Examples of causality in criminal law

In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, the establishment of cause-effect relationships is a mandatory point of investigation of crimes. It is a link between certain events or conditions and the end result of an unlawful act or omission. This type of connection takes place only in those cases when the crime is brought to the end, namely negative consequences have occurred.

basic information

The causal link in criminal law is used to detect the guilt of a person in a specific crime. By law, responsibility is borne only for socially dangerous consequences associated with the act or omission of the offender. Consequently, if the negative consequences for society are due to acts (or lack thereof) of the citizen, then he must be brought to criminal liability. In the event that socially dangerous consequences have come because of actions or behavior of other persons, no sanctions can be applied to the citizen. In this regard, the important question is whether a person's act can lead to the onset of negative or criminal consequences.

Criminal law as a science

This humanitarian discipline is based on materialistic philosophy. The scientific theory of the causal relationship between the action of a person (or the absence of such) and their negative result for society is based on the fact that in nature all events are interrelated and conditioned.

Any actions or lack of actions of the person are caused by something. In order to understand whether the behavior of a citizen was a cause for the onset of dangerous consequences for society, a special method is applied in criminal law. Two of these events are artificially isolated from each other, after which it becomes clear which of them was the cause, and which is the consequence. Such a method in the materialistic philosophy and legislation of the Russian Federation is the starting point in conducting an investigation and deciding whether there is a causal relationship. In criminal law, theory proceeds from the doctrine of regularities and spontaneous events.

Philosophical-materialistic theory

This doctrine presupposes the substantiation of the need for processes and phenomena that are interrelated. That is, under specific conditions, events develop systematically.

Randomness, on the contrary, does not have a significant attachment to previous events. This is more of a side effect, which does not necessarily come and can not be predicted.

Philosophical-materialistic theory considers necessity as a set of accidents. As a result, randomness is an integral part and a manifestation of necessity.
Taking into account all circumstances of the incident, criminal law considers it as a result of necessity and accident. That is, crimes can be natural and spontaneous, but responsibility for them comes only when necessary. This is due to the fact that a person is able to correctly reflect, to cognize only legitimate events.

The conclusion that the crime was a consequence of the actions of a particular person is done on the basis of time sequence. For example, if a person's action occurred after the result, then it can not be considered as a reason.

Types of communication

Currently, there are two categories on which characterize the crime. Examples of cause-effect relationships:

1. Straight. At the same time, the development of the event was provoked by the behavior of a person who carried a danger to society. No other forces and people influenced the process. For example, a criminal shot a victim directly into the heart.
2. Complicated is different in that the final result is the action of not only the attacker, but also the outside forces. For example, one person slightly pushed the other, the victim slipped and hit the wheels of the car.

In the second case, examples of a cause-and-effect relationship are characterized by the availability of the possibility for the commission of a crime and the operation of outside forces.

During the investigation, the person's responsibility for the incident is reduced depending on the number of outside influences on the event, criminal intent and other circumstances are taken into account.

Examples of causality

In order to be able to consider the behavior of a person as the basis for a crime, it must form the probability of negative consequences. That is, the husband is not to blame for the fact that his wife drowned in the resort, even if he bought her a ticket to the sea. The connecting link in this chain is absent, because the actions of a caring husband did not create danger for the victim.

Examples of causality, where the starting point was the inaction of a person in a trial, are considered to be controversial. The fact is that inaction of citizens does not form a situation, but allows to happen to that which is natural.

In any case, this moment is very important in the investigation and is established through forensic examination and other things, for presenting the right charge. This is especially true when there is a fatal outcome. The investigation reveals how it is possible to qualify the actions of the guilty: premeditated murder, excess of necessary defense, causing death by negligence. Each option has its own measure of restraint, grounds and refers to a separate point of law.