The incentive norms provided by the special part of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia have undergone various changes. A number of questions arise in connection with the mentioned. First of all, what kind of norms are incentive norms, are they complete or incomplete norms, are they eliminating or determining criminality or punishment, are they norms improving or worsening the legal status of a person, etc. These issues currently have a very topical practical significance, because with the adoption of the new Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, which came into force on July 1, 2022, the question arises as to whether they are applicable at the time of the act, or in accordance with the current legislation, including incentives norms. In order to get the answers to the mentioned questions, this article introduces various scientific approaches regarding the role, meaning, structure and type of incentive norms, the comments of the RA Court of Cassation, through which the author reaches his conclusions. As a result, the reader will be presented with a clear concept of the incentive norm, its structure, which type of norm the incentive norms belong to, and finally, the specifics of the operation of these norms over time.