Criminal Law Means Research Articles

Instrumental and legal nature of early release on parole from serving a sentence

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the content of early release on parole as a comprehensive criminal law remedy. It is stated that the functional purpose of conditional early release on parole from serving a sentence is to achieve the goals necessary for society. From the point of view of the instrumental theory of law, it is determined that early release on parole from serving a sentence constitutes a specific system of criminal law means by which the goals of criminal law regulation are achieved. According to the information and psychological orientation, such legal means are divided into stimulating and restrictive. It is found that legal facts, subjective rights, legitimate interests, benefits and incentives are the forms of manifestation of legal means-incentives. It is substantiated that legal incentives, directly orienting an individual to achieve beneficial consequences for him/her, are the most powerful incentive factor, and their application in the case of early release on parole from serving a sentence may be associated with both ordinary lawful behavior which does not exceed the general requirements and excessive performance of duties by a convicted person and is expressed in the form of elimination of restrictions determined by the criminal sentence applicable to a convicted person. The article emphasizes that legal remedies-restrictions are associated with unfavorable conditions for realization of interests of subjects, are focused on negative legal motivation and reduction of negative activity of subjects of law, and their forms of manifestation are legal facts, prohibitions, suspensions, legal obligations, penalties, etc. A legal restriction on early release on parole from serving a sentence is a prohibition in the form of a passive legal obligation of a convicted person not to commit any new criminal offense during the unexpired part of the previously imposed sentence. It is generalized that legal means-incentives and legal means-restrictions should be considered in an inseparable interrelation, since they are paired legal categories, i.e., internally dialectically interrelated and mutually supporting each other in the process of criminal law regulation. Thus, the author concludes that the instrumental and legal nature of early release on parole from serving a sentence as a complex criminal law tool is dialectically complex, since it combines directly opposite and at the same time internally unified criminal law means of influencing social relations.

International legal standards and practices of European countries in combating domestic and gender-based violence

The relevance of this study lies in the need to improve the legal mechanisms for combating gender-based violence against the background of the increasing number of military conflicts in the world, which create favourable conditions for the latter. The purpose of this study was to analyse the regulatory provisions of international legislation and the practices of certain European countries in preventing manifestations of hatred based on sex and gender and combating domestic violence through criminal law measures. It was stated that legal standards defined by the regulations of international organisations, international treaties, and conventions underlie national and regional standards for combating domestic and gender-based violence. International legal principles of gender equality are defined by the regulatory framework of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Union, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other global and European organisations. Human rights provisions recognised by the member states of these organisations through bilateral and multilateral treaties and implemented through ratification are the basis for the formation of national internal standards of the rights of women, children, and persons of all genders. The study concluded that national standards for guaranteeing and protecting human rights in the field of gender equality constitute an implementation of international standards and pan-European provisions, and their implementation in Ukrainian legislation can ensure sufficiently complete and effective implementation of legal measures to combat domestic and gender-based violence. The ideas formulated in this study are aimed at finding more effective criminal law means in lawmaking and law enforcement activities

NECESSITY OF CRIMINAL LAW PROTECTION OF INFORMATION

The development of information technologies has resulted in the emergence of the "information society". The basis of the latter is the turnover of information of different content and legal significance, which is the subject of social relations, as well as atypical social and legal value. However, along with the increase in the socio-legal value of information, new threats arise, directly related to the use of information for criminal purposes. The emergence of threats and risks for the individual, society and the state need legal regulation, in particular with the involvement of criminal law means. Criminal law, acting as a legal response of the state to trends in society, establishes the unlawfulness and punishability of acts related to the use of information. However, lawmaking actions (which are associated with the criminalisation and decriminalisation of acts in the criminal law) are not always accompanied by their qualitative content, which directly affects the effectiveness of the protective criminal legal mechanism. In this regard, it is necessary to carefully study the prerequisites for the emergence and disappearance of criminal-legal prohibitions, in particular, information prohibitions. These prerequisites, revealing the necessity (or social conditionality) of criminal-legal protection, are designed to give a comprehensive and objective assessment of the phenomena occurring in society, possessing the sign of public danger. It is this assessment that should be the basis for legislative changes arising in the criminal law. The social conditionality of criminal-legal protection of information consists in the increased nature and degree of public danger of acts in the information sphere, expressed in quantitative and qualitative criteria.

