Commentary on Article 130. Insult of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan

1. Insult, that is, the humiliation of the honour and dignity of another person, expressed in an indecent form, –

shall be punishable by a fine of up to one hundred monthly calculation indices or in an amount equal to the salary or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one month, or by engagement in community service for a period of up to one hundred and twenty hours, or by correctional labour for a period of up to six months.

2. Insult contained in a public speech, a publicly displayed work, or the mass media –

shall be punishable by a fine ranging from one hundred to four hundred monthly calculation indices or in an amount equal to the salary or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to four months, or by engagement in community service for a period of up to one hundred and eighty hours, or by correctional labour for a period of up to one year, or by restriction of liberty for the same period.

The public danger of the act provided for in Article 130 of the Criminal Code is expressed in insult, that is, the humiliation of the honour and dignity of another person expressed in an indecent form. The object of the crime is a person's honour and dignity.

The objective aspect of the crime consists of actions aimed at humiliating the honour and dignity of another person by giving a negative assessment of the victim's personality, expressed in an indecent form. An indecent form is intended to cause the victim a feeling of offence and humiliation and contradicts the generally recognised rules of human conduct in society. When deciding whether a negative assessment has been expressed in an indecent form, the court must proceed from the moral standards of our society and not solely from the victim's own perception of it, since the victim may have an inflated sense of self-importance and may consider any critical statements directed at them to be insulting. It is irrelevant whether the negative assessment of the victim corresponds to reality or not.

The humiliation of honour and dignity takes place through treatment of the victim in an indecent form (a mandatory element of the objective aspect). An insult may be expressed publicly or in private, directly to the victim or in their absence through third parties (the perpetrator assumes that the fact of the insult will become known to the victim). The insult must be directed at a specific individual or specific individuals. For example, obscene language used in a public place that does not personally insult anyone is classified as hooliganism.

Unlike defamation, in the case of insult, the negative assessment of the victim may be truthful, that is, the assessment of the person's character may be correct, but presented in an indecent form. In addition, an insult may be expressed not only verbally or in writing, but also through physical actions that humiliate human dignity (a slap in the face, spitting, flicking someone on the nose or ear, indecent gestures, removing someone's clothing, cynical touching of the body, etc.). The question of whether a person can be physically insulted is controversial. In such cases, it is considered necessary to examine the perpetrator's intent in greater detail, which must be specifically directed at humiliating the honour and dignity of the victim.

Critical remarks expressed in a harsh manner, negative opinions about a specific person, references to their negative qualities, and emphasis on the shortcomings of their character do not constitute the offence of insult if expressed in a proper and decent manner.

The crime shall be considered completed from the moment an insulting statement or gesture is made in an indecent form in relation to the personal or social qualities of the victim.

The subjective aspect of the crime is characterised by direct intent. The perpetrator is aware that they are committing actions that humiliate the honour and dignity of another person in an indecent form and desires to do so.

In terms of the subjective aspect, insult differs from hooliganism. The motives behind insulting statements and actions are обусловed by personal hostile relations, whereas the motives for hooliganism are characterised by manifest disrespect for society.

The subject of the crime is a sane natural person who has attained the age of sixteen.

Part 2 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code provides for an aggravated form of the offence, namely, insult contained in a public speech, a publicly displayed work, or the mass media. Similar elements were examined in relation to Part 2 of Article 129 of the Criminal Code.

As noted above, insult differs from defamation in that, in the case of defamation, knowingly false information is disseminated, whereas in the case of insult, information about a person may correspond to reality but is expressed in an indecent form.

Commentary of 2007 on the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan by I.Sh. BORCHASHVILI, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan, Doctor of Law, Professor, Academician of the Kazakhstan National Academy of Natural Sciences

Date of amendment of the legal act: 02.08.2007

Date of adoption of the legal act: 02.08.2007

Place of adoption: NONE

Body that adopted the legal act: 180000000000

Territorial scope of application: 100000000000

Registration number of the regulatory legal act assigned by the rule-making body: 167

Status of the legal act: new

Sphere of legal relations: 028000000000

Form of the legal act: COMMENTARY

Legal force: 1900

Language of the legal act: Russian

Criminal Code, Commentaries on the Criminal Code, Regulatory Resolution of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Criminal Legislation, Regulatory Legal Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

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