Lagging in mental development not related to mental disorder as the basis and condition for juveniles' exclusion from criminal liability
The article is devoted to the topical problem in penal practice, namely: exlusion from criminal liability of juveniles who have reached the age of 14-16 but because of lagging in mental development which is not related to mental disorder could not in full realize actual character and public danger of their actions (inactions) or control them during commitment of criminal acts. Characteristics which legislators attribute to possibility of application of criminal liability for juvenile are discussed in the article. Sufficient level of juvenile's intellectual and will development is compulsory condition for incurring responsibility. The indices of the level indicative of ability to realize the character and danger of own behavior and control behavior in criminal situation are presented. The problem connected with interpretation of “lagging in mental development not related to mental disorder” notion because of absence of legislatively fixed “sanity” category, the reasons for lagging and its nature are examined in the article. The problems of mental development of juveniles who reach the age of criminal liability but unable to realize the character and danger of their own actions and control them due to lagging in development are analyzed. Factors influencing the lagging in mental development not related to mental disorder (psychological, sociological etc.) are revealed, conclusions based on the analysis of the latter about the influence of certain factors and their set as well on mental development are drawn. The importance of complex psychological-and- psychiatric expertise for identification and assessment of juvenile's mental development level to determine the sufficient for criminal liability levels of intellectual, will a criminal liability and personal development in order to exclude the cases of objective imputation of individuals with lagging in mental development not related to mental disorder and to ensure the principles of penal and procedural law.