Problems concerning the relationship between diminished responsibility and infanticide

The concept of diminished responsibility was first introduced in Lithuania in 2000 with the enactment of the new Criminal Code. Because it was considered that diminished responsibility could be a constituent of infanticide, the problem arose of the relationship between diminished responsibility (Article 18) and infanticide (Article 131). Taking this into consideration and looking at regulation in foreign countries, the newest scientific research into infanticide and the most relevant case law, the relationship between these areas is revealed. At the same time, the necessity of article 131 is questioned and the cases of applicability of article 18 and article 131 are analyzed. The authors of this study found that “a state resulting after giving birth”, which is a constituent of article 131, is considered to be a state of diminished responsibility. This means that article 131 is a special norm in relation to article 18. The article 131 is applied only in cases when an infant is killed through the effects caused by giving birth to the child and there is no premeditation. When the murder of an infant is premeditated and some evidence is found of the mother being in a state of diminished responsibility, article 129 and article 18 should be applied together.Lietuvos 2000 m. BK įtvirtinus riboto pakaltinamumo institutą, tačiau palikus su juo siejamas specialias normas, tarp jų ir BK 131 str., savaime iškilo BK 18 str. ir BK 131 str. santykio problema. Atsižvelgiant į tai, šiame straipsnyje, pasitelkus užsienio valstybių reglamentavimo pavyzdžius, tyrimus naujagimio nužudymo srityje bei aktualiausią kasacinio teismo praktiką, atskleidžiamas riboto pakaltinamumo ir naujagimio nužudymo normų santykis, svarstomas BK 131 str. reikalingumo klausimas, analizuojami BK 18 ir BK 131 str. taikymo atvejai. Atliktus tyrimą, daroma išvada, kad privalomas naujagimio nužudymo sudėties elementas, gimdymo nulemta būsena, yra vertinamas kaip buvimas ribotai pakaltinamu, dėl ko BK 131 str. yra speciali norma BK 18 str. atžvilgiu. BK 131 str. taikytinas tik tuomet, kai moters psichika susilpnėja dėl gimdymo metu kilusių faktorių. Naujagimio nužudymas, esant nustatytai išankstinei tyčiai nužudyti, bet turint duomenų apie motinos psichikos sutrikimus nusikaltimo metu, kvalifikuojamas taikant bendrą nužudymo normą santykyje su BK 18 str