Numatytų nepilnamečiams baudžiamųjų teisinių sankcijų paskirtis

Abstract

The article focuses on the nature of criminal legal sanctions imposed on juveniles and analyses it in the context of the need to insure the implementation of three fundamental principals of criminal law namely equity, humanism, proportionality of necessary and adequate intervention, legitimacy, liability of responsible person, nullum crimen, nullala poema sine lege. All the principles mentioned above are considered to be the substance of law, core ideas that determine the nature and purpose of criminal responsibility of juveniles. Thus, the principles are considered to be the criterion that helps to examine whether the legislator setting the provisions of criminal liability of juveniles or the court individualizing sanctions imposed on juveniles does not contravene particular legal standards. The purpose of legal sanctions imposed on juveniles is revealed best when a punishment is imposed. The court imposing a punishment must fulfill the requirements indicated in Article 54 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Lithuania, that is to take into account: 1) degree of dangerousness of committed criminal act; 2) form and type of guilt; 3) motives and purposes of committed criminal act; 4) phase of criminal act; 5) delinquent's personality; 6) form and type of participation of a person as an accomplice in the criminal act; 7) extenuating and aggravating circumstances. Herewith the legislator points out that in the case when the imposition of a penalty indicated in a sanction of an article of the Criminal Code would be inconsistent with the principle of equity, the court is entitled to impose a milder punishment by a motivated decision taking into account the purpose of a penalty (Article 54 Part 3 of the Criminal Code of Lithuania). Furthermore, all the general grounds of imposition of a penalty can be divided into three groups: 1. Provisions, indicating that a penalty imposed on a person must be consistent with legal requirements; 2. Provisions, designed for mdividualization of a penalty; 3. Provisions, setting the supremacy of the principle of equity.