Back to the Problem of Criminal Liability of Legal Entities: Two Views on the Problem (Using the Example of Environmental Crimes)

The authors examine the positions of supporters and opponents of introducing criminal liability for legal persons in the Russian Federation. They have summarized and evaluated the existing approaches to the problem, and present two views on the prospect of introducing the institute of criminal liability for legal persons using the example of environmental crimes. This choice is not accidental and is explained by a number of reasons. Firstly, the condition of the environment continues to deteriorate in spite of all undertaken efforts, which calls for new approaches to its protection, including through criminal law means. Secondly, it is necessary to understand that the greatest threat to the environment is posed by large companies working in the sphere of extracting, processing and using various natural resources — oil, gas, metals, chemical companies, agricultural holdings, energy and transportation companies, which all operate with the purpose is maximizing profits. Practice shows that they are responsible for the largest environmental disasters of the latest decades. Compared to them, the contribution of private persons to environmental pollution is negligibly small. Thirdly, the overwhelming majority of researchers specializing in the problems of criminal liability for environmental crimes support the establishment of criminal liability specifically for the violations of nature protection legislation. In spite of the differences in the opinions of authors regarding the necessity of establishing criminal liability for legal persons, they leave space for further discussions on the topic.

Criminal Law Means for Counteraction to Corruption in Ukraine and Poland

During the scientific research of any criminal-legal phenomenon or process, it is considered necessary to conduct an analysis of the origin of this phenomenon in a foreign country. This provides an opportunity not only to grasp the essence and understand the content of the subject of research, but also to develop effective countermeasures and borrow foreign experience. This becomes especially important in matters of combating corruption, when the criminal acts of officials reach not only domestic, but also international scales.Scientists’ positions, as well as the provisions of the current legislation in Ukraine and the Republic of Poland concerning the definition of the criminal law provisions for liability for corruption offenses are being researched, which is made on the relevant differences regarding the legislative enactment of the concept of “corruption” and its definition in the criminal law theory. Accordingly, a comparative approach to the methods of legislative consolidation of anti-corruption provides an opportunity to understand the social conditioning of the emergence of this phenomenon.Taking into account the integration processes in all spheres of life activity of society, the difference in the method of normative consolidation of actions forming such a phenomenon as corruption was revealed. This, in turn, not only indicates different forms of legislative fixation of the concept of the phenomenon, but also causes difficulties in the exchange of law enforcement practice, which causes a number of problems for both the relevant law enforcement agencies and ordinary citizens. A clear division and distinction between provisions on liability for corruption and corruption-related offenses was revealed.Taking into account the position of the domestic criminal law doctrine, the analysis of the current Polish legislation provided an opportunity to formulate real options for borrowing foreign experience to solve the specified problems.

