ST 33 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
1. Along with the perpetrator, the organizer, instigator and accomplice are recognized as accomplices to the crime.
2. A perpetrator is a person who directly committed a crime or directly participated in its commission together with other persons (co-perpetrators), as well as a person who committed a crime through the use of other persons who are not subject to criminal liability due to age, insanity or other circumstances provided for by this Code. .
3. An organizer is a person who organized the commission of a crime or supervised its execution, as well as a person who created an organized group or criminal community (criminal organization) or supervised them.
4. An instigator is a person who persuaded another person to commit a crime by persuasion, bribery, threat or other means.
5. An accomplice is recognized as a person who assisted in the commission of a crime by advice, instructions, provision of information, means or instruments for committing a crime or removing obstacles, as well as a person who promised in advance to hide the criminal, means or instruments of committing a crime, traces of a crime or objects obtained by criminal means, and equally a person who promised in advance to purchase or sell such items.
Partners in crime
A crime committed by a group of persons differs from unlawful acts of an individual nature. Complicity is characterized by the commission of an act by two or more persons.
Accomplices to the crime are called:
- performers;
- organizers;
- instigators;
- accomplice
Thus, we can conclude that accomplices in a crime always have intent and a common goal, which is achieved through joint actions.
Important! Only a sane individual who has reached the age of 14 years (for some types of crimes) can be a participant or accomplice to a crime. The general age of criminal responsibility is sixteen years. Legal entities are not held criminally liable.
Group and organization
Russian law interprets their creation in article number 210 of the Criminal Code. When creating a group, at least two citizens unite for joint illegal acts. From this point on, the functions of the organizer can be completed or transformed into the leadership of this group.
An organization is formed from at least two such teams or their leaders with two main goals:
- Development and implementation of criminal acts.
- Creating conditions for their support.
The creation of such an organization is already a completed crime. And at the same time, the actions of its members do not matter.
An independent variation of the leader’s actions is control over the created organization or its individual branches.
The activities of a leader in such situations are characterized by the fact that he:
- Makes it easier to conceal criminal acts from law enforcement agencies.
- Complicates the process of identifying the perpetrators.
- Involves a large number of citizens into the organization and its work and gives its activities powerful sustainability.
Perpetrator of the crime
The perpetrator is a citizen of the Russian or other state who committed an unlawful act prosecuted by law, or participated in the implementation of such an action on an equal basis with other persons. The category of perpetrators also includes persons who, with the help of minors, the insane or other persons not subject to criminal liability in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, committed a crime.
The use of other persons in an unlawful act entails increased liability. The court takes this factor into account as an aggravating circumstance and increases the term of serving the sentence.
Organizer of the crime
The organizer of a crime is a citizen who expressed a desire to commit an act, prepared and organized the necessary conditions, and also supervised the commission of a crime. The head of an organized crime group or community is also called an organizer.
Law enforcement agencies often devote all their efforts to searching for the organizers of crimes, since by establishing the location of a person and his identity, more than one crime can be solved and many people can be brought to justice.
Character traits
The signs of an organizer of a crime that distinguish him from other participants in the process are:
- Initiative. It is expressed in the preparatory stage on the eve of the crime, the involvement of other persons in this matter and their selection, active participation in the development of the algorithm for implementing the criminal operation and participation in it.
- Carrying out secondary functions in the act being carried out. However, the leadership position is not lost. And the management of the process occurs on the basis of a preliminary agreement. In other words, in a crime, its organizer can perform one or more functions.
- Awareness of the consequences of using a particular type of weapon and its selection.
- The discrepancy between his personal goals and the goals of the performers. But at the same time, the responsibility of the organizer of the crime remains for all actions consistent with the general plans of the group. For example, during robbery, the leader may wish the death of a specific person, and the group’s goal is to obtain material assets. At the same time, the implementation of goals may not contradict the general plan.
- Refusal to participate in the process, but control it. The organizer, like a director, assigns roles to participants, explains tasks, and gives instructions. And during the performance (crime) he himself is located somewhere behind the scenes.
- Development of criminal abilities in other citizens.
Accomplice
An accomplice is a kind of specialist who acts intentionally. Aiding is the activity of an accomplice. Persons involved in complicity have information in a certain area and provide it to criminals to commit acts. Thus, a person who:
- advised on how best to commit a crime;
- pointed out the facts, provided the necessary information;
- prepared or acquired tools;
- hid the guilty person, the objects of the crimes;
- destroyed traces of illegal acts;
- acquired or sold illegal substances and objects of crime.
The status of an accomplice is assigned to a person only if there is evidence indicating the citizen’s intent.
Complicity is the actions of an accomplice aimed at ensuring the commission of a crime through organizational actions.
