Criminal liability for driving to suicide

             In the practice of considering criminal cases involving criminal liability for crimes, suicide is provided for in art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

             The relevance of this issue lies in the implementation of the state policy of countering criminal manifestations related to encroachment on human life and health. A special place is occupied by such a crime as suicide.

             Suicide is the taking of one's own life by a person under the influence of any circumstances.

The current version of Article 105 of the Criminal Code contains three parts providing for criminal liability for driving to suicide in the following circumstances.

1. Driving a person to suicide or attempted suicide by threats, ill-treatment or systematic humiliation of the victim's human dignity.

2. The same act committed against a person who was financially or otherwise dependent on the perpetrator

3. The acts provided for in the first or second parts of this Article committed against a minor are a public danger.

Suicide, as such, is not one of the problems of criminal law. But driving to suicide is a socially dangerous act that violates one of the basic human rights - the right to life.

The object of this crime is human life.

The objective side of the crime is expressed mainly in active actions to bring a person to suicide or to an attempt on his life.

The methods of driving to suicide are stipulated by the legislator in the norm of the law.

These include:

a) threats;

b) ill-treatment;

c) systematic humiliation of human dignity.

If it is established that the victim was financially or otherwise dependent on the perpetrator, the act should be qualified under Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

A threat should be understood as a mental impact on the victim, which served as an impetus to suicide (for example, a threat to deprive him of his home, material assistance, means of livelihood, the threat of physical violence and the dissemination of shameful information, etc.).

Ill-treatment is ruthless, rude behavior that causes physical and mental suffering to the victim. It is expressed in the infliction of physical or mental suffering to victims (beatings, torture, coercion to meaningless work, denial of food, medical care, bullying, etc.). At the same time, it is important to establish that the ill-treatment of the victim is not isolated and accidental, but represents a system of purposeful, ongoing actions of the perpetrator, therefore, it is unlikely to be considered convincing that a single case of ill-treatment provides grounds for bringing a person to criminal responsibility for this crime.

Systematic humiliation of human dignity is a prolonged manifestation of humiliating treatment of the victim. It is expressed in the commission of repeated similar actions: insults, mockery, slander, harassment, unreasonable criticism, etc. At the same time, the crime of driving to suicide is possible only in cases of systematic humiliation of human dignity. A single case of insult does not constitute a crime. The listed methods of driving a person to suicide are often combined.

A mandatory feature of this crime is the causal relationship between the fact of suicide (attempted suicide) and the act of the perpetrator, i.e. it must be established that it was the unlawful actions (inaction) of the person that served as the immediate cause that pushed the victim to suicide. If the victim committed suicide for other reasons, criminal liability under Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan is excluded. Thus, the lawful imprisonment of a person who has committed a crime, or the refusal to marry, which led to the suicide of the victim, do not form part of the crime in question.

The actions of the perpetrator are qualified under Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan not only when the victim committed suicide, but also when there was an attempted suicide (an attempt to take his own life). Moreover, it is necessary to establish that this attempt was real, and not with the aim of scaring anyone or achieving a goal. Thus, the composition of the type of crime in question is formal.

In order to be held accountable under the article in question of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, it is necessary to establish that the victim, depriving himself of life, acted intentionally. If he caused his own death by negligence, there will be no corpus delicti in question.

It is also required to establish that the perpetrator did not commit acts that could cause death to the victim. For example, if a victim, fleeing from rape, jumped out of a third-floor window and crashed, then the perpetrator should be prosecuted for attempted rape, which negligently resulted in the death of the victim (if it is established that she did not intend to commit suicide, but wanted to escape from the persecution of the perpetrator).

A crime is considered completed in cases where murder or an attempt on his life has followed as a result of the actions of the perpetrator.

The subjective side of suicide is characterized by indirect intent. A person is aware that he is committing an act that will result in the death of another person, really anticipates the possibility of this consequence and consciously allows it, or is indifferent to its occurrence.

A subject is a sane individual who has reached the age of 16, as well as a person on whom the victim was financially or otherwise dependent. If suicide is committed by an official, his actions are qualified as a set of crimes provided for in Articles 105 and Part 4 of Article 362 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. (Abuse of official authority, which entailed grave consequences).

Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan provides for the qualified composition of driving to suicide - finding the victim financially or otherwise dependent on the perpetrator. Driving a victim to suicide due to material or other dependence on the perpetrator is recognized as a more socially dangerous act and provides for more severe penalties. The victims in this case are dependent persons, foster carers, unemployed spouses, debtors, and others.

Driving to suicide or attempting to commit suicide by committing acts that constitute an independent crime (torture, infliction of serious or other harm to health, unlawful imprisonment, rape, extortion, etc.) requires qualification according to the totality of these crimes and according to art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Part 3 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan provides for liability for acts provided for in Parts 1 or 2 of this article committed against a minor who is recognized as a person under the age of 18.

The acts provided for in Parts 1 and 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan are crimes of moderate severity.

The act provided for in Part 3 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan is considered a serious crime.

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