Specific Offence Research Articles

GENERAL OPERATIONAL MEASURES AND ACTIONS-TACTICAL PREVENTIVE-REPRESENTATIVE CHARACTER

Criminal verification is a measure and a general operative-tactical action, the purpose of which is to prove the accuracy (reasonableness) of the collected (understood) effects (indices, grounds of suspicion), which point to a certain criminal offense, the perpetrator its or other important circumstances for the illumination of the criminal offense or certain criminal activity. Indices or data, the validity of which must be proven through verification, discarded or partially completed, may be of different degrees of probability, more or less real and logical, obtained or collected from different sources. All these facts must be verified in such a way that, on the basis of the records and the correctly proven facts, the work can be continued in the illumination of the specific criminal offense and the discovery of its perpetrator. For this reason, verifications and analyzes are the basis of numerous tactical-operative measures and actions, both general and investigative, such as: raids, ambushes, deprivation of liberty, control, etc.

METHOD OF COMMITMENT OF CRIMINAL OFFENSE AS INDICATION

By undertaking various criminal activities, most of the perpetrators leave traces behind themselves which can be manifested according to the object of the attack, place, time, tools and actions undertaken in the preparatory phase, during the commission of the crime and after it. If it is proven that there are specific circumstances that point to the mentioned elements, it is highly possible that they will result in the basis of suspicion of the combination of the committed acts, namely the circumstances that they were committed by the same person, or the same group. In the operational work, it starts with the known perpetrators who are included in the criminal records precisely because of the appearance of such features in the commission of criminal acts, while in fact they were able to commit the new criminal act as well. Also, the surprise capture of the perpetrator in the act, i.e. his discovery in another way, is the basis for his involvement in other unrelated criminal offenses which were committed in the same way as for the offense for which he is deprived of his liberty . In the daily operational work, the official authorized persons discover a whole range of operational information with an indicative character - informal indicative evidence which usually serves as a guide of its own kind in the further work. Indices or grounds of suspicion (indicia - sign) - the grounds of suspicion are facts and circumstances which more or less indicate the existence of a criminal offense and the close or distant connection of the offenses with any person who directly committed, or is indirectly related to the work. Those in criminal processing are a necessary guide, based on which it can be concluded with greater or lesser certainty that it is about the specific criminal offense and that the specific person could be the perpetrator of it or the offense other criminal. In addition, the indices combined with the others, with the direct evidence complete the argumentative material, therefore it is no coincidence that the criminal police relies a large part of its activities precisely on the collection of operative information .

Features of preventing abuse of authority or official position committed by public servants

Corruption in Ukraine is recognized as a threat to national interests, sustainable development and European integration. Despite the significant efforts made by the state and international institutions to overcome corruption in the main spheres of public life, its level still remains high. When defining the essence of corruption, one should first of all proceed from the fact that it cannot be reduced to any specific socially dangerous act, to a specific offense. Corruption is the result of the historical development of society and the state, including Ukrainian society and the Ukrainian state. At the same time, in the last decade, corruption in Ukraine gained an unprecedented scope and influence on political, economic and other social processes. It іs found that the problems of countering corruption in Ukraine in many respects coincide with similar problems in other countries. This coincidence is caused by the same social essence of corruption as the corrosion of power, which consists in the abuse by officials of state authorities and local self-government bodies of power or official position for selfish or other personal interests. Regardless of the differences in the state system, the main socio-economic prerequisites of corruption are the same in principle for all countries − the imperfection of the mechanism of the exercise of power, the desire of subjects endowed with power to use this power for personal purposes, and the main directions of combating corruption − restrictions, neutralization and elimination of its social prerequisites, causes and conditions of corrupt acts, determination of restrictions and prohibitions for civil servants, establishment of responsibility for their violation. The reduction of corruption to a certain type of offense by a certain part of scientists and practitioners is one of the most significant mistakes in the understanding of corruption. Corruption is a social phenomenon that has social conditions, social patterns of development and exerts a negative influence on social processes. Existing in society and being a product of social relations, it permeates various social spheres of society, deforming social relations in different ways.