Socio-criminological prerequisites for criminalization of land mismanagement

The article focuses on the most important prerequisites for criminalization of land mismanagement which the authors define as phenomena and processes taking place in various spheres and levels of social reality and establishing the objective need and social demand for legislative recognition of the expediency to protect certain values under criminal law by defining the relevant socially dangerous encroachments as criminal offenses punishable under criminal law. The authors analyze some components of the socio-criminological prerequisites for land mismanagement criminalization which include the degree of social danger of acts, their relative prevalence and typicality, the dynamics of acts, the expediency of using criminal law means to influence such acts, and also the abilities of the criminal justice system. The authors provide a rationale for using the term “socio-criminological prerequisites” which ensues from the requirements of social adequacy of criminalization, its admissibility from the perspective of the main characteristics of social systems and processes, as well as the criminological nature of studies dealing with the prevalence of offenses, their typicality and dynamics.It is demonstrated that the high level of social danger associated with land mismanagement is attributable, inter alia, to the value of land as an object of encroachment, which is determined by its ability, in conjunction with society, to perform particular functions (economic, biological, and social) with regard to humanity. The article analyzes the global factors which increase the social danger of land mismanagement, such as Ukraine’s status as a guarantor of food security in many countries worldwide, and the persistent trends of global soil degradation which endanger food supply to a sizeable share of the world’s population and are thus recognized as one of the most crucial challenges to sustainable development globally.The analysis of criminological information sources in terms of identifying the land mismanagement facts provided the ground for the conclusion that such encroachments are classified as fairly common offenses and meet the requirements to the relative prevalence of the act. The authors draw attention to the limited abilities of the criminal justice system to counteract these encroachments, but despite the low effectiveness of such activities, there is still a need for ensuring protection of lands under criminal law and for recognizing criminalization of land mismanagement as quite possible and necessary.

Some Aspects of Crimes Aimed at the Public Dissemination of Deliberately False Information (Art. 207.1, 207.2, 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

The development of information technologies has made the world not only highly informational, but also highly dependent on information, a place where deliberately false information spreads rapidly, and its harmful consequences, such as a negative attitude to something, the creation of fear, insecurity, and ungrounded condemnation of somebody’s actions are difficult to overestimate. The society faces a vital necessity of combating the deliberate dissemination of false information, including through criminal law means, which was done by lawmakers who introduced new offences into criminal legislation, and there is already some court practice for these types of crimes. This, in its turn, made it necessary to analyze the criminalistic features of these offences and determine some elements of proof.

Upaya Penanggulangan Tindak Pidana Penyalahgunaan Narkotika Oleh Anak

The purpose of this study is to analyze the rule of law in dealing with criminal acts of narcotics abuse by children in the Legal Area of the North Sumatra Regional Police and the obstacles they face. The type used in this research is normative juridical and analytical descriptive in nature. The results of the study state that the regulation of narcotics abuse is regulated in Article 127 paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of the Narcotics Law, punishable by imprisonment under 7 (seven) years. The provisions of Article 111, whoever owns it, carries a penalty of imprisonment for more than 7 (seven) years based on the modus operandi of child abuse, so that diversion cannot be attempted at the three levels based on the provisions of the Juvenile Criminal Justice System Act. The handling of criminal acts of narcotics abuse by children in the Legal Area of the Regional Police of Sumatra is carried out through means of criminal law (Repressive) and non-criminal law means (Preventive). Internal obstacles faced in overcoming criminal acts of narcotics abuse by children in the jurisdiction of the Sumatra Regional Police, include: Budget, office facilities, operational facilities, operational facilities, while external factors such as lack of community participation and drug dealers usually have high mobility.

Девиантологические аспекты предупреждения половых преступлений, связанных с понуждением к действиям сексуального характера и домогательством

