The Type and the Amount of a Criminal Offence’s Damage as a Required Element of a Fact to be Proven by the Investigator in Criminal Proceeding

Abstract

The Article examines the type and the amount of a criminal offence’s damage as a required element of a fact to be proven in criminal proceeding for adequate interpretation and application by the investigators. It is established that the proof of the type and the amount of a criminal offence’s damage is of primary importance regarding compensation of the damage to victims: recognition of victims, civil claimants and defendants, decision in civil action, in criminal proceeding, establishment of potentially distained property amount. Moreover this element is important for criminal and legal classification of the crime in terms of defining the level of social danger, establishment of punishment etc. It is proved that the type and the amount of a criminal offence’s damage, taken as evidence, do not guarantee complete and effective reimbursement. That is why other facts must be presented for proving during the criminal proceeding including the precise ones (time, place, manner and other crime causes), guilt of the accused person etc. The Type and the amount of a criminal offence must be proved in all criminal proceedings, but it must be noted that the damage itself is not an indicator of all crimes as socially dangerous consequences are non-binding features of corpus delicti. This element of proving is to be set apart as it is important not only for the crime classification but also for the following stage of damage compensation; investigator is required to be aware of its importance and expand his attention beyond proving the crime occurrence and guilt of the accused.