A COMPARISON BETWEEN FIKIH SYAFI'IYAH AND THE SEXUAL VIOLENCE CRIMINAL ACT LAW RELATING TO WOMEN'S LEGAL PROTECTION

This research is driven by the disparities in the eradication of violence against women as outlined in Law Number 12 of 2022, which pertains to Criminal Acts of Sexual Violence (UU-TPKS), and the teachings of Imam Syafi'i. The research methodology employed is library research, utilizing primary and secondary sources as data sources. Primary data is derived from scholarly sources that are directly relevant to the central topic, such as articles, newspapers, books, and scientific journals. Secondary data refers to additional data that complements and supports primary data. After conducting extensive investigation, the author discovered many findings: Law no. 12 of 2022 was enacted to safeguard the rights of those who have experienced sexual violence, as such crimes frequently manifest in society as physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. In addition to overseeing the enforcement of criminal penalties, such as monetary fines. Furthermore, Imam Syafi'i strongly highlighted that Islamic law unequivocally forbids any and all manifestations of sexual aggression. According to Shafi'i scholars, sexual assault can be penalized with Qishash, diyat, and ta'zir, depending on the specific offense

Piercing the corporate veil in Mauritius: a comparative study with the United Kingdom

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to bring clarity to the concept of piercing the veil of incorporation in Mauritius. This will allow students, researchers, academics and practitioners to engage further in research on the topic of incorporation of companies. Design/methodology/approach To conduct the study, the doctrinal legal research approach will be used. The inquiry will examine the numerous laws and case laws that permit the lifting of the corporate veil, so exposing the agents of the corporation to accountability on both a criminal and civil level. A comparison of Mauritius and the UK legal systems will be conducted to assess the efficacy of the former. Findings There are significant loopholes in the legislative framework of Mauritius regarding various corporate offences that are highly encouraged because of the limited circumstances under which courts may lift the corporate veil. There is a need for specific legislation to be enacted by Parliament to address these specific offences. Inspiration should be drawn from the UK’s robust legislative framework on the matter. Originality/value Literature on the subject in Mauritius deals mostly with factual information on the doctrine of separate legal personality and the various exceptions under which the veil of incorporation may be lifted. However, there is a scarcity of research on the various fraudulent activities and their implications on the company that go unnoticed and unpunished because of loopholes in the legal framework. This paper attempts to fill this important gap.

Towards a New Criminal Offence of Intimate Intrusions

This article suggests a new approach to tackling women’s experiences of harm and abuse, particularly online, namely a criminal law of ‘intimate intrusions’. It seeks to reinvigorate Betsy Stanko’s (1985) concept of intimate intrusions, developing it particularly in the context of the ever-increasing prevalence of online abuse against women and girls, as well as establishing how this conceptualisation might manifest in law reform. Intimate intrusions, it is argued, provides a valuable umbrella concept that may better encompass both the range and nature of existing harms, as well as, crucially, the yet-to-be-imagined modes of abuse. Further, in suggesting a new criminal offence of intimate intrusions, this article challenges the common process of piecemeal criminal law reform, with each new manifestation of abuse resulting in a specific offence tackling that specific behaviour. While such an approach provides new redress options, it remains limited. Following an examination of recent reforms in Northern Ireland, where three distinct new criminal offences were adopted covering downblousing, upskirting and cyberflashing, this article suggests that the concept of ‘intimate intrusions’ provides a better foundation for a new criminal offence and outlines its potential nature and scope.

