Academic literature on the topic 'General principles of criminal law'

The article looks into the evolution of the concept of “the principles of criminal law” in the legislation of the People’s Republic of China during the second half of the twentieth century. The principles of law are recognized as the normative foundations of law, which determine the general scope, main peculiarities and the most significant features of legal regulation. The article studies a number of definitions offered by some Chinese scientists who dealt with the theoretical and legal problems. The People’s Republic of China was created on October 1, 1949 against the background of destroyed economy, demoralized society, prevailing chaos and the unstructured nature of public authorities. In that period, no codified criminal law was in place. Some criminal acts of that time showed that any fundamental principles were included in the system of criminal legislation either. The first Criminal Code of the People’s Republic of China of 1979 did not mention any principles of law, whereas the Criminal Code of 1997 provided for three fundamental principles, which became the subject of our analysis. These are the principle of legality, also known as the principle of no punishment for doing something that is not prohibited by law (nullum crimen, nullum točka sine lege), the principle of equality of citizens before the law, the principle of conformity of criminal-legal measures to the nature and circumstances of crime. It is these principles that have been reflected in the current criminal code. Despite the amendments of criminal law introduced over the last few decades, the principles of law have remained unchanged. The conclusion to the publication makes a suggestion to introduce the general principle of humanism into in the General Provisions of the Criminal Code of China. The scholar believes that this principle should be recognized as the key principle of the criminal law of China, and will aim to ensure the democratic nature of Chinese criminal law.

Although the EU lacks explicit competence to harmonise national principles of criminal law, there are many ways in which EU law and national criminal law are interconnected on a level deeper than mere minimum standards adopted from directives. The article analyses these intersections between EU law and fundamental principles of Estonian substantive criminal law, explaining how the principles of criminal law recognised and interpreted in the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU and covered by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union exhibit the capacity to affect fundamental principles of Estonian substantive criminal law. The article focuses on five principles specific to substantive criminal law, which are derived from the fundamental principles of the Estonian Constitution and have equivalents in human-rights law: the principle of legality of criminal law, the principle of retroactive application of the more lenient criminal law, proportionality, ultima ratio, and the principle of individual guilt. The analysis demonstrates that the relationship between EU law and the various principles of substantive criminal law is not uniform because the principles of substantive criminal law are not developed evenly at European Union level.

The purpose of the article is to analyze the criminal law principles in the fight against crime, to introduce a distinction between them and general principles of the State. The subject of the study is the criminal law principles in the fight against crime. Methodology. The following methods were used to achieve the goal of the Article: formal logic; description; historical and legal; comparative law; dogmatic. Results of the research. The paper analyzes and criticizes the criminal law principles in the fight against crime. Their essence and significance in the general context of combating crime are highlighted. Each principle is analyzed separately in the context of their relationship with the general principles of criminal law policy of the State. Practical meaning. It is proposed not to consider the principle of justice as criminal law one, but to place it within the framework of general philosophical principles and categories such as kindness, decency, humanism, humanity, honesty, etc. Value / originality. It is confirmed that the law on criminal liability must be fair, and therefore effective, which stems from the very matter of justice as a socio-philosophical category.

Modern globalization processes consisting in transnational integration concern not only politics, economy, and culture but also the sphere of combating crime. In the fight against international criminal manifestations, it is necessary to consolidate powerful stabilising factors. One of these factors is criminal law principles, which are a kind of prism through which national legislation is assessed and the practice of its application is adjusted. In this regard, the question of systematising the principles of criminal law is of great importance. Purpose of the research: formulation of the authors’ approach to the problem of systematisation of criminal law principles. Methods: the research was based on the general philosophical dialectical method of scientific knowledge. Besides, the historical and legal, structured system method and formal and logical methods were used. Results and novelty: resulting from the study, the authors’ approach to the system of criminal law principles based on their interrelation, interdependence, and mutual influence is presented. The proposed separation of principles for the first time in the Russian criminal law doctrine reflects both horizontal and vertical classification. Horizontally, criminal law principles are divided into extraordinary (principle of justice), ordinary (principles of equality, humanism, and guilt), and substantive (principle of legality). The extraordinary principle of justice predetermines the content of other principles of criminal law. The ordinary principles of equality, humanism, and guilt determine the implementation of the principle of justice in criminal law. The substantive principle of legality is a unified basis for consolidating the provisions of the principles of criminal law in criminal legislation. This understanding of the principles of criminal law allows building their hierarchy. Vertically, the first place, due to its importance, is assigned to the principle of justice, the second belongs to the principle of equality, the third focuses on the principle of humanism, the fourth concentrates on the principle of guilt and, finally, the principle of legality completes the system.

