Commentary to article 323. Purchase or sale of official documents and state awards of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan

     Illegal acquisition or sale of official documents granting rights or relieving of duties, as well as state awards of the Republic of Kazakhstan or the USSR —      

are punishable by a fine in the amount of one hundred to two hundred monthly calculation indices or in the amount of the convicted person's salary or other income for a period of one to two months, or correctional labor for up to one year, or arrest for up to three months.

     The public danger of the acts provided for in Article 323 of the Criminal Code is that by illegally acquiring or selling official documents and state awards, the perpetrator violates the established procedure for handling official documents and state awards. Such acts allow him, bypassing the law, to acquire rights, benefits that do not belong to him, or to be relieved of duties, to lead a parasitic lifestyle, which harms the normal activities of government bodies, organizations, and institutions.      

The object of the crime in question is the management procedure. The direct object is the procedure established by the state for handling official documents and state awards.    

 The subject of the crime is official documents and state awards. Documents of legal significance are recognized as official documents. They can come from public authorities and management, officials of these bodies, as well as from legal entities and other organizations of a commercial or other nature.   

  Therefore, documents originating from private individuals and notarized (certificates, powers of attorney, receipts, etc.) cannot be recognized as the subject of a crime. Forged documents granting rights and obligations cannot be the subjects of the analyzed crime, since in such a case responsibility comes under art. 325 of the Criminal Code.     

Official documents, as a rule, have the appropriate details, the place and time of their compilation, the name of the authority or person who issued the document, in some cases – seals and stamps, and the like.    

 The subject of the crime being analyzed is not any official documents, but only those granting rights or relieving of duties. This may be explicitly stated in an official document and may follow from its contents. Official documents granting rights include diplomas, certificates, certificates of education, pension certificates, driver's licenses, patents, licenses, and the like. Documents exempting from duties may be official, pension and other certificates exempting from paying for travel; certificates exempting from payment of utility and other payments and the like. Official documents, although having legal significance, but not representing rights or not exempting from duties, cannot be the subject of this crime.   

  State awards are the highest form of rewarding citizens for outstanding services in economics, science, culture, art, education, defense of the Fatherland, state building, education, protection of health, life and rights of citizens, charitable activities and for other services to the state and the people (the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On State Awards of the Republic of Kazakhstan" dated 12.12.1995).    

 The objects of the crime are state awards of Kazakhstan (orders, medals, insignia, honorary titles), state awards of the USSR.    

 The objective side of the crime is expressed in the illegal acquisition or illegal sale of official documents granting rights or relieving of duties, as well as state awards of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the USSR.   

  Acquisition means obtaining the object of a crime in one's possession, use and disposal in any way, both for a fee and free of charge (by purchase, exchange, gift, pledge, etc.). The exception is such a method of acquiring official documents as embezzlement, which forms an independent element of the crime provided for in art. 324 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. As for state awards, their theft is qualified under Article 323 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan as one of the methods of illegal acquisition. Sale involves the alienation of an official document or a state award, or its transfer to another person. Sales may be paid or gratuitous.    

 The crime is considered completed from the moment of purchase or sale of the mentioned items.   

  The subjective side of the crime being analyzed is expressed in direct intent, that is, the perpetrator is aware of the social danger of his actions by purchasing or selling official documents or state awards, anticipates the possibility of socially dangerous consequences and desires their occurrence. Motives and goals may be different and do not affect qualifications, but they are taken into account by the court when sentencing.  

   The subject of the crime is a sane individual who has reached the age of 16.    

 If official documents containing information constituting a banking or commercial secret or containing information constituting a state secret become the subject of purchase and sale, then the act should be qualified, respectively, under Article 200 of the Criminal Code (illegal receipt and disclosure of information constituting a commercial and banking secret) or under Article 165 of the Criminal Code (high treason).

Commentary from 2007 to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan from the Honored Worker of Kazakhstan, Doctor of Law, Professor, Academician of the Kazakhstan National Academy of Natural Sciences BORCHASHVILI I.Sh.                  

Date of amendment of the act:  08/02/2007 Date of adoption of the act:  08/02/2007 Place of acceptance:  NO Authority that adopted the act: 180000000000 Region of operation:  100000000000 NPA registration number assigned by the regulatory body:  167 Status of the act:  new Sphere of legal relations:  028000000000 Report form:  COMM Legal force:  1900 Language of the Act:  rus

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