Defining the Object of a Bribe: Some Aspects

Abstract

The article analyzes the subject of a bribe from the standpoint of criminal law of Republic of Belarus and forensic science. In most cases forensic description of the subject of a bribe is based on its criminal law characteristics, but it does not reflect its forensic features. In the theory of criminal law, bribe is considered as the subject of a crime. But from the outlook of the forensic (material) structure of crimes related to bribery, the subject of a bribe, depending on the situation, may not only be the subject of a crime, but also the subject of criminal encroachment. This results from the attitude of the bribe taker to the subject before it is received. For example, if the bribe taker demands (extorts) money or property, then they are the subject of criminal infringement. According to the author, the bribe requirement increases the social danger of an act, regardless of whether it is accompanied by the threat of harmful consequences for a citizen who is in legal relations with an official. This leads to the need for improvement of the Belarus criminal law, particularly the replacement of the term «extortion of a bribe» to the term «demand a bribe» in the relevant provision of the Criminal Code of the Rebublic.