Szabálysértési "kontra" közigazgatási bírság

Aim: The legislator places the sanctioning of unlawful conduct in the various areas of law on the basis of principles of legal policy, expediency and effectiveness, but at its own discretion. The law on misdemeanours has traditionally covered conduct which is less dangerous to society and which does not rise to the level of a criminal offence. However, there are movements between the different areas of law. Some conduct is transferred from the area of misdemeanour law to administrative fines. It is not uncommon for certain offences to remain within the scope of the law on offences, while other offences in the same situation are transferred to administrative law. Can this phenomenon be linked to the system of sanctions in the two areas of law? What sanctions can be found in each area of law and how effective are they in sanctioning specific offences? The answers to these questions may provide a direction for the further development of the law of misdemeanours and may confirm the thesis already formulated in the literature that the gradually declining administrative protection function of the law of misdemeanours is being taken over by sectoral legislation and that the law of misdemeanours is increasingly becoming a shadow image of criminal law. Methodology: In order to answer the questions, the author compared and analysed the provisions of the Act on Administrative Offences and the Act on Sanctions for Administrative Offences, as well as the related literature. Findings: In order to understand this phenomenon, it is necessary to take into account the legal policy rationale and the questions of economy and efficiency. Value: The analysis has shown the similarities and differences between the various sanctions and has indicated which sanctions may be an adequate solution for specific behaviours. The findings of the study will be incorporated into the doctoral thesis on „The criminal power of public administration”.

Insignificance of the Act in Criminal and Administrative Tort Law: Nature and Content

The study develops an idea of the criminal legal nature of the insignificance of the act. The author arguments in favor of the fact that such nature is due to the differentiated approach of the federal legislator to assessing the level of public danger of actions and inaction provided for by criminal law. At the same time, the high role of the law enforcement officer in determining the scale of the threat posed by a specific offense for the object of criminal law protection is stated. Studying the mitigating and aggravating circumstances of the act, the personal characteristics of the offender and the line of their behavior, the court decides on the degree of public danger of the relevant act. Its minimal value becomes the reason for raising the question of recognizing the committed action or inaction as insignificant. The paper considers issues on categories of crimes that the offense formally falls under and thus can be assessed on the grounds of insignificance. It is argued against a well-known judgment that the insignificance of the act containing structural elements of the corpus delicti serves as the basis for evaluating what was done according to the norms and provisions of another branch of Russian legislation. A mechanism for developing the insignificance category potential at the level of an individual criminal wrong, known as a criminal offense, is proposed. The study offers a set of arguments proving the inconsistency of the position of the legislator and law enforcement officer on the issue of the possibility of recognizing an administrative offense as insignificant. Their essence boils down to the fact that the formal essence of administrative offenses excludes their differentiation into groups according to the level of harmfulness. This implies the inexpediency of using the category of insignificance in the legislation on administrative offenses.

Describing the geographical linkage between the UK Millennium Cohort Study and crime incidents in England and Wales

BackgroundEnhancing longitudinal cohort studies by linking routine external data to them is increasingly used to evaluate how local environments impact participants' outcomes (e.g. crime on adolescents' perception of security and victimisation). ObjectiveTo describe the geographical linkage between the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) and street-level crime incidents reported to the Police in England and Wales, and to estimate crime count and rates around MCS participants' residences. MethodsEight years of monthly street-level police data were linked to the residential postcodes of MCS participants living in England and Wales in surveys 5, 6 and 7 to create individual-level variables of neighbourhood crime counts and rates (28,724 surveys and 11,365 individuals). Radial buffers around participants' residences were created at ages 11, 14 and 17. Crime counts and rates were created prior to the month of interview (at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months prior). A homogenisation of crime categories reported in the police data was conducted to evaluate changes over time and areas. Multivariate models were used to study the association between MCS participants' demographic characteristics and derived measures of neighbourhood crime. ResultsWhile total crime rates and counts around MCS participants remain stable over the period, they hide heterogeneous upward and downward trends in specific sub-categories, with violence and sexual offences showing a larger increase. We observe a negative socioeconomic gradient between household income deciles, recorded at age 11, and subsequent exposure to neighbourhood crime. ConclusionLinking routine crime data to longitudinal studies, such as the MCS, which follow children and their families through a critical period of development, can provide a new resource to understand how local crime impacts child and adolescent outcomes.