The article deals with the principles of decriminalization of measures of criminal law influence based on a comprehensive system analysis. It is noted that the main direction of criminal law policy is the decriminalization of acts that determine the object of such policy influence. The principle of sufficient social danger implies that the act causes significant harm to the public interest. The principle of the possibility of a positive impact of non-criminal law prohibitions on human behavior involves settling the issue of effective counteraction to the act. The principle of the relative prevalence of acts to be decriminalized emphasizes the need to take into account their individual nature when establishing legal liability for acts. The principle of the predominance of positive consequences in decrim-inalization is especially relevant for economic activity. The principle of timeliness of decriminalization means its implementation at the time of its occurrence, when the act does not pose a social danger, which implies the harmfulness of belated decriminalization.The essence of decriminalization is expressed in the legislation through the principles of law – thus ensuring the formation of the legal law, which means an officially recognized, binding legal act, which is based on the principles of law as rules applicable to the regulation of specific social relations. Decriminalization should be carried out in accordance with systemic principles. If necessary, this is supplemented by the construction of optimal models. This approach to the problem is due to the need to create an appropriate law-making mechanism that would avoid mistakes in reforming criminal law. The principles of decriminalization form a complex system, where one principle is based on the content of another. The fundamental principle of decriminalization is the principle of the rule of human rights and freedoms, which is concretized in general principles as the presumption of innocence, justice.

AbstractInternational Criminal Law [ICL] contains a number of general principles, which form the foundations of and conditions for holding individuals criminally responsible for crimes under international law (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression), and other crimes against the peace and security of mankind. Most general principles of ICL have been adequately implemented in the current (second) edition of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This paper assesses the quality of and identifies the lacunae in the implementation of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code, with a view to suggesting further improvements to this Code.

The article examines the importance of constitutional principles for the development of criminal law. The main directions of application of the principles of criminal law in the criminal legislation of Ukraine are investigated. It is determined that the principles of the Criminal Law of Ukraine include the main provisions established by law or derived directly fromit, provide a clear description of the content of this branch of law and are used in the legislative and law enforcement activities of the state bodies. Using dialectical and historical methods, the general law principles of Criminal Law are analyzed. Thecontradiction problems of some criminal law institutes with the constitutional principles are revealed using the comparative method and the methods of analysis and synthesis. The conclusion focuses on the need to define the criminal procedural principles as a fundamental rule of conduct of the criminal process and the court, which permeates all stages of the process, based on the procedural coercion of the State, and which aims to guarantee obtaining suitable and admissible evidence and the performance of the functions of criminal proceedings in general.

Das Verfahren der internationalen ad hoc Strafgerichtshöfe für das ehemalige Jugoslawien und für Ruanda kann als die erste völkerstrafverfahrensrechtliche Ordnung betrachtet werden. Von den Richtern selbst ausgearbeitet und entwickelt, orientierte sich dieses Verfahren ursprünglich sehr an dem angloamerikanischen Strafprozessmodell. Mangels geeigneter Präzedenzfälle und angesichts der vielen Analogiefaktoren zwischen dem innerstaatlichen Strafverfahrensrecht und dem Völkerstrafverfahrensrecht haben sich die Richter -insbesondere während der ersten Tätigkeitsjahre ihrer Gerichtshöfe- öfter auf innerstaatliche Rechtspraxen bei der Anwendung ihrer Verfahrens- und Beweisordnungen bezogen. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht diese Bezugnahme auf innerstaatliches Recht anhand der Rechtsprechung beider ad hoc Strafgerichtshöfe im Bereich des Beweisrechts. Die Gründe und Formen der Bezugnahme auf innerstaatliches Recht werden zuerst dargestellt und anschließend analysiert. Aus der Untersuchung der Rechtsprechung ergibt sich eine insgesamt unsystematische und pragmatische Nutzung des innerstaatlichen Rechts, welches meistens dazu dient, die für den Einzelfall geeignetste Lösung zu liefern und/ oder die von den Richtern getroffene Entscheidung zu legitimieren. Solch eine Vorgehensweise birgt zweierlei Probleme: Ein Legitimitätsproblem angesichts der Internationalität des Verfahrens der ad hoc Strafgerichtshöfe und ein Problem hinsichtlich der Vorhersehbarkeit der Anwendung ihrer Verfahrens- und Beweisordnungen. Abschließend widmet sich diese Arbeit dementsprechend der Frage nach einer methodischen Herangehensweise, welche zu mehr Legitimität und Vorhersehbarkeit bei der Anwendung der Verfahrensregeln internationaler Strafgerichtshöfe beitragen könnte, und dies abgesehen davon, ob sich die Richter dabei auf externe normative Räume, wie diejenigen innerstaatlicher Rechtsordnungen, beziehen oder nicht.
The procedure of the ad hoc international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda can be regarded as the first set of rules of international criminal procedure. This procedural law, constructed and developed by the judges themselves was primary inspired by the common law approach to criminal proceedings. In the absence of precedents, and given the numerous potential analogies between domestic criminal procedure and international criminal procedure, the judges often referred to domestic legal practices - particularly during the ad hoc tribunals’ first years of activity - when applying rules of procedure and evidence. The present work investigates this reference to domestic law by examining the ad hoc tribunals’ jurisprudence regarding the law of evidence. The reasons for and forms of the reference to domestic law are first presented and then analysed. This study concludes that, on the whole, domestic law is referred to in an unsystematic and pragmatic manner: It is mostly used by the judges in order to provide the most suitable solution for the particular case before them and/ or to legitimate a decision they have already made on the basis of their own procedural rules. Such an approach raises two problems: a legitimacy deficit in regard to the internationality of the ad hoc tribunals’ procedure and a lack of predictability in the application of the rules of procedure and evidence. This study deals therefore finally with the possibility of a methodical approach, which could contribute to more predictability and legitimacy in the application of the procedural rules of international criminal tribunals, regardless of whether or not the judges refer to external normative systems, such as domestic legal orders.

