Author

Poezzhalov V.B., Shakhmaev M.M.

Title of article

Slander: controversial issues of differentiating criminal liability and punishment individualization

Section

Section 3. Criminal Law

Issue, year

2 (32) 2015

Abstract

The criminal legal characteristic of slander is provided. The possibility to estimate spreading of misinformation through the Internet as qualified calumny is considered. It is proposed to amend the wording of the effective norm. Applying criminal liability for slander by qualifying feature of jobbery is studied. The author argues that in each case it is necessary to set the range and character of official rights and responsibilities of such person which are fixed in legislative and other statutory acts (manuals, regulations, instructions). Moreover, the actions of officials and persons performing administrative functions in profit-making organization do not require an additional qualification according to the Article 285 or the Article 201 of the RF Criminal Code. The author makes propositions on improving grounds of the liability for slander implying that a person suffers from disease dangerous for other people, as well as for slander associated with charge of sexual crime and for slander associated with charge of grave crime and felony. The correlation of slander and produced serious consequences is analyzed. It is stated that formal structure of corpus delicti is conditioned by the fact that slander causes only intangible harm which cannot be defined in the law and estimated. The occurrence of serious consequences caused by slander must be provided as a qualifying circumstance. The kinds and amount of punishment for slander are considered. Some propositions on providing the principle of sanctions’ system are given.

Keywords

slander, differentiation of criminal liability, qualifying features, person’s honour and dignity, spreading of misinformation, individualization of punishment.

References

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