Criminal liability as consequence of committed offence

Straipsnis skirtas nusikalstamos veikos padarymo teisinių padarinių ir baudžiamosios atsakomybės sampratos problemai. Naujasis Lietuvos Respublikos baudžiamasis kodeksas numato du nusikalstamos veikos padarymo teisinius padarinius: baudžiamąją atsakomybę ir atleidimą nuo baudžiamosios atsakomybės. Pateikiama bendra nusikaltimo padarymo padarinių apžvalga Lietuvos Respublikos ir kitų valstybių baudžiamuosiuose įstatymuose. Ilgą laiką teisės moksle ir praktikoje baudžiamosios atsakomybės sąvoka buvo problemiška ir nevienodai suprantama. Straipsnyje ši atsakomybės sąvoka aiškinama atsižvelgiant į baudžiamąjį teisinį santykį. Išskiriamos dvi baudžiamosios atsakomybės stadijos. Pateikiamos jų charakteristikos ir atribojimas. Dėmesio skiriama baudžiamosios atsakomybės turiniui. IšsArticle deals with problem of consequences of the crime and notion of criminal liability. There are two consequences of the crime provided in Penal Code of Lithuania: criminal liability and remission from criminal liability. Criminal liability is considered as a normal consequence of the offence, provided for in criminal code. The term "criminal liability" is a common term frequently, used by practitioners. However, theoretical notion of the term for a long time was problematic. Present legislation uses two terms: criminal liability and the punishment. However, correspondence between the given terms wasn’t clear. However as both terms are being used in criminal legislation, we must give explanation of the terms and use them in proper way. Terms "criminal liability" and "punishment" have different meaning and should be used in different situations. Criminal liability as obligation to bear negative consequences of committed offence arises from the moment of committing the offence. However, realization of the obligation starts from the moment of sentencing. The sentence, where is proclaimed defendants guilty in committing crime is the first element of criminal liability. For a long time pretrial detention was included in the notion of criminal liability. The punishment is the second element of criminal liability. The conviction is the third element.(Conviction in Lithuanian criminal law is considered as defined period of time after serving the penalty. Committing the new crime within this period has impact on application of various legal consequences provided for in criminal code). What issues derive from this short study? First, pre-trial coercive measures are not criminal liability. Second, real punishment is not the necessary element of the criminal liability. There are two forms of criminal liability: criminal liability with determining the punishment and enforcing it and criminal liability with remission from punishment. Both types of criminal liability should be included into the new criminal code as different legal consequences of the offence