The article deals with socio-cultural and legal approaches to the prevention of sexual deviations related to coercion and harassment. The author believes that the criminalisation of sexual abuse (including harassment) does not meet the genesis of criminal law regulation, namely the social need for it to be prohibited specifically by criminal law, which is the state’s final argument in combating anti-social behavior.
 Introduction. The moral and cultural assessment of sexual relations outside of marriage, as well as of non-traditional forms of sexual relations, has changed over time and has had a significant impact on state-legal approaches to ensuring the security of sexual freedom and sexual inviolability of the individual. In this regard, on the modern socio-cultural platform new directions of formation of the state policy in the field of permissible and prohibited in the sexual sphere, the nature of freedom of actions of sexual nature and the degree of public danger of such deviations as coercion to actions of sexual nature and accompanying acts - sexual harassment are born.
 Aim of the criminological and sociological study was to outline the boundaries of the criminal law prevention of sexual deviations related to compulsion to sexual acts and harassment.
 Research Methodology, Methods and Techniques. The methodological basis of the study consists of general scientific and particular scientific methods of scientific knowledge, methods of empirical and theoretical research. Dialectics is accepted as a philosophical theory about the universal laws of motion and development of nature, human society and thinking, and in its original sense - as a logic and debatable search for truth related to the object of research. The anthropological approach allows us to reveal the ways in which the perpetrator’s personality is formed, as well as the motives and motivation behind deviant behavior. The axiological approach assists in verifying ways of strengthening the perceptions of sexual freedom as a moral and legal value, both at the level of mass, collective and individual consciousness and at the level of law-making and law enforcement processes systematically related to countering sexual offences. The use of the above approaches and methods ensured the study of sexual deviations, connected with coercion to actions of sexual nature and harassment, as an independent criminological phenomenon.
 The study found that general and special prevention mechanisms to prevent sexual harassment exist in our country, but are poorly used for various reasons, including the immoral behavior of the victim. The existence of organisational and legal problems for law enforcement agencies in proving reports of sexual offences should be recognised, but this cannot change the social nature of the acts and the degree of their public danger. The international experience of combating sexual harassment against the background of systematic high-profile «sex» scandals is a weak argument in favour of the effectiveness of combating social deviations by criminal law means.
 Scientific novelty. The study substantiates the author’s position that criminalisation of sexual harassment (including harassment) does not correspond to the genesis of criminal law regulation, i.e. the social need for sexual harassment to be prohibited by criminal law, which is the state’s final argument to combat anti-social behavior.
 Practical significance. The proposals formulated are aimed at the formation of effective criminal policy in the field of preventive measures to ensure the security of sexual freedom and integrity of the person.

Reserves of Alternative Ways to Resolve a Criminal Law Conflict

The article raises the question of the problems of protecting the balance of freedom of the individual and the state by alternative means of resolving the criminal law conflict. The purpose of the work is to assess the reserve (potential) of alternative ways to resolve a criminal law conflict while protecting the balance of individual and state freedom. Research objectives: 1) identify criteria (indicators) indicating the achievement or non-achievement of the balance of individual and state freedom; 2) demonstrate the possibilities of alternative ways to resolve a criminal law conflict to protect the balance of individual and state freedom 3) assess the presence or absence of reserves in the use of alternative ways to resolve a criminal law conflict. The paper draws the following conclusions. Over-criminalization as a vector of modern Russian criminal policy violates the balance of interests of the individual and the state, which is not restored by the available alternative ways of resolving the criminal law conflict. At the level of law enforcement, the reason for this is the minimal use of the mechanism for recognizing an act as insignificant. The institution of exemption from criminal liability as one of the forms of its implementation is able to independently resolve social contradictions that have arisen as a result of violation of the criminal prohibition. Performing the restorative function of criminal law, the analyzed forms of differentiation of responsibility, applied when criminal punishment is inappropriate, provide a balance of protection of the interests of the individual and the state. This method of resolving a criminal law conflict has a reserve, it can potentially be applied to a much larger number of persons than it is used now. It is proposed to supplement some articles of the Special Part of the Criminal Code with notes with special grounds for exemption from criminal liability. When resolving a criminal law conflict, the State focuses on the use of the most repressive means of criminal law. The conviction of a person as a typical reaction of the state to the commission of a crime by him is not always considered appropriate, accordingly, the balance of individual and state freedom is not achieved and protected.