The relationship between psychopathy facets and types of criminal offences

AbstractThe Psychopathy Checklist—Revised (PCL‐R) is a widely used measurement of psychopathy comprising interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial facets representing narrow‐band characteristics associated with the construct. However, there is little research on whether the distinct facets of psychopathy show specialised relationships with different types of criminal offences. The PCL‐R was administered to 138 adults incarcerated at a county jail. Arrests were coded into broad categories (i.e., crimes against persons, property or society), as well as for specific offence types (e.g. burglary, assault) using US crime definitions. Zero‐order correlations and zero‐inflated regression models showed significant relationships between: the lifestyle facet and property and societal crimes, mainly drug offences; the affective facet and crimes against persons; and the antisocial facet with all three major crime categories, as well as burglary, motor vehicle theft, robbery and assault. Overall, these results indicate that the PCL‐R facets offer unique information about specific forms of criminal behaviour.

Актуальность поправок в Кодекс Российской Федерации об административных правонарушениях, связанных с ужесточением ответственности за пропаганду нетрадиционных сексуальных отношений

The article is devoted the issue of the relevance of amendments to the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses related to the toughening of responsibility for the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations. The author draws attention to the statistics on a specific administrative offense — Art. 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses “Promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors” for the period 2016–2021, after which he concludes about the possible reasons for expanding the area of responsibility, introducing new articles into the Code of Administrative Offenses — 6.21.1 and 6.21.2, respectively.

Recent Case: General principles and specific offences

None

Targnięcie się pokrzywdzonego na własne życie w wyniku namowy lub udzielenia pomocy albo jako następstwo czynów zabronionych stypizowanych w Kodeksie karnym – analiza krytyczna

The protection of human life is one of the most important aims of criminal law. One of the areas in which this protection is pursued are regulations protecting victims of offences from suicide. The criminalisation of behaviours leading to suicides has been limited to a few provisions of the Criminal Code, i.e., Article 151, Article 190a § 3, Article 207 § 3 and Article 352 § 3. The paper points to the double nature of these provisions, and therefore discusses issues related to Article 151 of the Criminal Code separately from other offences of aggravated nature, the dynamic feature of which is suicide in the aftermath of a specific criminal offence. Because of this legislative limitation, it is reasonable to assess whether this state of affairs is optimal from the perspective of the aims and purposes of criminal law, or whether it should be amended by the lawmakers and, if so, in what scope and direction. The considerations are primarily of dogmatic nature, and refer to an analysis of views expressed by the representatives of doctrine on the criminal legal regulations applicable in this regard. A critical, multi-perspective view of this problem made it possible to formulate several critical conclusions, as well as demands de lege ferenda.

Navigating Legal Boundaries: A Cross-Jurisdictional Comparison of Qanun Jinayat on Non-Muslims in Aceh and Brunei Darussalam

Qanun Jinayah, being a legal framework based on Islamic principles, must prioritize justice and be focused on safeguarding the rights of all citizens, especially the minority non-Muslims in Aceh. According to the 2021 data from the Banda Aceh Government, the religious composition of the population of Aceh is as follows: 98.91% are Muslims, 0.79% are Protestants, 0.19% are Catholics, and 0.11% are Buddhists. The objective of the essay was to conduct a comparative analysis of the criminal laws applicable to non-Muslims in Aceh Province and Brunei Darussalam. The focus was on examining whether non-Muslim people in Aceh and Brunei, where Islamic criminal law is enforced, engage in illegal activities. The research indicates that in Brunei, besides flogging, there are other forms of punishment as well, such as amputation of hands and feet, incarceration, and stoning. The application of criminal law is more extensive for non-Muslims in Aceh compared to Brunei. Non-Muslims in Brunei are subject to only two criminal statutes, namely adultery and khalwat. Meanwhile, in Aceh, crimes committed by non-Muslims encompass seven specific offenses, namely khamar (consumption of alcohol), maisir (gambling), khalwat (close proximity between unmarried individuals of opposite genders), ikhtilat (mixing of genders in public spaces), liwath (homosexual acts), musahaqoh (lesbian acts), and qadzaf (false accusation of illicit sexual relations). It is important to note that these seven offenses are not governed by the Criminal Code. However, the procedural legislation of Aceh Qonun Jinayat still requires more regulation to establish a process. The procedural law of Qanun Jinayat does not impose any limitations on the means by which non-Muslims might express their voluntary submission, nor does it specify the stage at which such a statement must be made. For non-Muslims, this criterion becomes a question of legal certainty.

