Slight harm to health. Art criteria

Causing grievous bodily harm is a crime with several qualifications. This crime may be intentional or committed through negligence. You can read more about this, as well as about liability for a crime in a separate case, in this article.

It’s no secret that modern society has long been experiencing financial, class and national division into social strata, which increases the destruction of unity in society and gives rise to an increase in crimes, most of which are in one way or another connected with causing harm to personal health. This guilty socially dangerous act is qualified as a crime directed against an individual, committed by a group of persons or by one person and expressed in violation of the anatomical integrity of the victim’s body or in violation of the functions of individual organs of the body. Various circumstances accompanying this act make it possible to qualify the crime under different articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

• Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm;
• Article 113 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - causing harm to health in a state of passion;
• Article 114 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - causing harm to health when exceeding the limits of necessary self-defense or measures taken to detain persons who have committed a crime;
• Article 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - causing grievous harm to health through negligence.

What is serious harm to health?

It does not matter under what article such a crime as causing grievous bodily harm is classified, in any circumstances the object of the criminal act is human health. The very concept of “serious harm to health” is divided into two categories, which can be caused:

1. severe injuries, dangerous to human life, which threaten the life of the victim both at the time of their infliction and subsequently, when their presence entails the death of the victim;
2. severe injuries not dangerous to human life - loss of function of a separate organ or loss of the organ itself; loss of speech, hearing, vision; drug addiction or substance abuse; abortion; facial disfigurement; loss of ability to work; mental disorder.

Intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm

Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides, depending on the circumstances, several types of liability for intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm, when the perpetrator foresaw the consequences of his actions, but did not abandon them:

1. According to Part 1 of Article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, intentionally causing grievous harm to the health of the victim is punishable by imprisonment for up to 8 years.
2. The same crime committed in a generally dangerous manner or with the use of weapons, for hire or for hooligan motives, for the purpose of further use of the victim’s organs or tissues or with particular cruelty, for political, national or other reasons, against a minor or a person in a helpless state or a person and his relatives in connection with the performance by this person of his official duties or the performance of public duty, is punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to 10 years with or without restriction of freedom for up to 2 years (Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
3. The crime provided for in parts 1 or 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, when committed by a group of persons, as well as in relation to two or more persons, is punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to 12 years with or without restriction of freedom for up to 2 years (Part 3 of Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
4. If the intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulted in the death of the victim, the perpetrator is punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to 15 years with or without restriction of freedom for up to 2 years (Part 4 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Causing grievous bodily harm in a state of passion

This is a strong short-term emotion that suddenly arises and takes the human psyche out of the normal state. As a rule, a state of passion can arise as a result of a reaction to an unexpected and very strong stimulus associated with violence - bullying from the victim, insults, immoral actions, etc. Any crime committed in a state of passion is subject to a less severe punishment, since this is a mitigating circumstance for the perpetrator. Being in a state of passion, as a rule, a person is not aware of his actions, he is not able to control them, and, therefore, fully understand the seriousness of the situation, including calculating the force of the blow or foresee the possible consequences of his actions. Causing serious harm to health in a state of passion is regulated by Article 113 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for this crime a maximum penalty of two years in prison, a minimum penalty of correctional labor for the same period. It is worth noting that, despite the rather lenient type of punishment for causing grievous harm to the health of the victim, this article is quite rarely used in the judicial system of the Russian Federation, due to the complexity of the evidence base for its imputation. After all, the state of passion can only be confirmed by a forensic examination carried out as close as possible to the date of the crime.

Causing serious harm to health by exceeding the limits of necessary defense

As a rule, not a single person has time to think about what harm he can cause to another person whose actions threaten his own life. However, even for exceeding the limits of necessary defense when causing grievous bodily harm, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for liability. This type of crime refers to an act with unconscious actions of the perpetrator; Article 114 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for causing grievous harm to health in self-defense and exceeding the measures permissible for detaining criminals, provides for a maximum punishment of up to 2 years of imprisonment, a minimum of correctional labor of up to 2 years. -x years.

