The ratio of the categories “violence” and “threat” in modern criminal law of Russia

Abstract

This paper gives the essential characteristics of paired categories of criminal law —“violence” and “threat”. It is proposed to discuss the understanding of violence as a criminal law category, encompassing the physical and mental effects: intentional, unlawful use of physical force, including the impact on the physical integrity of another person and causing the victim physical pain, torment, suffering, and harm to the health or life or in threat of causing of the specified harm. In addition, violence often occurs in conjunction (together) with other types of socially dangerous behaviour. In connection with the above circumstances in the criminal code, there is no single criminal-legal norm on the responsibility for the violence at all. Found that “threat of violence” is a kind of criminal threats and intimidation of a victim of an injury of life, body or health, violation of the physical integrity of the victim or other persons. To the threats of violence should include the threat of beatings, torture, rape or violent acts of a sexual nature, as well as the threat murder, causing of harm to health, etc. Ways of expressing threats of violence may be different and expressed in a different form (oral, written, through gestures, conclusive actions, etc.). Developed special rules of qualification of crimes committed with use or threat of physical violence.