Formation of the List of Crimes Committed by Legal Entities

Review. The problem of criminal liability of legal entities has been widely discussed in the Russian legal doctrine from the very beginning of democratic reforms in the 1990s. One of the projects of the Criminal Code provided for criminal liability for committing environmental crimes. However, the scientific community has categorically rejected this idea on the ground that legal entities cannot apply the fundamental principles of criminal law due to the fact that a legal entity does not possess consciousness and will. One of the problems faced with by scientists in developing the concept of criminal liability of organizations was the list of crimes where a legal entity may act as a subject. Some authors believe that it is possible to determine general conditions of liability of legal entities, and a list of relevant crimes can be left open. Such an approach, for example, has been implemented in the draft federal law prepared by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. Other authors consider it necessary to make such a list exhaustive. This position is stated, for example, in Draft Federal Act № 750443-6. In the article, it is proposed to generate an exhaustive list of offenses for which a legal entity may be held criminally responsible in accordance with the following criteria: 1) a crime must correspond to the legal nature of a legal entity; 2) a legal entity shall be an actor, rather than an instrument of committing a socially dangerous act; 3) offenses of legal entities should be of heightened public danger; 4) the list should include the most commonly committed by organizations socially dangerous acts; 5) an international treaty providing for the possibility of establishing criminal liability for legal entities.

criminal liability of legal entities, joint responsibility, corporate criminal liability, legal entity, list of crimes, perpetrator

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