Commentary to Art. 319 Criminal Code
1. The analyzed norm provides for liability for insulting government officials carrying out any legal activity, including during the administration of justice or conducting a preliminary investigation. At the same time, insulting a judge and a number of other persons in connection with the manifestation of contempt of court is qualified under Art. 297 CC.
2. The objective side - the action - is characterized by: a) humiliation of the honor and dignity of a specific representative of the government; b) affecting both personal and professional (official) dignity. The insult must be committed during the performance or in connection with the performance by a representative of the authorities of his duties; c) expressed in an indecent form, which is determined by the court in each specific case on the basis of moral standards; d) the variety of external forms of expression of insult (insult by words, actions, in a written message, etc.); d) publicity of insult. Publicity is determined either by the presence of outsiders during the insult, or by bringing the offensive message to the attention of third parties. The possibility of recognition by outside colleagues of an insulted government official is assessed ambiguously in the literature.
3. If the actions of the perpetrator contain signs of several simultaneously committed attacks on the normal activities of government officials in connection with the performance of their official duties, for example, insult and use of violence, committed, according to the established approach in judicial practice, is qualified under the article of the Criminal Code, which provides for liability for the most serious type of encroachment.
The objective side of the act: insult and its essence
The objective side implies the presence of certain actions that constitute a criminal offense. In a particular case, illegal behavior is a direct insult.
In a broad sense, the term means uttering certain words towards someone with the aim of humiliating dignity and honor. In such a situation, the offender deliberately voices obscene expressions at the opponent, intending to hurt him morally, cause negative feelings, and exert psychological pressure.
Important! Insult is expressed in written or verbal form. In addition, it can be applied as a physical action. For example, as a spit, a slap, an indecent gesture, a push. Caricature and photomontage are also considered an insult.
The generally accepted interpretation of insult as an unlawful act also applies to cases where the injured person is an employee of a management body. However, there are a number of nuances here.
For an act to be classified as criminal, the following conditions must be met:
- Publicity. Indicates the presence of third parties at the time of uttering obscene language to a government official. However, witnesses should not be related to the management system. Publicity can also be expressed in the distribution of propaganda leaflets and posters, posting defamatory materials in the media (including posts on social networks), and speaking at public events.
- Performance of duties by an official. Unlawful actions must be committed while the representative of the government was in office or be directly related to it.
Obscene, aggressive statements towards a specific employee of the state apparatus, assessing the degree of his professionalism, are interpreted not only as an intention to humiliate him, but are considered as an attempt to discredit the entire state system. In this case, we are talking about undermining the authority of governing bodies, which in the future may affect their activities. For this reason, such behavior is considered strictly within the framework of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Second commentary to Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
1. The objective side of insult is humiliation of the honor and dignity of a person, expressed in an indecent form. Article 319 of the Criminal Code provides for special signs of insult:
a) carrying out the specified actions in relation to a government official during the performance of his official duties or in connection with their performance;
b) the public nature of the insult. These objective signs of insult determine the specificity of the act as a crime against the order of government: it demonstrates disrespect not for an individual, but for the authorities (the person representing the authorities). The public nature of the actions (when they are committed in the presence of at least one more person besides the victim), in addition, undermines respect for authority in the minds of other people.
2. The criteria for assessing insult are ethical. But the ethics of communication between individuals (the ethics of the behavior of an individual) and the ethics of political communication, although they have common roots, are still significantly different from each other. To insult a government official, it is not necessary to commit actions that are indecent from the point of view of ordinary morality (for example, using obscene language). But ridicule of a person (his personal shortcomings) acting in an official capacity as a representative of the authorities is a deliberate lowering of not only his status, but also disrespect for the authorities in general. The offensiveness of such behavior will not lose its meaning even if the perpetrator used normative language.
3. The subjective side of this crime is characterized by direct intent.
4. Subject - a person who has reached the age of 16 years.
Options for punishments and penalties
Art. 319 CC. There is no real imprisonment in this case. The final sanctions will depend on the totality of all the circumstances of the case, including the identity of the culprit and the consequences that followed the offense.
Criminal penalties may be as follows:
- fine - up to 40 thousand rubles or in the amount of income of the guilty person for the last 3 months, but no more;
- compulsory work – for a period of maximum 360 hours;
- corrective labor – for a period not exceeding 1 year.
Compulsory work is assigned during the time free from the main work activity. Their type and location are determined by the administration or the criminal executive inspection (CII).
