DOI: 10.25136/2409-7136.2021.4.35375

Abstract: The object of this research is the constitutional framework of the institution of citizens’ participation in administration of justice, viewed as the fundamental principles of relationship between the democratic state and its citizens. Participation of citizens in court as lay judges is of constitutional nature. One of the forms of citizen’s participation in administration of criminal justice in particular is the jury trial. The goal of this research consists in the analysis of certain aspects of mechanism of exercising the right of citizens to participate in administration of criminal justice in the Russian Federation, as well as in development of recommendations for its improvement.  Leaning on the dialectical, systematic, formal-legal, comparative-legal, structural-functional and sociological methods, the author analyzes the current situation pertinent of exercising by the citizens of the Russian Federation of the constitutional right to participate in administration of justice, and substantiated the feasibility of measures for creating conditions for the more active implementation of such right in the area of criminal justice. The author reveals the reasons of passive attitude of the citizens of the Russian Federation towards implementation of their constitutional right to participate in administration of justice as jury, and concludes on the need for taking certain measures on the federal level aimed at attraction of citizens in administration of justice: increase of the legal culture of population, increase of the level of information awareness of the citizens about the jury trial; revision of legal regulation of the procedure of formation of the jury.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-7136.2021.4.35160

Abstract: The object of this research is the assemblage of social relations arising in the sphere of criminal justice in the course of eliminating legal gaps and contradictions. The subject of this research is the legal custom as one nontraditional sources of law for the Russian criminal proceeding, which is applied in the absence of norms consolidated in the normative legal acts, which are aimed at regulating the corresponding legal relations. Analysis is conducted on the essence of the concept of legal custom, means of formation, classification, and methods of application in criminal proceedings. Special attention is given to the methods of authorization of legal custom by the state, which may entail the recognition of this source of law as independent or transformation into another source of law. The main conclusions that also determine the scientific novelty of this research are as follows. 1. The system of Russia criminal procedure law is characterized by the development processes, which imply the formation and application of such an nontraditional source of law as legal custom. 2. Legal custom represents the rules not prohibited by law for performing procedural actions and making procedural decisions, which are translated into practice through repetition by the of the proceedings in the absence of the enforceable rule of law. 3. According to the method of formation, legal customs in criminal proceedings can be classified into dispositive (based on the voluntary will of the participants) and imperative (formed through tacit administrative influence). 4. Imperative legal customs are the negative phenomena of legal reality and cannot be attributed to the sources of law. 5. Authorization of legal custom as an independent source of law consists in its “tacit” approval by the government authorities. Textual consolidation of legal custom entails its transformation into a new form of law. 6. Universal practice is one of the characteristics of legal custom and a possible means for its legalization.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-7136.2021.4.35080

Abstract: The subject of this research the judicial practice of Russian courts for the period from 2010 to 2020 on crimes qualified under the Article 124 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The subject also includes: relevant provisions of the Russian, Soviet and foreign legislation; doctrinal research dedicated to such types of crimes and iatrogenic crimes in general; as well as crimes with two elements of guilt. The goal is to indicated the discrepancies in the practice of Russian courts, clarify the contributing circumstances, and develop proposals for their elimination. The scientific novelty of this work is dictated by integrity of the used data and methods, previously undisclosed factors of law enforcement and doctrinal contradictions, as well as conclusions that are formulated in the Russian criminal law science for the first time. The first conclusion of this research consists in determination of essential contradictions in the practice of Russian courts with regards to application of the Article 124 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Failure to render medical aid to the patient”. The author established that the reason for these contradictions lies in disparity of the researchers in the question of the subjective side of the crime. The cause of this phenomenon is of complex nature, including the influence of the previously refuted theory of the “mixed” element of guilt. The main result of this research consists in substantiation possibility of establishing the two elements of guilt in the act qualified under the Article 124 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which however results from the flaws of the legal technique. As a solution to this problem, the author offers the projects of reforming the domestic criminal law based on the adapted provisions of the German criminal law.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-7136.2021.4.35011

Abstract: This article provides the results of research of the system of sanctions of the Special Part of the effective Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The object of this study is the social relations arising in temrs of infliction of criminal punishment. The subject of is sanctions of the norms of the Special Part of the effective Criminal Law of the Russian Federation. The goal consists in identification of flaws in establishment of such sanctions, substantiation of the negative impact of these flaws, and development of recommendations for their eliminations. Particular attention is given to the rules for establishment of sanctions of the norms of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, namely the procedure for the transaction punishments in the sanctions of norms of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and consequences of violating this order. The scientific novelty of this research consists in identification of violations in the sanctions of norms that have recently come into legal force. The author also determines the violations that create internal contradictions within the effective criminal law. The three groups of violations of the procedure for transaction of punishments in the sanctions of norms of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on various grounds have been distinguished. In the course of this study, the author detected fifteen violations of the rules for establishment of the sanctions of norms of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, as well as offered solutions for their eliminations. The acquired results are of practical significance and can contribute to the improvement of the Russian criminal law.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-7136.2021.4.35130

Abstract: The relevance of the work is substantiated by heightened interest to digitalization of all sectors of the economy in Russia and the world. This is explained by the fact that the states see an opportunity to earn a competitive advantage and ensure economic stability namely in the new technologies and their rapid implementation in life of the country. This resulted in the development of a range of draft laws aimed at regulating legal relations in the area of digital assets, part of which came into force by 2021. The authors examine the system of legislative regulation of transactions with digital assets, determine its merits and flaws, and carry out comparative analysis with the leading foreign practices. The authors’ special contribution to this research lies in the attempt to develop a unified approach towards understanding the legal nature of digital assets in the Russian Federation, disclosure of the concept and essence of digital assets were revealed, as well as analysis of the promising directions in legislative regulation of digital assets in Russia. The article outlines the problems of regulation of digital assets in Russia, and offers the ways for their solutions. The main conclusions consists in the development of  uniform approach towards the legal nature of digital currencies, description of the specific characteristics of information system the digital assets exist within, as well as substantiation of the need for their legislative consolidation.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-7136.2021.4.35554

Abstract: The subject of this research is the traditional representations of the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North that reflect the system of punishments and protection of their infringed rights when they commit a crime in a community living by the traditional culture. The article employs the following sources: codes of customary law created in Russia in the XIX century, as well as ethnographic data that include field materials collected by the authors in 2019 – 2020, and published sources that reflect the norms of customary law of the indigenous peoples of the North in the XIX – early XX centuries. The goal of this work consists in revealing the peculiarities of traditional views of the indigenous peoples of the North in the sphere of criminal law relations and protection of the infringed rights. The scientific novelty consists in two aspects: 1) consideration of the so-called “witchcraft component” in analyzing the norms of customary law; 2) use of the General System Theory of L. von Bertalanffy as methodology (synergetic approach). This approach is not usually used for cross-disciplinary historical and legal research; however, allows us understanding the mechanism of transformation of legal norms of the indigenous peoples of the North in the conditions of influence of Russian legislation. The point of bifurcation is the turning periods, when the content of legal views is being changed irrevocably, and the new version is accepted as traditional and consolidated in the customary law. In conclusion, the authors note that in the XIX – early XX centuries, the criminal law representations and mechanism of protection of rights in the traditional culture of the indigenous peoples of the North implied communication with  the spirits and hope for their justice in punishing the criminals. Certain norms of the Russian legislation that are similar to representations of the indigenous peoples of the North, infiltrated into the traditional culture, adapting to the customs; but overall, the criminal legislation of the Russian Empire collided with the views of the aborigines, which entailed the creation of the codes of customary law that were implemented in the judicial practice.