The crime is the main component of criminal law

The concept of "corpus delicti" in criminal law is quite difficult to disclose. In order for a certain action to become criminal, it is necessary that a whole series of conditions converge. In everyday non-legal language it is necessary to say that the perfect action should be spelled out in the law. And the way it is spelled out is included in the concept of "crime composition" - it is a set of features that are provided for in the law (primarily in the Criminal Code) and identify a particular act as criminal.

Signs of the composition

All signs are divided into two large groups - objective and subjective. In turn, each group is divided into two more varieties. The object and the objective side are distinguished in the first group of characteristics, the subject and the subjective side in the second. In general, the object of a crime is what the action is directed at (human life, property). The objective side is expressed directly in the article (dispositions). A subject is a person who commits an unlawful act and possesses a number of signs: legal capacity, achievement of a certain age (16 years or 14 for certain especially dangerous compounds). The subjective side can generally be presented as a form of guilt (intent or negligence). In turn, intent is divided into direct and indirect, and imprudence - on frivolity and negligence.

Mandatory and optional signs

The composition of the crime, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation indicates this, must necessarily have a number of signs, without which it is impossible to qualify an act as criminal. These include: existing social relations, actions (or inaction) of a criminal nature, guilt and the presence of the criminal properties that were specified above. If there is not at least one feature, this excludes the crime of the offense, and hence the punishment can not be applied. There are also optional circumstances, which are also called optional. They may be in a particular case, but may be completely absent. For example, this is the weapon that committed the crime, the surrounding situation, the factors that influenced the criminal, the motives and purpose of the act. It should be noted the important role of facultative features.

The role of non-binding circumstances

The composition of the crime is a generalized formula, but in some of them an optional feature can become the main one. In addition, non-mandatory circumstances play an important role in qualifying, aggravating or mitigating punishment. For example, the victim was affected by the person, humiliating his human dignity. Or to deal with a neighbor, an attacker set fire to a house, from which then other houses and buildings were lit up. In this case, the aggravating factors are obvious.

Value

The main role in criminal law is played by the crime. This is not accidental. It is he who determines whether this act will be criminal or not. Also, the composition of the crime is the possibility of proper qualification and delimitation of related unlawful acts. For correct application of the norms of legislation, their uniform interpretation is important, which is especially important in criminal law, since human life is the main value.