On Terms Used in Defining the Corpus Delicti under Art. 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Abstract

The article analyzes the terms used by the legislator when defining the disposition of the corpus delicti under Art. 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. An analysis of the term «blackmail» is presented, which does not have a legal definition and requires clarification of the content. Since it is used not only in the construction of Article Art. 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, but also a number of others, it is advisable to formalize the content of this term in a note to the article in which it is used for the first time - Art. 127.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation as follows: «In the articles of this Code, blackmail is understood as the threat of dissemination of information defaming the victim or their relatives, or other information that can cause significant harm to the rights or legitimate interests of the victim or their relatives». The criticism of the construction «use of material or other dependence of the victim» as a sign of the objective side of the considered corpus delicti is presented, and with examples from practice, the problems of qualification for it are considered. It is proposed to replace this construction with «under the threat of committing actions that violate the rights and legitimate interests of the victim, who is financially or otherwise dependent on the perpetrator». It is substantiated that outside the corpus delicti under Art. 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, there remains a number of actions that have public danger, but also do not fall under the signs of other elements of sexual crimes. This made it possible to propose that a list of methods for committing the crime in question be left open, pointing out the threat of committing another criminal act. The necessity of the existence of different structures of the composition in different parts of the article, depending on the effectiveness of coercive actions, is substantiated. In conclusion, a new version of Art. 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is proposed, taking into account the need to correct the terms that describe actions of a sexual nature.