Correctional work is carried out at the place of employment, and an amount ranging from 5% to 20% is deducted from the convict’s salary. If the culprit is not engaged in permanent activities, then the place of execution is also assigned by the correctional institution or the administration.
Question:
What is the penalty for insulting a police officer while on duty?
Answer:
A police officer is part of the law enforcement system. Accordingly, aggressive statements and obscene language addressed to him are recognized as a criminal act and fall under Article 319 of the Criminal Code. Punishment – fine, correctional or compulsory labor. In this case, the employee must be on duty at that moment. A verbal altercation on vacation or in everyday life, when a representative of the authorities is not in the performance of professional duties, is not subject to consideration under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. However, in such a situation, the actions of the offender may fall under Art. 5.61 of the Administrative Code, which provides for punishment for insulting citizens. Sanctions will take the form of a fine in the amount of 1 to 3 thousand rubles.
Act on such a crime
There is no special form or sample of an act of insulting an official approved by someone’s order. For such situations, you can use a universal plan. Here is the information that should be in the act:
- place, time, main circumstances of the crime;
- who is the criminal (suspect);
- what kind of actions are offensive.
Then you need to make a request to bring the perpetrators to justice. The next section will tell you whether insulting a government official or an official during execution is criminal liability.
Investigation methodology
Most often, the start of investigative actions is given by a statement from an offended person. This may be (including) a report from the victim to his own superiors. It is also possible that the offender will confess.
It is necessary to study all the materials that allow us to specify the crime that took place and correctly qualify it. These can be recordings of official and amateur videos, media materials.
If the insult was made verbally and/or through gestures, it is especially necessary to recreate the events as accurately as possible. Only in this case will the investigator be able to assess the incident from a law enforcement point of view. A criminal case is initiated when there are sufficiently compelling reasons for this.
Criminal liability for insulting a government official
The sanction of Article 319 of the Criminal Code is alternative, which allows the court to individualize the punishment for insult depending on the degree of guilt and the circumstances of the act committed.
Let's consider each type of responsibility in detail:
- Fine from 40 to 60 thousand rubles. or in the amount of the convicted person’s income for 3 months. Despite the fact that the legislator has included this composition in a separate article, he recognizes, by indicating the relatively small amount of the fine, the low social danger of the act committed.
- Mandatory work – no more than 360 hours.
- Correctional work – no more than 1 year.
When choosing a punishment, judges take into account, among other things, the presence of mitigating or aggravating circumstances. We are talking about repentance and admission of guilt by the accused, as well as active assistance in the investigation of the crime.
Article 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not provide for additional liability in case of relapse. The legislator chose to set upper limits on the size of the punishment so that the court had a choice.
Features of proof
Despite the fact that the legislator quite clearly formulates the elements of a crime under Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the evidence base must be built on objective data. The main features of the crime are its latent nature and the intersection of a number of qualifying features with other elements provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the following points are important for the investigation:
- Presence/absence of physical pressure on a government representative.
- The time frame for committing the crime (insult during the performance of duties assigned to him or during his absence from service, but during mandatory occupation of a position).
- Publicity of actions. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation directly indicated this in its ruling of November 14, 2006 No. 11-D05-103. According to the materials of the criminal case, Kh. insulted a police officer while performing his duties in a sobering station in the presence of a nurse. The court did not see the element of publicity and therefore qualified Kh.’s actions under Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation refused.
- The suspect's motives. If we are talking about hooligan motives, then qualification is made either according to Art. 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, or under Art. 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
- Consequences of the offense committed. They must consist in humiliating the honor and dignity of a representative of power.
Thus, insulting an official during execution must be of a public nature and related to the activities carried out by him. Despite the absence in the sanction of such punishment as deprivation or restriction of freedom, relatively small fines, the legislator does not decriminalize this act, because protecting the interests of state power and the authority of officials today is one of the priorities.
If you need advice, our criminal lawyer can help.
Case No. 1-353/18
PRI G O V O R
IN THE NAME OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Tambov September 27, 2021
Oktyabrsky District Court of Tambov, consisting of:
presiding judge Guskova A.S.,
with the participation of the state prosecutor assistant Prosecutor of the Oktyabrsky district of Tambov Karaseva N.A.,
Defender - lawyer Pankova M.N. certificate No., warrant No. f-068550,
defendant FULL NAME2,
victims Victim No. 1, Victim No. 2,
under the secretary Full name 7,
having examined in an open court session in a special manner the materials of the criminal case in relation to:
Full name2,
DD.MM.YYYY birth date, native and resident of <address>, citizen of the Russian Federation, secondary education, single, not working, no criminal record,
accused of committing a crime under Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,
U S T A N O V I L:
FULL NAME2, committed crimes against the order of management, under the following circumstances.
