The 2021 Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia on Crimes Against Property: New Solutions to Old Problems

The work contains a commentary on the main provisions of the new Criminal Code of Armenia on liability for crimes against property. The main attention is given to articles cointained in Chapter 30 «Misappropriation», a comparative analysis of which is carried out taking into account the relevant provisions of Chapter 21 «Crimes against property» of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In addition to theft, robbery, armed robbery, fraud and conversion known to Russian legislation, the Criminal Code of Armenia classifies computer-related theft as a form of misappropriation. Unlike the Russian law, the Armenian legislator excluded embezzlement from the list of forms of misappropriation. Besides, fraud, which is not defined as the acquisition of property by deception or abuse of trust, is formulated solely as a form of misappropriation, and the corpus delicti of robbery have been transformed from an inchoate crime to a substantial one. At the same time, the Armenian legislator excluded violence from the list of signs of robbery. Attention is given to the absence of special articles on misappropriation in Chapter 30 of the Armenian Criminal Code, which are traditionally distinguished in Russian criminal legislation according to their amount. Armenian law also does not recognize special subjects of theft, in particular gas, oil, electronic money and digital currency. At the same time, the Code provides a definition of the general concept of misappropriation, which does not mention profit motive. The author concludes that new, often original solutions to the well-known problems of liability for crimes against property contained in the current Criminal Code of Armenia deserve attention for study and evaluation by Russian specialists.

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