Offences in the sphere of virtual assets turnover and analysis of their qualification

With the advent of new forms of interaction, virtual goods and services, a new field for committing offences in the field of virtual assets turnover is emerging. This encourages scientists and law enforcement agencies to actively research this area and develop effective mechanisms to respond to emerging challenges that have not yet been properly reflected in legislation. The purpose of this study was to explore the issue in depth by analysing specific offences related to virtual assets, including but not limited to theft, fraud, corruption, and tax evasion. The methods of scientific cognition employed for the study include analysis of legal regulation, modelling methods, analogies, systemic and structural, comparative legal, as well as methods of scientific abstraction and generalisation. Based on the results of the study, the study identified the main types of offences in the field of virtual assets and unifies them. The study identified the shortcomings in the current legal regulation that contribute to these problems. Proposals were formulated for amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding the qualification of new types of offences committed in the field of virtual assets turnover based on research of current trends, international practices, and analysis of the current state of Ukrainian legislation. The study also showed that the available legal instruments often fail to ensure adequate detection and prosecution of new forms of offences, which makes it necessary to reform legislation to adapt to the current dynamic environment. The practical significance of this study was to identify the current problems of legal regulation of the circulation of virtual assets, and to develop recommendations for improving the qualification of offences in this area

Social context of establishing criminal liability for interference in the activities of a state official

The concepts of "state" and "security" are closely related. The prospects for the development of statehood will largely depend on the ability of the state and society to create a system of security measures that is adequate to the level of threats. 
 The relevance of the topic lies in the fact that the proper functioning of the state requires proper activities of persons representing the highest levels of state power. In case of encroachment or direct intervention in their activities, this can threaten national security. Therefore, this issue is relevant and requires detailed consideration.
 It is necessary to ensure effective, comprehensive interaction between state authorities. For this purpose, the effectiveness of the performance of official duties by officials of the highest state authorities to the full extent and without possible interference in their activities arises. The state is obliged to ensure proper protection of such persons, including at the regulatory and legal level.
 The purpose of the article is to investigate the grounds for establishing criminal liability for a specific criminal offense provided for in Article 344 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and to clarify whether the existence of the aforementioned criminal prohibition is socially conditioned.
 To achieve the stated goal, this scientific work analyzes the norms of the law on the issue of criminal liability for interference in the activities of a state official.
 The author characterizes the concept of criminalization of an act and examines the grounds and principles for establishing criminal liability for this criminal offense. The issue of the social conditioning of the criminal-legal norm and the circumstances that led to its adoption is investigated. Statistical data for the period from 2015 to 2021 are considered.
 As a result, it is concluded that the criminalization of an act that involves interference in the activities of a state official is socially conditioned and necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the state and national security.