Excess
In criminal law there is such a thing as excess. The definition defines the commission of a crime by the perpetrator that does not pursue the interests of the entire group. Therefore, when sentencing, the person’s actions are assessed separately, and other participants in the organized crime group are not punished for their actions. For example, when organizing theft and robbery, one of the participants had the intent to commit murder. Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (murder) will be charged only to one accused, the rest will be punished for committing theft and robbery.
Quality type
This refers to a situation where the perpetrator, outside the framework of the conspiracy, commits another crime. And his actions are considered as:
- Preparation for the act that the accomplices planned, and a different act committed in fact.
- Completed violations of the law, when both a new and planned crime are implemented.
The organizer of a criminal offense can appear in both variations. For example, during an armed robbery, he may deliberately shoot a person for personal reasons (and unexpectedly for other members of the group) and adhere to the general plan of action. Or he might blow up a room and steal a car, which comes as a complete surprise to the rest of the team. In this case, he acts according to his own scheme.
Liability of accomplices in crime
Responsibility for the commission of a crime by accomplices is imposed in accordance with Article 33 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The fact that a crime was committed by all participants simultaneously (that is, co-execution of a crime) is considered separately.
If during the investigation a citizen is identified who participated in the commission of an unlawful act, but his characteristics do not fit into any category of accomplices, he is recognized as an organizer, instigator or accomplice.
A perpetrator who does not complete the crime (not on his own initiative) due to external circumstances is not brought to criminal liability, unlike other accomplices. The accomplice will also be held liable even if the crime is not completed. In this case, the fact of preparation or attempt will be established.
Responsibility for complicity under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation depends on the type of crime committed, as well as the conditions. For example, theft will be classified as a crime of minor or medium gravity (depending on the damage caused), and murder is a particularly serious crime. Therefore, the period that will be assigned to the accomplice varies depending on the type of unlawful act committed.
In addition, it is not uncommon for a person to persuade citizens to commit a crime, but these attempts are not successful. Criminal liability is provided for the above-described act and is charged under the article “preparation for a crime.”
Punishment for complicity is imposed in accordance with Article 33 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Distinction from incitement
Along with aiding and abetting, the law also classifies incitement as complicity in committing socially dangerous criminal acts.
It is understood as inducing a person who will then become a perpetrator or even an organizer of a crime to commit it. At first glance, the functions of an instigator and an accomplice are similar - this is information support. However, there are a number of significant differences. Firstly, in the content of information. For example, the advice and instructions of the instigator will contain a proposal to perform one or another illegal action. The accomplice will give advice of a consulting nature: how to carry out the plan, hide traces, avoid consequences. And he will give them to someone who already has the intention of breaking the law.
Secondly, the instigator often uses threats, bribery, blackmail or other violent methods aimed at coercing the commission of criminal acts. The function of an accomplice is fundamentally different; he has no need to threaten or intimidate. It provides help and support in preparation for and after a crime.
Types of complicity
This category of complicity differs from incitement by the commission of actions by the subject himself. That is, there is no part of the psychological pressure on other persons.
In addition to the actions established by law, complicity involves:
- transportation of accomplices to the crime to the necessary places;
- preparation of the crime scene;
- disposal of evidence items;
- delivery of the victim;
- preparation of illumination of dark places or reverse action;
- stopping the movement of vehicles used by the crime victim;
- guard and waiting for the end of illegal actions;
- distracting the attention of others.
Inaction may also be considered complicity if the preliminary investigation proves that it caused (or did not prevent) the commission of a crime.
Sentence for aiding and abetting
The judicial system of the Russian Federation adequately evaluates the actions of accomplices and holds everyone accountable in accordance with their guilt.
Complicity in a crime is an aggravating reason, so there is no need to count on the leniency of the court. Thus, complicity is an aggravating form of committing a crime. At sentencing, taking into account the above, severe punishment will be imposed.
Sentence for complicity under Art. 33 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation will be drawn up in the form of one document containing an introductory part, which discloses the fact of committing a crime. The descriptive part of the sentence contains information about each of the accomplices in the crime, their act, and the qualifications of the crime. In addition, the court establishes mitigating and aggravating circumstances, after which it pronounces a sentence against each guilty party.
Complicity in committing a crime does not exempt a person from liability.
Content of intent
In the actions of the organizer of a crime from a subjective position, it covers two aspects: awareness and desire. The first concerns the actions taken, the second - only the planned ones.
The leader can simultaneously act as a performer. Its functions in a specific crime are classified differently. But when forming punishment, organizational merits must be taken into account and more stringent measures of influence are put forward. Therefore, when the perpetrator and organizer of a crime are the same person, he faces a very serious sentence and penalties.
