Socially Dangerous Consequences in the Norms on Economic Crimes: Problems of Recognition in the Law

The paper investigates the normative regulation of socially dangerous consequences of economic crimes set forth in Chapter 22 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. A legislative structure of economic crimes is rather heterogeneous. Some of them are determined as formal (registration of illegal transactions with real estate — Art. 170; illegal organization and conduct of gambling — Art. 171.2, etc.); others are defined as economic (illegal obtaining of credit — Art. 176; abuse of securities issue — 185, etc.); and the third are defined as formal economic (illegal entrepreneurship — Art. 171; restriction of competition — Art. 178 et al.).

The paper analyzes the negative aspects of including the criteria characterizing socially dangerous consequences in the norms-notes to Chapter 22 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, determines the significance of criminological peculiarities of economic crimes in determining the extent of damage caused by economic crimes of different types; the influence of the nature and amount of damage established in the law on the exemption from criminal liability for the commission of economic crimes.

It is concluded that a law-maker needs a more uniform approach to determining the types and sizes of consequences caused by economic crimes (types should be, as a rule,” economic”, and the size should be the same for all the crimes) and to the placement of quantitative indicators of consequences (in the note to Article 1 where sequences are specified); to achieving compliance with the rules of differentiation of responsibility in the construction of basic and qualified crimes (large and especially large scale of consequences should be indicate only for the latter); to imposing "unfavorable” sanctions from the point of view of the legal consequences of economic crimes, and, on the contrary, to giving a “favorable” character to the exemption from criminal responsibility under Art. 76.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in comparison with the specified sanctions.

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