The purpose of the thesis is to critically analyse the current legal forms of mens rea which are shared by common law and statute, namely intention, recklessness, malice, negligence and strict liability. I shall argue that the current concepts are (i) inadequate since they lack conceptual clarity, consistency and cohesion; (ii) that the concepts of intention and recklessness lack terminological consistency since their parameters extend to states of mind which properly belong elsewhere and (iii) that they are unable to draw out significant moral distinctions in moral culpability with which agents perpetrate criminal offences. The major cause for the inadequacies of the present structure lies in the number of mental states which constitute mens rea at current law. They are so few that judges have seen fit to manipulate the contours to serve the needs of justice in the cases. This has led to considerable conceptual and terminological confusion both within and between the concepts. But the major failing of the current structure of mens rea, rooted in the same cause, is that it does not sufficiently draw out significant differences in moral status between agents who perpetrate harm. It fails to do this in two ways. First, the concepts of intention, recklesness and negligence are broad in their scope so that each includes a fairly wide area of moral turpitude. Second, where a particular offence admits more than one form of mens rea the conviction does not discriminate between the various requisite mental states and thus denies accurate ascriptions of moral culpability over a large area of mental attitude toward proscribed harm. I shall offer a new structure of wens rea which would be constituted by (i) direct intention, (ii) comcomitant intention, (iii) purpose, (iv) objective, (v) gross recklessness, (vi) simple recklessness, (vii) gross negligence and (viii) simple negligence. I shall argue that the proposed structure is preferable since the more sophisticated set of fault terms would be (1) conceptually clear, consistent and coherent, (ii) would be more terminologically consistent and (iii) would more clearly express the moral status of the agent in each case concerning the harm brought about by him. I shall demonstrate that the proposed structure is more able to express differences in moral culpability because (i) the more sophisticated set of mens rea terms would provide a better gradation in moral fault and (ii) it would be a requirement of the proposed structure of mens rea that the court or jury determine the precise mental state with which the agent perpetrates a criminal offence and that mental state would be recorded with the conviction.