Causing grievous bodily harm through negligence

This type of crime is somewhat different from the previous two, although it is also in the nature of an unintentional act. Causing grievous bodily harm to a victim through negligence involves the incompetence of the perpetrator in his actions or his incomplete awareness of the possible results of his actions, including the improper performance by a person of his official and professional duties. Article 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for two types of punishment for causing grievous bodily harm through negligence:

• maximum - arrest up to 6 months, minimum - fine up to 80,000 rubles. or in the amount of wages (other income of the convicted person) for up to 6 months;
• maximum - imprisonment for up to 1 year with deprivation of the right to engage in certain activities for up to 3 years, minimum - restriction of freedom for up to 4 years, if we are talking about committing a crime as a result of improper performance by the perpetrator of his professional duties.

Important! Causing serious harm to health can be an act of varying severity, which is determined by the circumstances of each specific case and, accordingly, affects the degree of responsibility of the perpetrator, as well as the amount of material and moral damage. Regardless of whether you are the accused or the victim in the case, you need to contact an experienced lawyer who will make a correct assessment of the situation and help you get out of it with the greatest benefit for each party.

Alexander

Thanks for your reply. If the driver (Uzbek) has a suspended sentence, will he be deported to his homeland? Or is it better to ask the court for compulsory work, even if he waves a broom for the good of his homeland?

Sergey (senior lawyer)

Hello, Alexander! There are no grounds for deportation if convicted of a crime under Russian law. You, of course, can ask the court to impose one type of punishment or another, but the court is not bound by your requests and imposes a punishment in accordance with the circumstances of the case and the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the punishment can be any of those listed in the sanctions article.

Alexander

Hello! Became a victim with serious harm to health (recognized by ITU). The culprit fell asleep at the wheel and drove into oncoming traffic. Moral harm has not been made up for. There are options that the culprit will be given a real sentence. Thank you

Sergey (senior lawyer)

Hello, Alexander! It is unlikely, since for this crime the maximum penalty is two years in prison, but there are still many alternative sanctions (for example, a fine, compulsory labor, etc.). Therefore, if the person responsible for the accident does not have a criminal record and there are mitigating circumstances, then he will not be sentenced to imprisonment.

Igor

Hello Sergey! I am writing to you again, I received a written notification that indicated the following articles, part 2, article 153 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, part 1, article 223 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part 1 of article 118 and part 1 of article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Sergey (senior lawyer)

Hello, Igor! Everything is not so scary: according to Art. 223 maximum penalty - 5 years in prison; according to Art. 118 - arrest 6 months; according to Art. 222 - 4 years in prison. But these are maximum punishments; taking into account mitigating circumstances, a less severe punishment will be imposed.

Igor

Hello! what punishment can the accused suffer for the fact that he carelessly shot at me from a converted air rifle with a firearm; the bullet hit me in the chest, piercing through one lung and stuck in the second. I underwent three operations; the bullet could not be removed. The forensic examination admitted grievous bodily harm. A forensic psychiatric examination found him sane. He admitted that he bought it himself, stored it, and was not going to voluntarily hand over the converted air rifle as a firearm to the police even if this incident had not happened to me. Despite all this, I did not submit an application. Thank you!

Sergey (senior lawyer)

Hello, Igor! It all depends on what articles the criminal case was initiated under: only for causing grievous bodily harm or plus articles for illegal weapons trafficking. But in any case, the chances that the guilty person will receive a real prison sentence are very high.

Dmitriy

Had sex with a woman by sexual consent, using a condom. A couple of days later she went to the hospital. The institution later reports that she is allergic to this latex and has a chemical burn to the vagina. What will happen to me for this?

Sergey (senior lawyer)

Hello Dmitry! Most likely, nothing, since you did not commit any deliberate actions to cause harm to this woman’s health.

Ivan

Good afternoon, I hit a man when he fell and hit his head in serious condition and was sent to the hospital, what is the threat? and what to do?

Sergey (senior lawyer)

Hello, Ivan! It all depends on the severity of the damage. He may even die, then he will be imprisoned for a long time under Part 4 of Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. You may even get away with minor harm to your health. Therefore, you need to wait for the result of the forensic medical examination, but you must be prepared to initiate a criminal case and look for a lawyer.