Junior police sergeant Victim No. 1, appointed to the position of police officer (driver) of platoon No. company No. of a separate battalion of the patrol police service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at <address>, by order of the head of the Regional Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at <address> No. l / s from DD.MM .YYYY and senior police sergeant Victim No. 2, appointed to the position of police platoon No. company No. of a separate battalion of the patrol police service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at <address>, by order of the head of the Regional Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at <address> No. l / s from DD.MM .YYYY, during the period from 20 hours 00 minutes DD.MM.YYYY to 08 hours 00 minutes DD.MM.YYYY, were in the performance of their official duties, in the uniform of police officers, in accordance with the duty list approved by the initial Regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for <address> from DD.MM.YYYY.
While patrolling the route at <address>, near <address>, Victim No. 2 and Victim No. 1 came into the field of view of police officers, Full Name 2, in turn, at approximately 04:50 minutes, Full Name 2 also noticed the above-mentioned police officers.
At this moment, FULL NAME2, who was intoxicated, being dissatisfied with the fact that he had not previously been hired to work in law enforcement agencies, had a criminal intent aimed at insulting police officers.
Realizing his criminal intent, Full Name2, being near <address>, DD.MM.YYYY at approximately 04:50, realizing the illegal nature of his actions, knowing that Victim No. 1 and Victim No. 2 are police officers and are in the performance of their official duties , deliberately, with the aim of humiliating the honor and dignity of a representative of the authorities, publicly, in the presence of civilians - FULL NAME8, FULL NAME9, FULL NAME10 expressed offensive expressions, combined with gross obscene language, addressed to Victim No. 1 and Victim No. 2
With his statements and insults, FULL NAME2 publicly humiliated the honor and dignity of Victim No. 1 and Victim No. 2, undermining their authority as representatives of the authorities in front of the civilians present, FULL NAME8, FULL NAME9, FULL NAME10, thereby insulting the honor and dignity of the police officers Victim No. 1 and Victim No. 2 by causing harm to them moral injury.
In addition, DD.MM.YYYY at approximately 04 hours 55 minutes, after repeated legal demands for the cessation of illegal actions on the part of Full Name 2 by police officers Victim No. 1 and Victim No. 2, it was decided to detain Full Name 2 and deliver the latter to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs at <address > to draw up a protocol on an administrative offense under Part 2 of Art. 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, since the latter did not obey their legal demands and continued to violate public order, grabbed the badge of a police officer Victim No. 1
Police officer Victim No. 2 approached FULL NAME2 from behind and tried to take the latter by the hands for further transfer to the police department. At this time, FULL NAME2, in a state of intoxication, knowing that Victim No. 1 and Victim No. 2 are police officers and are in the performance of their official duties, realizing the illegal nature of their actions, a criminal intent arose aimed at using violence that is not dangerous to life and health in relation to government officials.
Carrying out his criminal intent, FULL NAME2, being near <address>, DD.MM.YYYY, at approximately 04:55, deliberately used violence not dangerous to life and health against a junior police sergeant. Victim No. 1, who tried to assist the police officer. Victim No. 2. in transporting FULL NAME2 to the police department, namely, inflicting three blows to the abdomen of Victim No. 1 with his right foot, from which the latter experienced physical pain.
Continuing to implement his criminal intent aimed at using violence against government officials, FULL NAME2 at the time indicated above and being in the place indicated above, knowing that Victim No. 2 is also a police officer and is in the performance of his official duties, aware of the illegal nature of his actions, deliberately used violence not dangerous to life and health against senior police sergeant Victim No. 2, namely, inflicting two blows to the latter’s abdomen with his right foot, from which Victim No. 2 also experienced physical pain.
Continuing to implement his criminal intent aimed at using violence not dangerous to life and health against government officials, FULL NAME2 at the time indicated above and being in the place indicated above, knowingly knowing that Victim No. 1 is a police officer and is in the performance of his official duties , realizing the illegal nature of his actions, again deliberately used violence not dangerous to life and health against the junior police sergeant Victim No. 1, namely, striking the latter’s leg with his left leg, from which Victim No. 1 again experienced physical pain.
The defendant, FULL NAME2, pleaded guilty in full and agreed with the stated charges. After the prosecutor announced the said charges, he supported his request for a verdict without a trial. At the court hearing, it was established that the defendant filed the petition voluntarily and, after consultation with the defense attorney, he is aware of the consequences of passing a sentence without a trial.
