have a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation with you. Where you can go for relief from beatings and where it is better to go is discussed below.
Emergency room
The examination is carried out by a traumatologist. Upon completion, he issues a certificate, which he hands over or sends to the police department at the patient’s place of registration. The examination service is free . If the necessary equipment for additional examination is not available, the victim is sent to the emergency hospital.
Hospital
The examination is carried out by a traumatologist or surgeon, if necessary, attracts additional specialists and prescribes the necessary examinations. A certificate of damage is not issued in person, but is immediately sent to the police department with a report of the presence of criminal signs. Examination of beatings is included in the list of free services.
State clinic
Any public clinic has the right to conduct a free examination, provided that it has a practicing surgeon or traumatologist. The certificate is not issued in person .
Is it possible in a private clinic?
The requirements for specialists to conduct an examination are the same as in a public clinic - the presence of a practicing traumatologist or surgeon. How much the examination costs depends on the number of specialists involved and the tests performed. Some clinics charge a fee for issuing a certificate, which is handed to the victim.
