Plenum of the Supreme Court of Russia on “hooliganism” and “hooligan motives”

We are publishing the text of the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Russia, aimed at ensuring the correct and uniform application of legislation on criminal liability for hooliganism and other crimes committed with hooligan motives. This resolution contains a number of positions to which we would like to draw the attention of our readers (see the section “Counteract Radical Nationalism” ). The text is reproduced from a publication posted on the official website of the Supreme Court of Russia.

Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 45 of November 15, 2007

On judicial practice in criminal cases of hooliganism and other crimes committed out of hooligan motives

In order to ensure the correct and uniform application of legislation on criminal liability for hooliganism and other crimes committed with hooligan motives, the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation decides to give the following clarifications to the courts:

1. In accordance with the law, only such gross violation of public order, expressing clear disrespect for society, which is committed with the use of weapons or objects used as weapons, or based on political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred, can be recognized as criminal hooliganism. hostility or based on hatred or hostility towards any social group.

When deciding whether the defendant’s actions constituted a gross violation of public order, expressing clear disrespect for society, the courts should take into account the manner, time, place of their commission, as well as their intensity, duration and other circumstances. Such actions can be committed both in relation to a specific person and in relation to an indefinite number of persons. A person’s obvious disrespect for society is expressed in a deliberate violation of generally accepted norms and rules of behavior, dictated by the desire of the perpetrator to oppose himself to others, to demonstrate a disdainful attitude towards them.

The court must establish what specifically constituted a gross violation of public order, what circumstances indicated a clear disrespect for society by the perpetrator, and indicate them in the verdict.

1. The use of weapons or objects used as weapons should be understood as deliberate actions aimed at the use by a person of these objects for both physical and mental influence on the victim, as well as other actions indicating an intention to use violence through these weapons or objects, used as weapons.

2. When qualifying a person’s actions under paragraph “a” of Part 1 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, courts should, if necessary, on the basis of an expert’s opinion, establish whether the object used during hooliganism is a weapon intended to defeat a living or other target. If there are grounds for this, the actions of the person who used a weapon during the commission of hooliganism must be additionally qualified under Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Objects used as weapons in the commission of hooliganism mean any material objects that, based on their properties, can cause harm to human health.

In cases where, in the process of committing hooliganism, a person uses animals that pose a danger to human life or health, the act, taking into account the specific circumstances of the case, can be qualified under paragraph “a” of Part 1 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

1. The use of unloaded, faulty, unusable weapons (for example, training weapons) or decorative, souvenir, toy weapons, etc. in the course of committing hooliganism. provides grounds for qualifying the offense under paragraph “a” of Part 1 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

2. When qualifying the actions of the perpetrator as hooliganism committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, the courts must proceed from the requirements provided for in Part 2 of Article 35 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. When deciding on the qualification of such actions under Part 2 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, courts should keep in mind that a preliminary agreement must be reached not only on the commission of joint hooligan actions, but also on the use of weapons or objects used as weapons, or committing such actions based on political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or based on hatred or enmity against any social group by any of the accomplices. To qualify the crime, it does not matter whether all persons who agreed to commit such a crime used weapons or objects used as weapons.

If one person, in the course of committing joint illegal actions in the absence of a preliminary conspiracy with other participants in the crime, used weapons or objects used as weapons, or continued hooligan actions based on political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or motives of hatred or hostility towards any social group, what he has done, if there are grounds for it, is subject to qualification under the relevant paragraph of Part 1 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Article 36 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Actions of other participants who were not bound by a prior conspiracy and did not use weapons or objects used as weapons, and also did not commit criminal acts motivated by political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or motivated by hatred or enmity in relation to any or social group, do not form part of the specified crime. If there are grounds for this, such actions can be qualified as petty hooliganism (Article 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

1. If a person involved a minor in committing a crime provided for in Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, his actions are subject to qualification according to the totality of crimes provided for in the relevant part of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and part 4 of Article 150 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (for involving a minor in a criminal group).

2. As hooliganism associated with resistance to a government official or other person performing duties to protect public order or suppressing a violation of public order (Part 2 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the actions of the perpetrator should be qualified in the case where resistance was provided directly during the commission of criminal hooliganism actions.

In cases where resistance to a representative of the authorities is offered by a person after the cessation of hooligan actions, in particular in connection with subsequent arrest, his actions are subject to qualification under the totality of crimes provided for in Part 1 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the corresponding article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for liability for a crime committed (for example, under Article 317 or Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

1. Resistance to a government official or other person performing duties to protect public order should be understood as the intentional actions of a person to overcome the legal actions of these persons, as well as the actions of other citizens suppressing a violation of public order, for example, when detaining a person committing hooliganism, disarming him, restraining or otherwise preventing the continuation of hooligan actions.