Olesya

Good evening. An 11-year-old boy at school during a break during a squabble over a girl kicked a 14-year-old boy and hit him in the thigh (they are almost identical in build). In response, a 14-year-old teenager kicked an 11-year-old boy and hit him in the stomach; the parents of the 11-year-old boy want to go to the police to file a statement. What threatens a 14 year old teenager and a parent.

Sergey (senior lawyer)

Hello, Olesya! Most likely, the impact did not cause any serious bodily injury. Therefore, the teenager will not be held criminally liable; in extreme cases, he can be registered with the PDN. In addition, his parents may be sued for reimbursement of medical expenses for a junior schoolchild who was kicked.

Olesya

Good evening, my husband was hit in the eye as a result of which he had a concussion, a hematoma, and while drinking he fell and broke his leg. At the moment, due to a severe fracture, he lost his ability to work for 6 months - this is according to the conclusion of a traumatologist, which is what you can count on when submitting an application to the police?

Sergey (senior lawyer)

Hello, Olesya! In any case, a criminal case will be initiated. And the specific article will depend on the severity of the injuries caused. For this purpose, a forensic examination will be carried out, which will give an accurate answer.

Alexei

Good afternoon. An accident occurred with my child, a 7-year-old child. He fell into a sewer hatch. Received minor damage to health. How should a case be initiated? And what punishment does the culprit face? Thank you.

Sergey (senior lawyer)

Hello, Alexey! Since slight harm to health was caused due to negligence, criminal law does not provide for such a crime. In this situation, the guilty person may be held administratively liable, and you can also file a civil claim for compensation for material and moral damage caused.

Sergey

Hello. On the territory of the seaport, another driver punched me as a truck driver. He made a row, insulted me, created a conflict, near my car, I went out and told him to stop the conflict and pushed him away. He ran up and broke my jaw with his left hand. The police were called. They interviewed everyone, they assigned me a sme, he refused, he didn’t have anything. After some time, his friends call and ask him not to write anything. What threatens him?

Sergey (senior lawyer)

Hello, Sergey! The amount of punishment will depend on the severity of the harm to your health. This will be determined after the examination.

Oksana

Hello, in the summer of 2017, my husband was beaten, hit in the jaw, after which he was taken to the hospital, of which he spent 2 weeks in intensive care. He suffered a serious injury to the head, with a divergence of the sagittal suture, and there are hymotomas in the head. Also, after the injury, I stopped feeling smells, they ordered a second medical examination, but they didn’t want to invite us, they assured us that there was no need for this, although the judge made a ruling with the participation of my husband. They opened a criminal case under Article 118 for negligence in the police, there is no blow in the suspect’s testimony, but he simply tilted him upside down to the asphalt. The case was transferred to the Investigative Committee, where pressure was put on us, court hearings with interviews of witnesses have been going on since December. The witnesses are lying, the suspect did not apologize to us, he answered the prosecutor that he did not deems it necessary. Tell me where to look for the truth, and what article 118 can be if serious harm to health is caused that is life-threatening? The suspect has connections in law enforcement agencies, everything has been bought. Can you give me some advice?

Sergey (senior lawyer)

Hello, Oksana! In your situation, the best option is to involve a lawyer in your case. He will be able to orient himself on the spot and choose the right position. You should hurry, since the case has already been sent to court and much can no longer be done. Article 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation may have a place here, since it establishes liability for causing grievous harm to health, but through negligence.

Elsa

Good afternoon. Please tell me what the consequences for a minor child will be in the following case. My daughter is a 3rd grade student. A boy from her classmate was running after her, she asked a girl from her class, who was a head taller than her, to stand up for her. The girl covered my daughter with herself and told the boy not to touch her. To which the boy moved a little further away, said that you, the girl’s name, is not an obstacle to me, and with a running start, stretching his arms forward, he ran towards them. As a result, the girl fell and hit her head, but they did not go to the hospital, my daughter fell, and since that girl fell on her from the weight of her body, she fractured the tibia of her leg. The boy says that he was pushed in the back; no one saw him. Everyone denies this. The school seized the video or deleted it; it simply doesn’t exist. Although there are other days, everything. The boy's parents accepted his position and had to write a statement to the police. There will be 6 weeks of sick leave. The child is a minor, he will be registered with the ODN. But what else? Thanks for the help in advance.