The state prosecutor, lawyer and victims did not object to the consideration of the case in a special manner.
The court came to the conclusion that the accusation, which the defendant agreed with, was justified and supported by the evidence collected in this criminal case; provided for by Part. 1 and 2 tbsp. 314 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, the conditions for passing a sentence without a trial are met.
The court qualifies the actions of FULL NAME2 as follows:
- according to the episode from DD.MM.YYYY. (04 hours 50 minutes) - according to Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
– public insult to a government official during the performance of his official duties and in connection with their performance.
- according to the episode from DD.MM.YYYY. (04 hours 55 minutes) - according to
Art.
318 part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – the use of violence not dangerous to life and health against a government official in connection with the performance of his official duties;
The defendant is subject to punishment for what he has done, since the court has no reason to doubt the defendant’s ability to account for and direct his actions both at the time of the crime and at the present time.
When assigning punishment, the court takes into account the nature and degree of social danger of the crimes committed, the personality of the defendant, the impact of the imposed punishment on his correction and the living conditions of his family.
Defendant FULL NAME2 committed intentional crimes against the order of management, falling into the category of medium and minor gravity, while having no previous convictions, admitted guilt, repented of his deeds, as evidenced by his confession, active contribution to the detection and investigation of the crime, petitioned for criminal consideration cases in a special trial procedure, these circumstances are recognized by the court as mitigating punishment in accordance with Art. 61 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Full name2 is not registered with a psychiatrist or narcologist; at his place of residence he is described as satisfactory.
Taking into account the nature and degree of public danger of the crimes, the circumstances of their commission, the court recognizes the state of intoxication caused by the use of alcohol as an aggravating circumstance, which is confirmed by the case materials and is not denied by the defendant, who explained to the court hearing that it was the state of alcoholic intoxication that pushed him to commit the crime .
Taking into account the totality of these circumstances, the principles of justice and humanism enshrined in Art. Art. 6, 7 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, respectively, the court finds it possible to achieve the goals of punishment provided for in Art. 43 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, i.e. first of all, the restoration of social justice, as well as the correction of the convicted person and the prevention of his committing new crimes, while assigning him not the most severe type of punishment from among those provided for the crimes committed, in the form of a fine for each crime.
When assigning a specific amount of punishment in the form of a fine for these crimes, the court, in accordance with Part 3 of Art. 46 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, takes into account the severity of the crimes committed, the property status of the defendant, as well as the possibility of the convict receiving wages or other income, since the latter, according to him, has an unofficial place of work. In addition, the court takes into account the rules for imposing punishment established by Part 5 of Art. 62 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, since the criminal case against the defendant was considered according to the rules of Ch. 40 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.
Grounds for application of Art. 64 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, when imposing punishment, the court does not have FULL NAME 2, since no exceptional circumstances were established that significantly reduce the degree of public danger of the crimes committed.
Crime committed FULL NAME2 provided for in Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, applies, in accordance with Part 2 of Art. 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, to the category of minor gravity. Taking into account the actual circumstances of the crime of average gravity, provided for in Part 1 of Art. 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the degree of its public danger, the court does not see any grounds for changing the category of this crime to a less serious one.
When assigning final punishment to the defendant for a set of crimes, the court applies the provisions of Part 2 of Art. 69 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and is guided by the principle of absorption of a less severe punishment by a more severe one, since in this case it most fully meets the requirements of justice.
Based on the aforesaid and guided by Article. 316 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation,
SENTENCED:
Recognize Full Name2
guilty of committing a crime under
Art.
319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. He was found guilty of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Assign FULL NAME2 punishment:
- according to Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the form of a fine in the amount of 10,000 (ten thousand) rubles. to state income.
- under Part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the form of a fine in the amount of 50,000 (fifty thousand) rubles. to state income.
In accordance with Part 2 of Art. 69 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for the totality of crimes, by absorbing a less severe punishment with a more severe one, finally impose a penalty in the form of a fine to the state in the amount of 50,000 (fifty thousand) rubles.
The measure of procedural coercion - the obligation to appear in relation to FULL NAME2, upon entry into force of the sentence - is cancelled.
The verdict can be appealed on appeal to the Tambov Regional Court through the Oktyabrsky District Court <address> within 10 days from the date of proclamation in compliance with the requirements of Art. 317 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. If an appeal is filed, the convicted person has the right to petition for his participation in the consideration of the criminal case by the court of appeal.
Chairman A.S. Guskov
