Law/5. Criminal law and criminology

 

Zakirova L. R.

Kazan Federal University, Russia

 

ON CRIMINOLOGICAL AND CRIMINAL LAW ASPECTS OF CORRUPTION CRIME

 

As is well known in many countries corruption in government and economic activities is one of the urgent problems. The impact of corruption in these countries has grown so much and continues to grow, which, in some cases, it reached alarming proportions and comparable with a large part of the state budget of the countries.

The Russian Federation (further – Russian Federation, Russia) according to international expert estimates also refers to the number of countries with "high" level of corruption in public administration and economic activities.

In the legal literature the analysis of criminological and criminal-legal characteristics of corruption crime in Russia [1-5] devoted a lot of publications that did not exclude the possibility to continue the research on this topic.

Subject to this consideration there are some issues [6, p. 15], characterizing the criminological and criminal law aspects of corruption crime in Russia.

Based on the research subject natural following questions: what international and Russian legal acts is defined by the fight against corruption; what reasons led to the emergence of new types of corruption and corruption crimes in Russia; the number of registered corruption crimes and what is their dynamics; how corruption-related crimes envisaged in the criminal legislation of Russia; what is criminological characteristics of offender; what measures is the prevention of corruption crime? Many of these questions are scientific work, that does not prevent the author to Express their opinion [7, p. 77].

The author agrees with a scientific approach, that "... the globalization of the world community has led to the fact that corruption in one country can adversely affect the development of other countries. Given the menacing nature of corruption and the importance for the international community since the second half of the twentieth century corruption has become an international problem" [4, p. 345]. Therefore, Organizations of the United Nations (hereinafter – UN), the Council of Europe have adopted international legal instruments on corruption (e.g., the United Nations Declaration on the fight against corruption and bribery in international commercial transactions (2003), the criminal law Convention on corruption (1999), etc.).

Based on these and other international legal instruments to combat corruption, Russia has not only confirmed the international cooperation in the fight against corruption, as evidenced by the adoption of the Federal law dated 08.03.2006 N 40-FZ "On ratification of the Convention of United Nations against corruption" and the Federal law dated 25.07.2006 N 125-FZ "On ratification of criminal law Convention on corruption"), but also has introduced laws and regulations aimed at combating corruption The Federal law from 25.12.2008 N 273-FZ "On combating corruption", Federal law dated 17.07.2009 No. 172-FZ "About anticorruption examination of regulatory legal acts and drafts of normative legal acts", Federal law dated 03.12.2012 No. 230-FZ "On control over compliance costs of persons holding public office, and other persons to their income", the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 19.05.2008 ¹ 815 "About measures on corruption counteraction", The decree of the RF Government dated 05.03.2009 N 195 "About approval of Rules of carrying out examination of drafts of regulatory legal acts and other documents for the purpose of revealing in them of the provisions promoting creation of conditions for manifestation of corruption" and other legal acts on combating corruption.

Criminological characteristics of certain types of crime are not an exception and corruption offences, includes items: 1) status, dynamics, proportion, structure, level of latency, etc. of this type of crime and its separate groups; 2) the causes and conditions conducive to the Commission of crimes; 3) criminological characteristics of offender; 4) measures for the prevention of crime [8, p. 63].

Consider the first elements of criminological characteristics of corruption crime.

According to official statistics in Russia for the year 2016 was just 2160,1 thousand crimes, including corruption crimes 32924 (+ 1,4%), the proportion of these crimes in the total number amounted to 1.5% [9]. At the same time in 2010 it was 2628,8 thousand crimes, from them – 59283 corruption crimes, the specific gravity of the crimes in this category is 2.3% [10]. From these data it follows that in 2016 in comparison with 2010 was registered at 26359 corruption-related offences. In recent years there has been a downward trend of registered crimes in General and crimes of corruption.

The author agrees with the scientific approach that the crime of corruption characterized by a high latency [11, p. 1809], and therefore in the official statistics on corruption-related crimes according to the estimates of Russian experts reflected only one half (third) of the committed crimes in this category.

So, as causes of corruption it is noted that what happened in Russia in 90-ies of XX century reforms in the political and socio-economic spheres led to the development of new market relations, providing for the de-monopolization of the state and establishing a multiplicity of forms of ownership, freedom of enterprise and other economic activities. However, this process was not only complex and economically unstable, which caused negative effects in socio-economic terms [12, p 664], but a significant increase in violent, organised and acquisitive and other crime, including corruption offenses and crimes.