Sergey (senior lawyer)

Hello! If the child is under 14 years old, then you can’t expect more. Only it is possible to recover from his parents the amount of money for treatment and compensation for moral damage.

1. Intentional infliction of slight harm to health, causing short-term health disorder or minor permanent loss of general ability to work, -

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to forty thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to three months, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred eighty hours, or by corrective labor for a term of up to one year, or by arrest for a term of up to four months.

2. The same act committed:

a) for hooligan reasons;

b) for reasons of political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or for reasons of hatred or enmity towards any social group;

c) with the use of weapons or objects used as weapons -

shall be punishable by compulsory labor for a term of up to three hundred sixty hours, or correctional labor for a term of up to one year, or restriction of liberty for a term of up to two years, or forced labor for a term of up to two years, or arrest for a term of up to six months, or imprisonment for a term of up to two years.

Comments to Art. 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

1. From the objective side, the specific signs of the crime in question are: a) short-term health disorder; b) minor permanent loss of general ability to work. One of these signs is sufficient to assess the harm to health as mild and qualify the act under Art. 115 of the Criminal Code.

2. A short-term health disorder is understood as a temporary loss of ability to work lasting no more than three weeks (21 days), and a minor permanent loss of general ability to work is a persistent loss of general ability to work equal to 5%.

3. The subjective side of the crime is expressed only in intent (direct or indirect). Careless infliction of minor harm is not criminally punishable. If minor harm is caused in a state of physiological affect, liability also arises under Art. 115 of the Criminal Code. When imposing a punishment, the court is obliged to take into account the mitigating circumstance provided for in paragraph "h" of Part 1 of Art. 61 CC. Forced infliction of minor harm in a state of necessary defense or during the detention of a person who has committed a crime, criminal liability under Art. 115 of the Criminal Code does not entail.

Article 115 defines the punishment for intentionally causing harm to health. In this case, a slight loss of ability to work and a slight disorder of well-being are assumed, which could have caused the beatings. In this case, it may turn out that the victim’s condition will deteriorate significantly after some time and the beatings will be of moderate severity. But the comments here clarify that this should happen relatively quickly. In other words, if a year later the victim develops a tumor at the site of the impact and the permanent damage to his well-being becomes more severe, then it will no longer be possible to hold anyone accountable for this.

Comments to this provision of the Law also explain what exactly light beatings are - loss of ability to work for no more than 3 weeks. That is, the duration of stay on sick leave or in a hospital does not exceed this period of time.

In this case, intentional infliction of harm to health must be proven. If, for example, the work was done poorly and the boss pushed the subordinate in anger, then this will not fall under this provision of the Law, since the latter did not intend or desire the consequences. The elements of the crime and the comments to the Criminal Code provide an explanation - the offender had to anticipate the consequences and desire the attack.

Article 115 of the Criminal Code in the latest edition

115 Art. of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, intentional infliction of slight harm to health, corpus delicti

Article 115 intentional infliction of slight harm to health defines the exact corpus delicti of the crime - intentional infliction of slight harm to health. In this case, the corpus delicti implies assault. If there were only threats to do this, insults, then this norm no longer applies to this act. Also, the corpus delicti is determined by a short-term health disorder, the ability to work is lost for a short period. This conclusion must be supported by a medical certificate.

At the same time, the corpus delicti of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation includes a clear cause-and-effect relationship. Comments to this norm determine that health should deteriorate precisely because of beatings. Simply put, if there was bodily harm, but after that the person’s chronic disease worsened and this is not interrelated, then there can be no punishment.

Sample application for private prosecution under Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

For intentional infliction of bodily harm, the victim has the right to remove the beating and leave a statement. In this case, beating a person must be proven by a medical report. There should be a list of injuries, as well as the severity. The statement should indicate who exactly inflicted the beatings, when, where, under what circumstances. The basis is clearly indicated - Article 115 and additional circumstances (testimony of witnesses).