ПРОБЛЕМИ ВСТАНОВЛЕННЯ ВИНИ У ВИПАДКУ ВИЗНАННЯ ОСОБИ НЕОСУДНОЇ

In the theory of criminal law, the issue of the relationship between the mental phenomena of sanity and guilt is not studied comprehensively. Most scholars who study sanity issues limit themselves to the assertion that sanity is closely related to guilt. At the same time, the specifical features of this relationship are practically not investigated. The scholars, as a rule, limit themselves to pointing out that sanity is a prerequisite for establishing guilt. According to this approach, it is considered that the solution of the issue of guilt can take place only after the previous positive solution of the issue of the sanity of the person. This position is questioned in the article. After all, from a philological point of view, a phenomenon that precedes another in time and exists separately from it can be called a prerequisite. Consequently, if sanity is considered a prerequisite for guilt, then the conclusion will be obvious that, at least, sanity and guilt as certain mental processes (special mental phenomena) do not coincide in terms of their existence. According to such an approach, sanity shall precede guilt by the time of its existence, it shall be separated from it by a time interval. At the same time, the wrongness of such a conclusion is obvious. After all, sanity and guilt as certain mental phenomena coincide in time – their existence is connected only with the time of the commission of a criminal offense. There can be no question of sanity or guilt of a person outside the time of committing a criminal offense. There is no sanity of a person who has not committed a criminal offense, there is no guilt of a person outside of a specific criminal offense. With all the independence of these phenomena for solving the issue of criminal responsibility of a person, their separation from each other can only be conditional. Just as it is conditional to distinguish such separate elements of corpus delicti as a subject and a subjective side. After all, as already indicated, the subject itself is the bearer of the subjective side, and therefore there can be no question of mechanical separation of the subjective side from the subject. The fact is that both sanity and guilt indicate a person`s mental attitude towards the same act and its consequences, if these consequences have criminal legal significance, and at the same time – the moment of committing a socially dangerous act. It is substantiated that from the point of view of the dialectical relationship between the phenomena of sanity and guilt, sanity can be called «psychic material», different forms of combination of which form different types of guilt, respectively. The relationship between these phenomena can be called the relationship of form and content, where sanity is the content, and guilt is the form. The issue of necessity for separate study and establishment of a mental attitude to a socially dangerous act and its consequences by a person who is recognized to be insane. It should be noted that such a question is not raised in the scientific literature at all, and the problem is not investigated. On the one hand, such presentation of the question is strange, because if an insane person is not the subject of a criminal offense and will not be subject to criminal liability under any conditions for committing a socially dangerous act, then why should we separately investigate mental processes in which no single kind of guilt can be established? Indeed, those pathological mental processes that take place in the psyche of an insane person have nothing to do with those intellectual and volitional features, with the help of which the concepts of certain kinds of guilt are defined. And formally, under no circumstances can the mental attitude of insane person towards the act he/she commits and its consequences be called guilt. At the same time, the position according to which it is impossible to ignore the peculiarities of the mental attitude of an insane person towards the act he/she commits and its consequences is substantiated in the article. After all, otherwise it is impossible to qualify the actions of such a person correctly, as well as to resolve the issue of applying a specific kind of medical coercive measure to him. It is substantiated that in such cases it is necessary to use a legal fiction that shall allow the definition of certain kinds of guilt to be applied to the mental processes that occur during the commission of a socially dangerous act by an insane person. The case law regarding this problem is analyzed.