2. Hooligan actions associated with resistance to a representative of the authorities, during which violence was used, both non-dangerous and dangerous to life and health, should be classified as a set of crimes provided for in Part 2 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the corresponding part of Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

If a person, while resisting a person performing duties to protect public order or suppressing a violation of public order, intentionally caused him serious or moderate harm to health or committed his murder, the act, if there are grounds for this, should be classified as a set of crimes provided for in Part 2 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and, accordingly, paragraph “a” of part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, paragraph “b” of part 2 of Article 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation or paragraph “b” of part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, as the commission of these crimes against a person in connection with the performance of his official activities or fulfilling a public duty.

1. Persons performing duties for the protection of public order should include military personnel, persons engaged in private detective and security activities, involved in the protection of public safety and public order, officials of local government bodies who, under the special authority of the local government body, carry out functions for the protection of public order. Other persons suppressing violations of public order are understood as persons who, although not vested with any powers, nevertheless participate in preventive actions on their own initiative.

2. Bearing in mind that the corpus delicti provided for in Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not contain such a sign of the objective side of the crime as the use of violence (causing harm to human health of varying degrees of severity), and taking into account the fact that in hooliganism the intent is aimed at a gross violation of public order , in cases where, in the process of committing hooliganism, the victim, as well as a person performing duties to protect public order or suppressing hooliganism, is beaten or harmed to health of varying degrees of severity from hooligan motives, the act must be qualified according to the totality of crimes provided for in the relevant part of the article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and part (paragraph of the part) of the corresponding article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for liability for a crime against a person.

3. Courts should distinguish hooliganism, liability for which is provided for in Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, from other crimes, including those committed by a person with hooligan motives, depending on the content and direction of his intent, motive, purpose and circumstances of the actions he committed.

Criminally punishable acts committed out of hooligan motives should be understood as deliberate actions directed against a person’s person or his property, which were committed without any reason or using an insignificant reason. At the same time, in order to correctly establish these motives in the event that the perpetrator commits violent acts during a quarrel or fight, the courts need to find out who initiated them, and whether the conflict was provoked to use it as a reason to commit illegal actions. If the instigator of a quarrel or fight is the victim, as well as in the case where the conflict was caused by his illegal behavior, the person is not liable for committing a crime against such victim out of hooligan motives.

Causing harm to human health of varying degrees of severity or committing murder based on political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity or hatred or enmity towards any social group in the absence of other signs of a crime under Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation should be classified under relevant articles, parts and paragraphs of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, providing for liability for crimes against the person (for example, under paragraph “e” of Part 2 of Article 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

1. Taking into account the fact that the subjective side of hooliganism is characterized by direct intent, insults, beatings, causing harm to human health of varying degrees of severity, committed in the family, against relatives, acquaintances and caused by personal hostile relationships, incorrect actions of the victims, etc., when absence of signs of a crime provided for in Part 1 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, must be qualified under the articles of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for liability for crimes against the person.

2. Intentional destruction or damage to someone else's property, committed out of hooligan motives and causing significant damage, should be qualified under Part 2 of Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

In cases where a person, in addition to the deliberate destruction or damage of property for hooligan reasons, commits other intentional actions that grossly violate public order, expressing clear disrespect for society (for example, using weapons or objects used as weapons against an individual) , what he did must be qualified under Part 2 of Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the corresponding part of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

When deciding whether the victim has suffered significant damage, the courts should proceed from the value of the destroyed property or the cost of restoring damaged property, the significance of this property for the victim, and his financial situation.

1. Vandalism committed for reasons of political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or for reasons of hatred or enmity against any social group, should be distinguished from hooliganism committed for the same reasons. Vandalism not only violates public order, but also causes damage to property through desecration of buildings and other structures, damage to property in transport or other public places. In cases where, along with vandalism (Article 214 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), a person commits hooliganism, liability for which is provided for in Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the act should be qualified according to the totality of these articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

2. Recommend that courts, when establishing during the trial cases of hooliganism, as well as other crimes committed from hooligan motives, the circumstances that contributed to the commission of crimes, and violations of the rights and freedoms of citizens, respond to these circumstances by issuing private rulings (decrees), paying attention to the relevant organizations and officials on the specified circumstances and facts of violation of the law, requiring the adoption of necessary measures (Part 4 of Article 29 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation).

Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation

V.M. Lebedev

Secretary of the Plenum, judge of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation

V.V. Demidov