A sample application can be downloaded

Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - punishment for assault

Article 115 (Part 1) of the Federal Law prescribes a penalty for intentionally causing minor harm to health - a fine of up to 40 thousand rubles. Part 2 determines the punishment - up to 2 years. But such punishment is possible only if the harm is caused:

• several people;
• from hooligan motives;
• any weapons or any third-party objects that could be used as a weapon were used;
• due to racial or religious hatred.

In other words, the Law presupposes a real sentence only if the crime has some aggravating circumstances.

How to avoid punishment under Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with comments

As judicial practice shows, it is possible to avoid punishment for intentionally causing harm to health if there was only minor harm. In this case, the easiest way is to simply try to come to an agreement with the victim. If this failed, then we can emphasize that the harm to health was not intentional, and the accused simply overestimated his strength and the amount of damage caused was not expected on such a scale. In the case of minor injuries, this most often happens. This is done consciously only with the use of at least some object.

In criminal, administrative, and civil legislation, terms that have a specific interpretation are widely used. An example of this is minor bodily injury. What is this, how can I prove its application? What clause of the law governs this offense? And also what kind of punishment is provided for it? We will consider these questions further.

Bodily injury

What is this? Bodily injury - damage to the physical condition of a citizen. But a lot goes into this. From a bruise, abrasion to a knife wound, a blow with a heavy object, which can lead to disability and even death of the victim.

The fact of inflicting all kinds of physical and serious injuries on a citizen must be recorded! The presence of a supporting document will be fundamental for your application to the police, prosecutor's office, and judicial system.

The damage caused must be recorded by specialists from a medical institution. And an important feature is that they must act as a third party in relation to you. That is, even if you are a certified doctor, you will not be able to document the same minor bodily injury yourself.

Let us also note this fact. Medical evidence of minor bodily injury is sometimes not enough for investigative and judicial proceedings. Authorities are asking to provide recordings from video devices, external surveillance cameras, etc. The “historical” method is also popular - attracting witnesses.

Types of bodily injuries

It would seem that there are only three groups of them. But the same harm to health can be assessed by two different doctors as either minor bodily injury or other harm. Why is this so? You will learn the reason for the individuality of conclusions by reading their characteristics:

• Minor injuries. Something that causes minor or short-term harm to health. For the most part these are bruises, abrasions, bruises. The characteristic of this category is that such damage “lasts” no more than one week. In other words, it heals completely in seven days.
• Moderate weight. The most popular category. It includes what cannot be called minor harm, but also serious damage. These are injuries that affect the victim (say, on his appearance), but do not affect his general, lifelong health. Or damage that affects a person’s condition and well-being for a long time. This includes fractures, serious burns, puncture and incised wounds that did not affect vital organs.
• Serious damage. This group will differ not in the large number of types of harm caused, but in its diversity. The category includes everything that causes severe damage to both the physical health and psyche of the victim. What does it mean? Even if the physical injury is minor, but the psychological injury is serious, the injury will still be classified as severe. The group also includes everything that caused irreparable harm to the health of the victim, leading to his disability and death - severe beatings, torture, cutting, gunshot, stab wounds, etc.

Analysis of the features of the concept

We also note that “minor bodily injury” is a somewhat outdated term. If you look at modern legislation, you will notice that it has been replaced by “minor harm to health”.

In criminal law, the phenomenon has a number of features:

• The harm pursued by punishment is always caused by a third party. That is, for example, a person who decides to cripple himself or unsuccessfully commit suicide will not be judged under Art. 115 of the Criminal Code.
• The action of a third party violating the law must necessarily be intentional.
• The harm caused to the victim by the offender must result in a short-term health disorder in order for the offender to be held accountable. This includes loss of ability to work for a period of at least 3 weeks. Or for a greater amount, but not exceeding 10% of the victim’s total working capacity.
• The crime must involve intentionality in the actions of the offender.
• The qualifications of such a crime necessarily determine the degree of complexity of the consequences for the victim. In this case, a medical examination. Here the intentionality of the act is also clarified - what happened should not be an accidental coincidence.
• The degree of punishment for light infliction of harm is no longer determined by the severity of the damage, but by the level of social danger of the offender’s actions. Therefore, an atrocity committed by a group of people for the sake of political, interethnic, religious goals will be punished by law here more harshly.

