Circumstances aggravating liability and punishment
🟩 Article 54 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan: Circumstances Aggravating Criminal Liability and Punishment
🔹 1. Legal Nature
Article 54 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan establishes a list of circumstances that may be recognized by the court as aggravating when imposing punishment. These circumstances increase the degree of public danger of the criminal offense or negatively characterize the offender’s personality, which may influence the choice of a more severe punishment within the limits of the sanction provided by the relevant article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
🔹 2. List of Aggravating Circumstances (Part 1 of Article 54)
- Repeated commission of criminal offenses, recidivism of crimes, dangerous recidivism: repeated commission of crimes indicates a stable criminal orientation of the individual.
- Causing grave consequences by a criminal offense: for example, the death of the victim or significant material damage.
- Commission of a criminal offense by a group of persons, a group of persons by prior conspiracy, or a criminal group: organized criminal activity poses an increased danger to society.
- An especially active role in the commission of a criminal offense: acting as an initiator, organizer, or a person who directed the commission of the crime.
- Involvement in the commission of a criminal offense of persons who are knowingly suffering from severe mental or behavioral disorders (illnesses), or persons who have not reached the age of criminal liability: use of vulnerable persons for criminal purposes.
- Commission of a criminal offense motivated by national, racial, or religious hatred or enmity, out of revenge for the lawful actions of other persons, as well as for the purpose of concealing another criminal offense or facilitating its commission: hate-based crimes undermine the foundations of tolerance and public order.
- Commission of a criminal offense against a woman known by the offender to be pregnant, as well as against a minor, another defenseless or helpless person, or a person dependent on the offender: encroachment upon the most vulnerable categories of citizens.
- Commission of a criminal offense against a person or their relatives in connection with the performance by that person of their official, professional, or public duty: for example, an attack on a law enforcement officer.
- Commission of a criminal offense with particular cruelty, sadism, mockery, or torture of the victim: additional suffering inflicted on the victim increases the public danger of the offense.
- Commission of a criminal offense using weapons, ammunition, explosives, explosive or imitation devices, specially manufactured technical means, flammable and combustible liquids, poisonous and radioactive substances, medicinal and other chemical-pharmacological substances, as well as through the use of physical or psychological coercion or by a generally dangerous method: the use of dangerous means increases the risk to society.
- Commission of a criminal offense under conditions of a state of emergency, an emergency situation, or during mass riots: exploitation of an unstable situation for criminal purposes.
- Commission of a criminal offense while in a state of alcoholic, narcotic, or toxic intoxication: a state of intoxication does not exempt from liability and may be recognized as an aggravating circumstance.
- Commission of a criminal offense by a person who thereby violated an oath or professional pledge taken by them: for example, a crime committed by a physician in violation of the Hippocratic Oath.
- Commission of a criminal offense through abuse of trust granted to the offender by virtue of their official position or a contract: abuse of trust increases the degree of guilt.
- Commission of a criminal offense using official uniforms or documents of a representative of authority: imitation of official status for the purpose of committing a crime.
- Commission of a criminal offense by a law enforcement or special state body officer, or a judge, using their official position: abuse of power undermines trust in state institutions.
🔹 3. Restrictions on Taking Aggravating Circumstances into Account
- Part 2 of Article 54: if an aggravating circumstance is provided for by the relevant article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan as an element of the criminal offense, it shall not be taken into account again when imposing punishment.
- Part 3 of Article 54: when imposing punishment, the court may not recognize as aggravating circumstances those not specified in Part 1 of this article.
🔹 4. Judicial Practice
According to judicial practice, the presence of aggravating circumstances provided for in Article 54 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan may influence the imposition of a more severe punishment. For example, in the presence of recidivism of crimes (paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Article 54), the court may impose punishment closer to the upper limit of the sanction of the relevant article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code.
🔹 5. Related нормативные acts
- Article 52 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan: General Principles of Sentencing.
- Article 53 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan: Circumstances Mitigating Criminal Liability and Punishment.
- Regulatory Resolution of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 4 dated June 25, 2015: On Certain Issues of Imposing Criminal Punishment.
🔹 6. Conclusion
Article 54 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan plays an important role in the individualization of punishment, allowing courts to take into account circumstances aggravating the offender’s liability. Proper application of this article contributes to achieving the purposes of punishment, such as protecting society and preventing new crimes.
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