Juvenile delinquency and its rise are in part a consequence of the low legal culture of the younger generation. Many of the juveniles who committed the offense were sincerely convinced that they would not face criminal prosecution. It should be explained to children that they can answer for their actions under a criminal article on an equal basis with adults and that what they perceive as an adventure or a prank is, at times, a serious crime, responsibility for which begins at the age of 16.
Age of criminal responsibility
This age is stipulated by Article 20 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In general cases, a citizen who is 16 years old at the time of the crime is brought to criminal responsibility. According to Decree No. 7 of the Plenum of the RF Armed Forces of 2000-14-02, a citizen can be considered to have reached the age from which he can be held accountable by law, upon the expiration of a day after the onset of his birthday, i.e. at 00:00 the next day.
But there are crimes, the severity of which is so great that you will have to answer for them from the age of 14. These crimes include:
- murder committed under article 105;
- deliberate infliction of injury or infliction of grave or moderate harm to health under Articles 111 and 112;
- kidnapping under Article 126;
- sexual violence under Articles 131 and 132;
- participation in theft, robbery, robbery or extortion, Articles 158, 161, 162 and 163;
- theft of a vehicle with no purpose to kidnap it, Article 166;
- deliberate destruction of someone else's property with aggravating circumstances, part 2 of article 167;
- committing a terrorist act or taking someone hostage, Articles 205 and 206;
- false reporting of an impending terrorist act, Article 207;
- malicious act of hooliganism or vandalism, Articles 213, parts 2 and 214;
- theft or extortion of weapons or drugs, Articles 226 and 229;
- destruction or breakdown of vehicles or communication lines.
The law also stipulates cases of offenses, for which a person will be responsible only if he is already 18 years old. These crimes include:
- Sexual intercourse with a person of the opposite sex or of the same sex with a criminal under 16 years of age, Article 134;
- evasion from compulsory military service or alternative military service without legal grounds, parts 1 and 2 of article 328;
- crimes committed during military service.
Who is exempt from criminal liability
A differentiated approach to the listed crimes is due to the assumption that at the age of 14 a person is already able to adequately assess the severity of the crime and its consequences. But, of course, such an assessment can be expected from someone who has a level of mental development corresponding to his age. If a teenager lags behind in mental development, he is not able to adequately assess what is happening, therefore, according to Part 3 of Article 20 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, he can be exempted from criminal liability. "Age insanity" must be confirmed by a medical examination.