In general, the category of mass offenses against a citizen’s health includes all unlawful acts that caused certain damage to the victim. These actions against a person’s physical condition are considered socially dangerous and imply an attack on the well-being of the individual. Therefore, in order to protect the population from violence, punishment for such atrocities is introduced in accordance with the Criminal Code.

Articles of the Criminal Code

In the Russian Criminal Code, intentional infliction of harm to health has a special place. This is Ch. 16, which includes twenty articles.

In addition to it, criminal law also contains other sections devoted to the subject of our conversation. In particular, these articles:

• Art. Dedicated to intentionally causing mild harm to health.
• Art. 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Damage of moderate severity.
• There will already be bodily injuries recognized by the medical certificate as severe.

Let's take a closer look at the article related to the subject of our conversation.

Art. 115 Criminal Code, part 1

Consists of two parts. As we have already said, the punishment for causing bodily harm - light and minor - is spelled out here.

The first part of the article is devoted to mild harm to health, which is not accompanied by aggravating circumstances or other features. The punishment here will be as follows:

• Arrest for a period of 4 months.
• Compulsory work lasting 480 hours.
• A fine, the maximum amount of which is 40 thousand rubles.

Art. 115 Criminal Code, part 2

Now let's move on to the second part of the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Infliction of minor bodily injury”. Cases accompanied by various aggravating circumstances will already be listed here. The latter are included in the Criminal Code:

• Causing harm to the victim's health for hooligan purposes.
• Causing bodily harm, which is explained by the religious, political and other ideological motives of the offender.
• Causing even mild harm using any weapon.

The term (we still consider minor bodily injuries) under the weight of aggravating circumstances will be more severe than in the first part:

• Correctional work for 1 year.
• Forced labor for a period of 2 years.
• Restriction of freedom for 2 years.
• Arrest lasting 6 months.
• Imprisonment for up to 2 years.

For whom is there no punishment?

It must be said that the effect does not apply to all categories of citizens. The following persons do not fall under it:

• Minors under 16 years of age.
• Persons who have been declared legally incompetent by a court.

Punishment of teenagers 16-18 years old

What about juvenile offenders whose age is 16-18 years old? For this category of persons, the punishment for causing minor harm to the health of the victim will be as follows:

• Accounting in the children's room of the police.
• The fine (and other financial claims of the victim) is paid by the parents of the minor offender or his legal representatives.
• At his discretion, the judge may introduce additional penalties - it all depends on the aggravating circumstances.

Aggravating circumstance

Intentional injury to health is rarely a separate crime. Most often, there are examples when it turns out to be an aggravating circumstance.

What is this? Let's look at examples of causing minor bodily harm in the context of other atrocities:

• Extortion. As an independent crime, it does not involve causing harm to the health of the victim. According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, he is given a maximum of 4 years of imprisonment and 80 thousand rubles as a fine. But if the commission of this crime caused harm to the health of the victim, then the period of imprisonment increases to 15 years, and the fine - up to 1 million rubles.
• Robbery. By open theft of property without causing harm. But also Art. 161 of the Russian Criminal Code includes in this category crimes related to causing minor harm to the health of the victim. However, if the latter is recognized by doctors as moderate or severe, then the crime becomes an assault, for which a more severe punishment is imposed.

What should the victim do?

If you have suffered minor harm to your health, then in order to bring the perpetrator to punishment, you will have to act independently:

1. First of all, collect all the evidence that confirms his guilt. It is important to promptly remove beatings and other injuries in a medical institution and conduct an examination!
2. If possible, collect surveillance camera footage and other audio and photographic evidence.
3. Find witnesses to the incident.
4. After the medical examination, you need to contact the police and write a statement.
5. The next stage is an application to the judicial authority of the area where the crime was committed. The case is being heard by magistrates.
6. Remember that you have the right to request compensation for material and moral damage.

The case may end in reconciliation between the parties. In other cases, a criminal case is initiated under this article (if the malicious intent of the offender is proven) and the offender bears the punishment imposed by the magistrate.

Citizens often resolve problems and disputes using brute force and fists. A fight can lead to both minor harm to health and more serious consequences. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for liability for beating - the punishment will depend on the degree of harm caused and physical damage. It is important to understand that even for light beatings and minor bodily injuries, in some cases the perpetrator may face imprisonment.

