Mistake: a Right or a Crime. Overview of XVI International Research-to-Practice Conference Dedicated to the Memory of M. I. Kovalyov

Abstract

The conference dedicated to the memory of the founder of the Ural scholarly tradition of criminal law and criminology professor M. I. Kovalyov (1922–2001) was held in Yekaterinburg on 13–16 February 2019 and united more than 300 scientists and experts from Belarus, Germany, Kazakhstan, Italy, Russia, Serbia, and USA. The topic of the meeting was «Mistake: a Right or a Crime». It was emphasized that the response to mistakes is dual: оn the one hand, a mistake is allowed (errare humanum еst) and, on the other hand, any mistake gives rise to responsibility. The participants discussed a variety of legal approaches to interpretation, classification and penalization of professional mistakes, which make it difficult to find a balance of right and responsibility when dealing with professional errors. It was also mentioned that a mistake can be made not only by the person who committed the crime, but also by the legislator himself. The issue of the responsibility of state bodies and officials for the non-correction of legislative errors was raised. Mistakes which could be made by advocates, notaries and businessmen were considered. In particular, some rapporteurs made an attempt to differentiate business risk and a criminal mistake (or a crime). The debate on judicial errors and malpractice also took place.