Other authors call the economic reforms of 90-ies of XX century, such as trade liberalization, privatization of former Soviet state enterprises and liberalization of prices led to the freedom of entrepreneurship, and also in conditions when the economy is constantly evolving, the government requires highly skilled professionals who are willing to responsibly perform the duties of the officials of state authorities [13] and among these individuals is such wrongful conduct as corruption.

In the Russian legislation uses the terms "corruption" and "corruption". In section 1, art. 1 of the Federal law from 25.12.2008 N 273-FZ "On combating corruption" [14] (hereinafter referred Federal law "On combating corruption") corruption is defined as "the abuse of official position, bribery, receiving a bribe, abuse of authority, commercial bribery or other illegal use by a physical person of his official position contrary to legitimate interests of society and the state in order to obtain benefits in the form of money, valuables, other property or services of property character, other property rights for itself or for third parties or illegal provision of such benefits specified person other physical persons; committing mentioned actions on behalf or in the interests of legal persons".

According to experts, annually through various illegal schemes of Russia passes to a trillion rubles, that is already possible to speak about this phenomenon as "corruption economy". This phenomenon includes financial support for this corruption. Experts are concerned that due to the corruption of crime there is a sale of prohibited goods (weapons, drugs), which brings huge profits to the organizers [15].

The essence of corruption is the moral decay of officials and politicians, as expressed in the illicit enrichment, bribery, embezzlement and collusion with the mafia [16].

In the legal literature describing the legal system of the Russian Federation, noted that "... the public relations arising in connection with the Commission of crime, are among the most regulated, due to their increased significance [17, p. 229]. Therefore, in the system of Russian legislation in terms of combating corruption is important to the criminal code of the Russian Federation [18] (hereinafter – CC RF), which "is based on the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the universally recognized principles and norms of international law" (part 2 of article 1 of the criminal code), and in its criminal-legal norms are recognised socially dangerous manifestations of man, involved violations of various significant objects. Based on significant objects, in the criminal code of Russian Federation provides for the chapters that contain anti-corruption norms defining crimes of corruption.

In Chapter 30 of the criminal code "Crimes against state authority, interests of state service and service in local governments" determines criminal liability for the following types of corruption crimes: abuse of official powers (article 285 of the criminal code); exceeding official powers (article 286 of the criminal code); bribery (article 290 of the criminal code); bribery (article 291 of the criminal code); petty corruption (article 291.2 of the criminal code); forgery (article 292 of the criminal code); in Chapter 23 "Crimes against interests of service in commercial and other organizations" – abuse of authority (art. 201 of the criminal code), commercial bribery (article 204 of the criminal code), etc. anti-corruption criminal law provisions exist in other chapters of the Special part of the criminal code.

Is of practical interest and prevention of corruption crime in Russia, which must be based on the following provisions: a constant analysis of changes in corruption and its causes; the monitoring of corruption-related crimes in General and their separate types; anti-corruption education, education and propaganda; determining the strategy and tactics of fight against corruption taking into account the real socio-economic, political conditions of social consciousness, the law enforcement system; the basis of legislation and not secondary legislation; conducting anti-corruption expertise of normative legal acts and their projects; the development of integrated and targeted anti-corruption programs in the Russian Federation and its subjects, controlling their implementation; monitoring of anti-corruption normative legal acts and programmes, the use of foreign experience; specialized training and the creation of law enforcement special service (e.g., Federal service for combating corruption); rotation of public employees (moving them inside the structure), which allows to reduce interpersonal connection and destroy a group of professional solidarity; the use of the help of various civil society institutions and population; government support for the establishment and functioning of anti-corruption NGOs; the publication of reports on the implementation of anti-corruption policy measures and programmes; a systematic evaluation of outcomes and adjustment measures [19].

Thus, this study may be understood as the analysis of existing norms of the criminal code [20, p. 247] and the Federal law "On combating corruption", official statistics and scientific approaches on criminological and criminal law aspects of corruption crime in Russia. Thus to corruption offences should include a sufficiently broad range of criminal conduct, defined in various articles of the Special part of the criminal code.

 

Literature:

 

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