Towards the stability of criminal law: deliberation on certain starting points

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the problem of overcoming imbalance between dynamism and stability of the current criminal legislation. Analysis is conducted on the gradation of amendments to criminal legislation for the period from 1997 to the first half of 2021; this includes the changes in criminal law based on objective reasons, as well as unsubstantiated criminal law novelties. There author determines three scenarios of further development of the national criminal legislation: accelerated (uneven), intensive, and transformational. It is stated that the most optimal choice is the intensive scenario. However, regardless of which scenario would be chosen, the starting point towards the stability of criminal law consists in creation of the adequate conceptual-categorical apparatus of criminal law, namely, the legislative definition of certain evaluative concepts. Based on the examples of case law, the author justifies the expediency of legislative consolidation of the definitions of certain evaluative concepts. The following conclusions were made: 1. Legislative clarification of the scope and content of evaluative concepts requires using the most abstract method for formulation of regulatory directions instead of casuistic method. 2. In the event of practical implementation of the intensive scenario for the development of criminal law, the criminal law norm that contains definitive apparatus should be placed in the new Chapter 13 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and specifically outside the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This requires the introduction of the new “Conclusive Part”. 3. In the event of practical implementation of the accelerated (uneven) scenario or transformational scenario of the development of criminal law, most optimal is to place the criminal law norm containing the conceptual apparatus solely in the General Part of the Criminal Code.