LEGISLATIVE BASIS AND JUDICIAL PRACTICE OF EXEMPTING MINORS FROM CRIMINAL LIABILITY UNDER ARTICLES 90, 75, 76, 76.2 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Countering juvenile delinquency through criminal law means is one of the current tasks of Russian criminal policy at the present stage. In addition to criminal liability and sentencing, such measures include a particular and special means of exempting minors from criminal liability through compulsory educational measures. However, under the conditions laid down by criminal law, minors are also subject to general rules on exemption from criminal liability, the application of which, according to judicial statistics, is preferred by judicial practice. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the legislative regulation of exempting minors from criminal liability under special (Article 90) and general rules (Articles 75, 76, 76.2) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, as well as the legal explanatory and law enforcement practice emerging in this area. The study is carried out using a set of methods: general scientific (induction, deduction, analysis, synthesis, system-structural) and specific scientific (formal legal, sociological, statistical). Results: two negative, according to the author, trends are identified, which are developing in the practice of exempting minors from criminal liability: 1) courts departure from the specialization established by the Russian Criminal Code in this area, which is manifested in the priority of applying general rules (exemption under Articles 75, 76 and 76.2 in connection with active repentance, in connection with reconciliation with the victim and with the imposition of a judicial fine) over special rule (exemption with the use of compulsory educational measures under Article 90); 2) the imposition of a judicial fine on minors, with the obligation to pay it by their parents or other legal representatives, hampers the achievement of the sectoral objective of crime prevention. The author’s options for eliminating the identified negative trends at the legislative and explanatory levels are proposed.

Criminal Policy and Criminal Law in a Strong State

The modern Russian society is transforming largely in the context of the implementation of the idea of a strong state. The uncertainty and ambivalence of this idea, which in various interpretations focuses on expanding the sphere of state participation in public space or on the effectiveness of state administration, allows the state to independently determine the vector of state building. In Russia, as follows from the public statements of the political leadership and current practice, the specifics of a strong state involve an increase in the sphere of influence of the state, an increase in its power, and the protection of conservative values and sovereignty. Each of these components requires adequate criminal and legal support, including the criminalization of socially dangerous attacks. An analysis of legislative practice shows that in the total array of new offenses introduced into the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation since 2000 more than 40% provided support for the construction of a strong state. It is fair to consider this practice as a reflection of a very specific and poorly studied concept of the criminal policy of a strong state in science. Such a policy focuses on the expansion of the sphere of state presence in the social space, the use of criminal law means primarily protect state interests, which consist in ensuring the stable (unchanged) functioning of a strong vertical of power in a consolidated society, including through the norms of criminal law, based on conservative patriarchal values. At the same time, it carries the potential risks of total state control and a reduction in the scale of freedom, which requires mandatory consideration and reflection in the criminal and political science discourse.

Criminal offences that infringe on the procedure for the execution of court decisions under the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Ukraine: issues of legislative regulation

The relevance of this study is justified by the need to carry out a comparative legal study of the norms that ensure the protection of the interests of justice in the Republic of Azerbaijan and Ukraine in the field of implementation of judicial prescriptions as an important stage of the justice process as a whole. The purpose of this study was to implement a general description of criminal offences that encroach on the procedure for the execution of court decisions, according to the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Ukraine, as well as characteristics of those features that allow distinguishing the corresponding encroachments from other offences against justice and combining them into one category. This study employed a set of scientific methods: terminological, system-structural, formal logical, comparative legal. Based on the results of this study, it was established that the formalization of criminal offences, which encroach on the implementation of the principle of inevitability of legal responsibility, and the criminal law enforcement of court decisions in the Republic of Azerbaijan and Ukraine is an ongoing process. The conclusion was substantiated that the criminalization of a fairly wide scope of socially dangerous acts of this category implemented in the current criminal legislation of each of the States is conditioned upon the social need to ensure human rights and public interests in the field of implementing the tasks of justice. The provisions formulated in this paper will contribute to the search for more effective means of criminal law in the law-making and law enforcement of both the Republic of Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