EXPLORING THE FEASIBILITY OF CRIMINALISING MATERNAL SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN SOUTH AFRICA

With alcohol abuse by pregnant women being a significant problem in South Africa, particularly in the rural areas of the Western Cape province, the country carries one of the world’s heaviest burdens of foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS is regarded as the most severe of the foetal alcohol spectrum disorders. A child affected by FAS may suffer various developmental delays, including behavioural problems, poor language and fine motor skills, overall poor academic performance, mental retardation, and an increased tendency towards aggression and violence. Despite the alarming extent of the problem, maternal substance abuse is not currently a criminal offence in South Africa. This article explores the feasibility of criminalising maternal substance abuse, either by way of an amendment to the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 or by introducing a new statutory offence. As South African children are already afforded protection against abuse and neglect in terms of the Children’s Act, the prosecution of mothers who abuse substances while pregnant and then give birth to children suffering FAS-related harm could potentially also occur within this ambit. This would require an extension to the definitions of abuse and neglect in the Children’s Act and would have no effect on the legal status of a foetus in South Africa. Yet one would face certain challenges associated with the principle of legality: in terms of the ius strictum requirement, for instance, courts are expected to apply a strict rather than a broad interpretation to the definition of a crime. Therefore, if it is not provided for clearly enough in the definition of abuse and neglect, courts may be hesitant to include maternal substance abuse in their understanding of these crimes. Moreover, a strict interpretation of the meaning of “child” in the Children’s Act would exclude a foetus. In addition, a foetus does not possess legal subjectivity under South African law, which means that it generally does not have any legal rights, nor can it be the victim of any crime. Alternatively, the legislature could opt for introducing a new statutory offence to address maternal substance abuse separately. In this regard, criminalising maternal substance abuse as a materially-defined crime would be the best route to follow. This would restrict prosecution to instances where maternal substance abuse does in fact result in FAS-like effects in the child upon birth. In determining the feasibility of criminalising maternal substance abuse in South Africa, the article also takes a comparative look at United States law in this regard, particularly the position in Alabama and South Carolina. Developments in these states do seem to bode well for a decision to criminalise maternal substance abuse in South Africa as well. As shown in Hicks v State of Alabama 2014 153 So.3d 53 and Whitner v State 328 S.C. 1, 492 S.E.2d 777 (1997), maternal substance abusers in the United States may be prosecuted for either a specific statutory offence or general child neglect. However, while the courts in those cases imposed imprisonment, South Africa’s already overcrowded prisons coupled with the predominantly socio-economic causes of maternal substance abuse in the local context would warrant alternative sentencing options. These include referral to a rehabilitation centre or diversion. In addition, the United States courts seem to have accepted the view that foetuses should be afforded the same protection as children. As this would stir up a hornet’s nest in terms of the abortion debate and the legal status of a foetus in South Africa, following the American example in this respect is not recommended. However, this challenge can be overcome by criminalising maternal substance abuse as suggested above, by providing for prosecution only where the affected child is born alive and presents with FAS-like symptoms.

Деградация земель как объект судебной экологической экспертизы

As a result of economic activity, the components of the environment are exposed to direct or indirect anthropogenic impact, as a result of which, as a rule, the functions, composition, properties and regimes of the soil change, its natural and economic significance decreases, i.e. soil degradation occurs. An analysis of investigative and expert practice shows that in court proceedings a significant part is occupied by materials related to land degradation as a result of violations of environmental legislation under Art. Art. 267, 269, 270 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, art. art. 6.10, 6.11, 6.15 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offenses. The article provides an example from the practice of conducting a forensic examination. As a result of illegal excavation of land in the coastal strip of the reservoir, the environment was harmed due to land degradation (including soil). In order to establish all the circumstances of the environmental offense and the truth in the case, in accordance with art. art. 226, 227, 228 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Belarus, a forensic environmental examination of objects of soil-geological origin was appointed. In connection with the prescription of the event under study and the fundamental change in the material situation on the land plots, the examination was carried out by studying the materials provided with the decision to appoint an examination, analyzing the normative, normative-technical, special technical documentation in the field of environmental protection, situational analysis, comparing the results studies with the requirements of normative, normative-technical, special technical documentation and actual data that caused the occurrence of the event under study, as well as based on the results of an expert examination of the site of an environmental offense. In the course of the research, the circumstances of a specific environmental offense were established and answers were given to the questions of the body conducting the inquiry. It is shown that on the land plot provided for agricultural production, the fertile layer of the earth (soil) is not destroyed, its thickness corresponds to the average statistical values of the thickness of fertile horizons for soils of this type. The facts of land degradation (including soils), depletion, damage, destruction or other deterioration of their condition due to economic activities on the land plot have not been identified. As a result of agricultural production on the land plot, no harm was caused to the environment, since the original terrain did not change, land (soil) degradation was not detected, and damage to the fertile soil layer and grassy vegetation did not occur. When conducting business activities, violations of the rules of environmental protection were committed: clause 1.7, article 53, chapter 11 of the Water Code of the Republic of Belarus - arrangement of summer camps for farm animals within the boundaries of water protection zones, coastal strips and para. 4, part 1, article 89 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Land - pollution by production and consumption waste.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids: Considerations for forensic psychiatry, sports psychiatry, and the law

Anabolic-androgenic steroids: Considerations for forensic psychiatry, sports psychiatry, and the law