First, this work proposes a study of the origin, elements and application of the Compliance Program or, also named, Regulatory Compliance Program. The aforementioned program is understood as an internal device that corporations use not only to comply with the current legislation but also to prevent and detect legal violations they could be found in or as part of the activities they carry out.Second, it tries to explain and develop the connection between, on one hand, the new risks in the financial and technological development and, on the other hand, Criminal Law as a protective body of important legal assets for society. The aim is to analyze Criminal Compliance to get the corporationto manage its activities under current legislation, especially Criminal Law.In this regard, it enlarges the sectoral developments based on the Peruvian Government’s implementation of the the Compliance Program in the legal framework.Finally, it analyzes the impact of Criminal Compliance in the criminal legal framework. For that end, it refers to the criminal liability system in Peru and in what way it impacts on the application of Criminal Compliance.
El trabajo propone, en primer lugar, un estudio del origen, los elementos y la aplicación del Compliance Program o, también llamado, Programa de Cumplimiento Normativo, entendido como un dispositivo interno que las empresas implementan para cumplir con la normatividad vigente, así como para prevenir y detectar las infracciones legales que se produzcan dentro de las mismas o como parte de las actividades que estas realizan. Asimismo, se intenta explicar y desarrollar la relación entre los nuevos riesgos, debido al desarrollo económico y tecnológico, y el derecho penal como ente protector de bienes jurídicos de importancia para la sociedad. Esto último tiene como finalidad analizar el Criminal Compliance, destinado a que la empresa ordene su actividad conforme a la normativa aplicable, en especial la ley penal. En tal sentido, se desarrolla la aplicación que el Estado peruano ha realizado del referido Programa de Cumplimiento Normativo en el ordenamiento jurídico, en concreto los avances sectoriales. Finalmente, se analiza el impacto del Criminal Compliance en el ordenamiento jurídico penal. Para ello, se hace una referencia al sistema de responsabilidad penal adoptado en el Perú y de qué manera esto impacta en la aplicación del Criminal Compliance.

This thesis addresses the nature of European Union criminal law (ECL). It claims that ECL has evolved along two main expanding dynamics, both with a significant punitive emphasis. The first dynamic of ECL focuses on the fight against a particular type of criminality that the European Union perceives as threatening to its goals - ‘Euro-crime’ - a criminality with particular features (complex in structure and which attempts primarily against public goods) that reflects the nature of contemporary societies. This focus was brought about by rationales such as the fight against organised crime, the protection of EU interests and policies, and recently, the protection of the victim. In turn, the second dynamic of ECL reinforces the State’s capacity to investigate, prosecute and punish beyond its own national borders. It does so, not only in relation to Euro-crime, but also in relation to a broader range of criminality. This thesis will further argue that these two dynamics have contributed to a more severe penality across the European Union by increasing levels of formal criminalisation; by facilitating criminal investigation, prosecution and punishment; and by placing more pressure on more lenient States. Furthermore, it will claim that this punitive emphasis of ECL has, more recently, begun to be nuanced. This has taken place at the national level as some Member States have shown reluctance to fully accepting the enhanced punitive tone of ECL instruments. It has also taken place at EU level as the punitive emphasis of EU legal instruments was modulated and the protection of fundamental rights has taken a more central place in the ‘post Lisbon’ framework. Thus, at this later stage of ECL a dialectic between punitiveness and moderation began to surface.

UN police are involved in establishing the rule of law, in UN Peace Operations. However, they themselves commit serious crimes, but are not generally prosecuted. This is likely to have an impact on the UN’s effectiveness and legitimacy. Are the UN’s mechanisms for addressing criminal accountability effective? If there is a problem, how can it be mitigated? To answer these questions, the qualifications, qualities and functions of UN police were identified. Next, an attempt was made to quantify the problem of their criminal behaviour. Current accountability mechanisms were assessed. Jurisdictional and immunity issues were examined as potential barriers to prosecution. Finally, the obligations of States and the UN to investigate and prosecute criminal acts committed by UN police were examined. Research confirmed that UN police officers commit serious crimes, but probably mostly while not on duty. Whether officers commit crimes appears to be linked more to their personal integrity than their functions. In the main, they are not being called to account. In addition, the UN is not effective in generating information fit for use in criminal proceedings. However, the laws on jurisdiction and immunity do not constitute legal barriers to accountability, although immunity poses some problems in practice. The principal problem appears to be the lack of political will to bring prosecutions. The finding that States, and arguably the UN, have an obligation to investigate and prosecute crimes may encourage prosecution. The lack of criminal accountability of the UN police appears to be linked to the mismatch between the ambitious Peace Operation mandates and the number of qualified personnel these attract. The UN also lacks transparency, which makes it difficult accurately to determine the scale of the problem. It is recommended that these issues be discussed frankly in the UN’s political organs.