Taking hostage a journalist: problems of theory and practice

The provisions of the current Criminal Code of Ukraine, which relate to criminal responsibility for taking journalists as hostages, are analyzed. The factors (circumstances) of the social conditionality of separate, enhanced criminal liability for this kind of criminal act are researched. In particular, public danger; the relative prevalence of this type of criminal offence, such as taking hostage a journalist are analyzed; the traditions of domestic legislative practice, as well as foreign experience of using criminal-legal measures in counter such violations are discussed; the expediency of counteracting these encroachments by criminal-law means are considered. It was concluded that separate (established by a special norm) criminal liability for taking journalists as hostages is not socially conditioned.The position, according to which the privilege of a journalist to be a special victim in criminal law should be combined with the obligation to bear responsibility for conscientious use of opportunities related to the journalist’s professional activities is supported.The criminal law protection of legal professional activity of a journalist, proposed in the Project of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, developed by the Working Group on Law Development of the Legal Reform Commission is researched. Theoretical and applied problems of criminal responsibility for the crime under Article 349-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, as well as the problem of violation of the consistency of the criminal law in the aspect of «reduced» age of criminal liability and are analyzed; the imperfection of the formulation of the optional features of the subjective side of the analyzed composition of the crime (lack of linking this composition of the crime to the legitimate professional activity of a journalist) has been substantiated.As a result of the research, a conclusion was made about the necessity exclusion of Article 349-1 from the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Policy on Criminal Law Enforcement Against Illegular Drugs Syndicate Performers What Members of the Police of the Republic of Indonesia Done

Every member of the National Police should ideally be a law enforcement officer who carries out maintaining public security and order, enforcing the law, and providing protection, shelter, and service to the community. In fact, there are members of the National Police who are part of a syndicate of narcotics traffickers. Therefore, the criminal law enforcement policies are implemented against the perpetrators. The problem of this research is how the policy of criminal law enforcement against drug dealer syndicates is carried out by members of the National Police and what are the legal consequences for the perpetrators of illicit drug trafficking syndicates carried out by members of the Indonesian National Police. This study uses a normative juridical approach based on secondary data which was analyzed qualitatively. The results of this study indicate that the policy of law enforcement against the perpetrators of drug trafficking syndicates carried out by members of the National Police through the means of criminal law is the settlement of cases using general criminal procedure law through the general court. The legal instrument used is Law Number 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics. In addition, law enforcement against perpetrators of drug trafficking syndicates carried out by members of the National Police is also carried out using the enforcement of the Police Code of Ethics through the Police Code of Ethics trial. The legal consequences for perpetrators of illicit drug trafficking syndicates carried out by members of the Indonesian National Police are that the perpetrators will be faced with two legal instruments at once, namely general criminal justice in accordance with the provisions of the criminal procedure law and can be sentenced to criminal penalties in accordance with the article of the Narcotics Law that is violated and enforcement the law through an ethics trial by the internal police, with the most severe sanctions against the perpetrators being subject to ethical sanctions in the form of dishonorable dismissal as members of the police.

Violent abuse of power or official authorities by a law enforcement officer (comparative analysis and problems of legislation improvement)

