Legal meaning of the «age» category in criminal law

According to the author, differentiation of criminal responsibility is one of the priority directions of criminal policy of any state. It is the feature characterizing an individual that is one of the grounds taken by the legislator as differentiating. Age as an inseparable attribute in criminal law plays a huge role. This fact is natural - it is impossible to recognize any sane natural person as a subject of crime. This person must correspond to the age from which it is possible to bring criminal proceedings. The basis for determining age is the level of consciousness, the ability of a person to be aware of what is happening and to act sensibly in accordance with it. A human being cannot immediately after his birth understand all the actions and deeds being performed, let alone the consequences of his actions. This ability does not appear instantly; it develops during life and is formed when a person reaches a certain age. However, this does not happen for everyone. Article 20 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Russian Criminal Code) states that a person who has reached the age of sixteen at the time of committing the crime will be subject to criminal liability. Part 2 of the same article specifies the list of crimes for which a person can be held liable from the age of fourteen. This highlights the problem of sanity. A person may be held criminally liable if he or she has not only reached a certain age, but also his or her mental capacity corresponds to that age.

age, responsibility, subject, of criminal liability, the level of consciousness