Definition of the average severity of harm to health in criminal law

Paragraph 12 of Article 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan defines the average severity of harm to health as such harm that:

- Not life-threatening,

- Caused a long-term health disorder (more than 21 days),

- Led to a significant permanent loss of general disability (less than one third).

1. Determination of the average severity of harm to health:

  - Moderate harm to health is not life-threatening, but causes serious physical consequences. These can be fractures, dislocations, significant bruises, as well as prolonged deterioration of health, which leads to temporary disability or a decrease in general working capacity for a certain period of time.

2. Qualification according to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

  - Article 107 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan describes liability for intentional infliction of moderate harm to health. Depending on the circumstances and the intention of the offender, the acts may qualify as crimes of moderate severity, which affects the term of punishment.

  - It is important to note that courts in Kazakhstan often rely on forensic medical examinations to determine the severity of harm.

3. Civil law regulation:

  - The Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan also regulates the issues of compensation for damage to health. Moderate harm requires compensation for medical expenses, lost income and moral damage. Article 917 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan indicates that the person who caused the harm is obliged to compensate him in full, and Article 952 concerns compensation for moral damage.

4. Regulatory rulings of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

  - The regulatory resolution of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated May 11, 2007 No. 1. specifies the qualification of certain criminal offenses against human life and health.  Judicial practice proceeds from the fact that such cases require a mandatory conclusion of a forensic medical examination to determine the duration of disability and the degree of disability.

  - In the regulatory resolution of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated January 24, 2020 No. 3 On Certain Issues of the Application of Legislation by Courts in Cases of Criminal offenses in the Field of Economic activity, the Supreme Court also draws attention to the need for accurate medical analysis in order to exclude a subjective interpretation of the degree of damage.

5. Application in administrative offences:

  - Unlike serious harm to health, moderate harm can also be considered as part of administrative offenses if there is no direct intent to cause harm (for example, Article 739 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).

Moderate harm to health is a category of injuries that do not endanger human life, but lead to serious health consequences, including long-term disorder or temporary disability. This concept plays an important role in the qualification of crimes and in determining the measures of responsibility for them.

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