Introduction. The article gives a criminal-legal characterization of the violent abuse of power or official authorities by a law enforcement officer. The importance of establishing criminal law signs of physical or mental violence in each case of such a criminal offense is indicated. It is concluded that the changes that were made to Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine cannot be considered successful. It is pointed out that the national criminal legislation cannot develop effectively if foreign experience in combating crime by criminal law means is not taken into account. The use of the comparative method in legal research is an important mean of improving the theory and practice of applying any legislation, including criminal law. Its only purpose should be to eliminate flaws in criminal legislation. Summary of the main research results. The paper provides a comparative legal analysis of national and foreign legislation on criminal responsibility for violent abuse of power and official authority. On this basis, it was concluded that it is necessary to introduce foreign experience in criminal law counteraction to violent abuse of power or official authority. According to the author, the provisions that should be introduced into national legislation are as follows: the subject of abuse of power or official authority should be any official, and not just a law enforcement officer; as a qualified element of this criminal offense, the commission of an excess with the use of physical violence or the threat of using such violence should be added; recognition of the inexpediency of indicating the infliction of bodily harm directly by excess of power or official authority; in the event of death, serious bodily injury or suicide of the victim, the actions of the perpetrator must be qualified under the relevant part of Art. 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the grounds of the onset of grave consequences; the motives and purpose of committing such a criminal offense should not affect the qualification, but should be taken into account when imposing criminal punishment on the perpetrators. The article analyzes the rulings of the Judicial Chamber for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, which determine the ratio of parts 1 and 2 of Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the specifics of qualifying forcible abuse of power or official authority and the need to establish the monetary equivalent of non-property damage in cases of such a criminal offense. The author proposes to change the approaches of judicial practice in the latter case. In preparing the article, general scientific and special methods were used. Thus, dogmatic and formal-legal methods were used in the analysis of the criminal law norm, which provides for criminal responsibility for violent abuse of power or official authority. The comparative method was applied when comparing the criminal legislation of Ukraine with the corresponding norms of the laws on criminal responsibility of other countries. A statistical method was used to study legal practice. Conclusions. The article draws scientifically based conclusions and offers author's recommendations for improving the current legislation on criminal responsibility for abuse of power or official authority by a law enforcement officer, namely: it is proposed to recognize all officials as the subject of this criminal offense; as a qualified element of this criminal offense, the commission of an excess with the use of physical violence or the threat of using such violence should be taken into account; it is not appropriate to indicate in the law directly to the infliction of bodily harm in excess of power or official authority; in the event of the death of the victim or the infliction of grievous bodily harm on him, the actions of the perpetrator must be qualified under the relevant part of Art. 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the grounds of the onset of grave consequences; he motives and purpose of committing such a criminal offense should not affect the qualification, but should be taken into account when imposing criminal punishment on the perpetrators; physical, mental and other non-property harm in case of violent abuse of power or official authority should not be assessed according to the rules for causing property damage (one hundred or more times the non-taxable minimum income of citizens). The need for a legislative definition of the concept of physical and mental violence is indicated.

Mass Murder in Educational Establishments: Opportunities for Using Criminal Law Means of Counteraction

As the cases of mass murders in educational establishments grow in number, it becomes necessary to determine the measures necessary for counteracting this crime in modern conditions. The conducted research allowed the authors to identify the concept and types of armed attacks on life in educational establishments. They prove the necessity of including mass murder in Part 3 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and increasing the minimum penalty to 15-year imprisonment. The authors also conclude that the most common punishment for the murder of more than two persons committed using a publicly dangerous method is imprisonment for 15-20 years. In most cases, such punishment was imposed for the murder of 2-3 persons and the presence of two aggravating circumstances. Imprisonment for 20 to 25 years inclusively and life imprisonment was imposed for murdering 6-8 persons and the presence of two qualifying features in combination with other crimes. In 16 mass murders committed in educational establishments in the last seven years, the above-mentioned measures can only be applied to two criminals, as in other cases the culprits either were underage, or committed suicide. It is possible that the measures developed and implemented in 2021, which increase punishment for illegal trade in civilian weapons, will be somewhat effective in preventing mass murders by persons under 21 years of age. However, there are considerable doubts regarding the effectiveness of such measures for preventing especially grave crimes committed by persons who have already reached this age. A detailed analysis of punishments for the extreme cases of especially grave crimes makes it possible to conclude that life imprisonment does not provide any opportunities for imposing a stricter punishment depending on the number of persons who were murdered or were in danger of sustaining such harm. Consequently, it is possible to believe that the right punishment for this category of criminals is capital punishment, and its main goal is prevention.