Classification of minor injuries

The concept of “minor bodily injury” in Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has recently been interpreted as “minor harm to health,” which does not significantly change the essence. If one person harms another, resulting in physical harm, minor injuries and temporary disability, they must be held accountable. Each case of violence is individual, and only authorized structures and judicial bodies have the right to establish punishment for a crime.

Under what article of the Criminal Code a citizen will be punished for causing bodily harm, the court will determine after conducting an investigation and determining the circumstances of the crime, as well as the nature of the consequences. The degree of harm to health as a result of the beating is determined by a forensic medical examination. It can be:

• beatings - they do not cause damage to health, but appear in the form of abrasions, scratches, bruises, and are punishable by a fine, compulsory or correctional labor, arrest, imprisonment (Article 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation);
• minor harm to health - occurs as a result of beating and leads to loss of ability to work for a period of no more than three weeks, may be punished by a fine, compulsory/corrective/forced labor, arrest;
• physical harm of moderate severity - within the framework of the Criminal Code, severe penalties are provided for such actions, including imprisonment for up to 5 years;
• intentional infliction of serious harm to health - for such a crime the maximum strict liability applies; the death of the victim can aggravate the situation.

The punishment for minor harm to health under Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation depends on whether the crime was committed with aggravating circumstances or without them. When the beating was organized by a group of people, this will be considered a qualifying sign, for which the punishment will be more severe.

The qualification of a crime is also influenced by the presence of intent. If a person intentionally inflicted beatings, caused minor injuries and pursued the goal of causing harm to the health of another citizen as a result of beating, the punishment will be harsher. Responsibility for a crime falling under Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation begins at the age of 16.

What is the punishment under Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?

To be prosecuted for battery and minor bodily injury, you must be thoroughly prepared. The person will have to collect the evidence base independently. We should start with arguments that the crime had direct intent. As evidence, you can use an expert opinion on the presence of beatings, witness statements, video materials, etc. Based on Article 115 of the Criminal Code, the court may sentence the accused for minor bodily injuries in the form of:

• a fine in the amount of up to 40 thousand rubles;
• correctional labor for up to one year;
• community service up to 480 hours;
• arrest for up to 4 months.

If minor injuries are classified under the second part of Article 115 (with the use of weapons, for hooligan motives, motivated by hatred for various reasons), then the punishment will be more severe, up to imprisonment for up to two years. If the beating was committed by a teenager, and the crime was intentional and caused minor injuries to the victim, his parents will be held accountable for the actions of the minor.

In addition to demands to hold a citizen accountable for light beatings, the victim may insist on compensation for moral damage and material damage. The plaintiff sets the amount of payment independently, but it is important to be guided by the principles of objectivity and reasonableness. When preparing an application to the court, in order to avoid errors, inaccuracies, and unforeseen negative legal consequences, it is best to first obtain legal support and recommendations from an experienced lawyer.

Where to go if you are beaten

When a beating occurs and intentional harm is caused to a person, it is necessary to act consistently and responsibly. You can punish an attacker for causing harm and light beatings if you contact the police immediately after committing the crime. Here you will need to write a statement indicating the cause, circumstances and consequences of the incident. After reviewing the submitted materials, the police will determine under what article the crime is classified and will open proceedings on the case, which will be transferred to the magistrate.

The law also allows you to submit an application directly to the court. It is important to correctly argue and substantiate the claim. It will need to be accompanied by a doctor’s or medical examination report. To get the most accurate examination result, you need to go to the hospital as quickly as possible to record the beatings. Here, experts will be able to determine what harm was caused as a result of the beating - mild or more severe.

Law enforcement agencies are not always willing to open proceedings when faced with a crime that resulted in minor injuries to a person. This is due to the fact that the parties to the conflict are usually relatives or friends, and the quarrel is exclusively of a domestic nature. If the police do not want to open a case under Articles 115, 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, you need to defend your rights, you can threaten to file a complaint with a higher authority.

During an investigation or trial, the parties always have the opportunity to resolve the conflict pre-trial by signing a settlement agreement. The statute of limitations for cases of battery and bodily harm is three years.