Criminal Law Protection of Personal Information in China in the context of Social Credit System Formation

The paper analyzes the norms of criminal law, which enshrined the protection of personal information in the PRC. The tendencies of law enforcement practice in criminal cases, the subject of which are personal data, are being studied. Increased criminal law protection of personal information of Chinese citizens is due to the emergence of a social credit system. The paper discusses the features of the functioning of the social credit system, as well as the impact of this system on the rights and freedoms of the individual in the context of digitalization. Interest in the system under consideration is due to the significant influence exerted by the PRC on the formation of the legal culture of other countries. The author concludes that a significant degree of state intrusion into the private space of citizens correlates with effective measures to protect personal information. The Chinese case shows the desire of the state to protect the personal data of citizens, including through criminal law means. At the same time, cases of law enforcement are becoming more common, especially in criminal law.

“DISCLOSURE” OF RESTRICTED INFORMATION AND RELATED TERMS OF CRIMINAL LAW: INTERRELATION OF CONCEPTS

The relevance of the publication is explained by the fact that one of the main factors of the inefficiency of existing criminal law means of protection of information with limited access is an imperfection of the text of the current Criminal Code of Ukraine, as evidenced by the lack of a systematic approach of the legislator to the legal structure of “disclosure of information”. The purpose of the research is to conduct a comparative legal analysis of the normative regulation of disclosure of information with limited access and tangential terms in criminal law for technical and legal improvement of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. To achieve it, the methods of system-structural analysis, semantic, dogmatic, Aristotelian and classification methods were used. The research considers the correlation of the content of all criminal law terms relating to the concept of disclosure, which are roughly divided into several groups: alternative acts (collection, receipt, modification, destruction, etc.), collected acts (violation of secrecy/prohibition, use), synonymous acts (distribution, disclosure, provision of access, transmission). The alternative acts of “collection” and “possession” have been identified as preparatory to “disclosure” if there is a corresponding purpose for the disclosure of the collected information, and, thus, they cannot be included in the criminal law content of the act of “disclosure” itself. It has been established that the existence of two mutually exclusive (related) legal elements of criminal offences – wrongful acquisition of information (a “truncated element” which does not give legal significance to further actions of storage, dissemination or other use of information) and disclosure (by a person who has lawfully acquired the information) – may be promising by addressing the relevant technical and legal deficiencies. The “disclosure” of relevant information has been demonstrated to constitute a “violation of secrecy” and a “violation of the prohibition on using information”, but such definitions should not be used in the text of the criminal law due to their lack of specificity. Established that the content of the concepts of “disclosure”, “spreading”, and “dissemination” of information is identical. The study is recommended for use in improving Ukraine’s criminal law and for law enforcement officials in qualifying.

О НЕКОТОРЫХ ДЕТЕРМИНАНТАХ, ОБУСЛАВЛИВАЮЩИХ СТРУКТУРУ И СОДЕРЖАНИЕ ОСОБЕННОЙ ЧАСТИ УГОЛОВНОГО ЗАКОНА (НА ПРИМЕРЕ УК РСФСР 1922 ГОДА)

The construction of the Special Part of the Criminal Law is a topical issue for any state. The important task is to identify determinants influencing the structure and content of this component. The retrospective analysis of changes in the legislation allows identifying factors affecting the Special part of the criminal law, as well as the legislator’s response model in the context of changes in these factors. It makes it possible to use the existing experience to construct the Special part of the current Russian criminal code. The paper considers two types of determinants: socio-economic and political. For example, the author analyzes the Special part of the RSFSR Criminal Code of 1922. During the development and adoption of this law, significant transformations took place in the political and socio-economic life of Russian society: the system of government, the economic type, and social groups were changed. The paper presents the study of the influence of these processes on the structure and content of the Special Part of the RSFSR Criminal Code of 1922. The author focuses on the representation arrangement and content of legislative material, compares the statements of the Special part of the RSFSR Criminal Code of 1922 with the formerly existing and subsequent criminal legislation. The author concludes that the Special part of the criminal law socially and politically depends on the situation, in which this law is created. The influence of socio-economic and political factors on criminal law is inevitable. In some cases, the state tries to hastily regulate the changing social relations using criminal law means that is not always criminologically relevant and reasonable. It is necessary to carefully and reasonably consider changes in criminal legislation.