This thesis is the conclusion of doctoral research that pursued to examine whether indigenous peoples’ demands for access to their cultural practices can be accommodated within criminal law. In a globalised context in which states become increasingly multicultural this question raises fear of social fragmentation and the anxiety for achieving unity. Certainly, Rwanda and Kosovo evidence that claims to access culturally diverse practices may lead to war or even genocide. The context of the thesis is a more benign form of response to these claims: accommodation. While accommodation in general has received great attention from scholars (Kymlicka 1989, Gutmann et al 1994, Tully 1995), within criminal law the only focus has been cultural defences (Renteln 2004, Kymlicka et al 2014). However, little research has been conducted to understand the broader implications of this phenomenon for both the accommodated and the accommodating. The research aims to shed light on these broader implications of accommodation by exploring it within criminal law. Certainly, the simplicity and individualised nature of cultural defence conceals what is at stake for both the accommodated and the accommodating. Specifically, it conceals how criminal law cannot be responsive to the claims of minorities because it seeks to maintain the practices of the constitutional order of which criminal law is part. The result is that the claims of indigenous peoples cannot be accommodated. In order to uncover these implications, the research employs social holism (Pettit 1998) to develop a broader understanding of criminal law as a socio-cultural practice, which enables an adequate description and assessment of the diversity of claims to recognition that minorities make to the state of which they are part. In broadening the view the claims of minorities become linked to their position within the constitutional order (Tully 1995), and then the question arises as to whether minorities have been unjustly excluded or included (Lindahl 2013) in that order, which may lead to recognise a new plurality of responses that the state and its criminal law should provide to them. By broadening the understanding of criminal law it is enabled an adequate framework for the assessment of the phenomenon of accommodation. Certainly, this is necessary for claims to access diverse cultural and social practices to be met with justice, for the state’s responses need to be sensitive to the diversity of claims put forward by minorities, without overlooking that the state as well need to access its particular social and cultural practices.

There are increasing numbers of defendants seeking to rely on the occurrence of sleepwalking or some other parasomnia in their defence to a criminal charge. Consequently this has become a matter for public concern, particularly in relation to sexual assaults committed after alcohol consumption. This study used ethnographic methods to understand how the expert witnesses assess the accused in these cases, and then present their evidence to the jury. It also looked at the two-way interactions between law and medical science, and the difficulties each field has with the other. Sleepwalking in particular is an under-researched condition, with the basic phenomenology not fully explored yet. The experts must often rely on professional experience and give opinions, rather than relying on solid scientific evidence. Juries rarely return the special verdict, and victims are left dissatisfied by the incredible nature of the defence. The law pertaining to automatism and insanity is complicated and out of step with medical science. The Law Commission has recently examined this tricky area of law and recommended reform. The study concludes that the standard of expert evidence is generally good, although further work is needed to examine the specifics of how opinion and test results are presented to the jury. A number of recommendations are made about the standard of admissibility, legal reform and future directions of research.

The cultural forms of modernity become truly modern only when specific experience, as opposed to tradition or faith, is made the basis of epistemological authority. By taking the primary examples of law and literature, this thesis argues that the criminal trial and realist novel of the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries perfectly conform to this statement. But by the early twentieth-century, experience had, as Walter Benjamin put it, ‘fallen in value’. As such, the modernist novel and trial come to have foundations in a non-experience which nullifies identity, subverts repetition and supplants presence with absence. The philosophical basis of experience, its fundamental basis within the novel and trial, and the theoretical manifestations of its dissolving, are outlined in the substantial Introduction to this thesis. Chapter One then specifically examines E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India (1924) within the context of the administration of justice in British India. Adela Quested’s supposed assault within the Marabar cave is argued to be a non-event which in no way conforms to the modern sense of experience outlined in the Introduction. This resonates with the state of the trial in British India, in which many magistrates became convinced of the rampant perjury of the natives, turning their decisions into a matter of deciding between the less untrue of two false accounts. Like the non-event in the Marabar cave, the crime that was supposedly at the heart of the trial, the experience at its core, was thus slipping from view. In the second part of Chapter One, it is argued that in his theoretical work, Aspects of the Novel (1927), Forster, responding to anxieties about the novel’s experiential loss, attempted to codify the laws of the realism. This project had much in common with the Acts of legal codification that took place in British India in the 1860s and ‘70s, particularly that of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen’s Indian Evidence Act 1872, which sought to retain a form of representation that was congruent with a traditional conception of experience, thus safeguarding judgment. In Chapter Two, Ford Madox Ford’s The Good Soldier (1915) is analysed in the light of legal developments in expert witnessing and criminal identification. One of the specific issues of Ford’s novel is the kind of identity it portrays. Without commensurable experiences that can be reasonably assimilated and communicated, the identities of The Good Soldier resist the common recognition of a realist character. Legal developments in the attribution of responsibility and the identification of criminals are argued to parallel the methods by which Ford’s ‘Literary Impressionism’, by contrast, provides the image of his actors. In many ways, these issues were matters for expert witnesses, a growing number of whom were taking the stand in British courts. By taking judgment out of the hand of the layman, expertise was supplanting experience. But this was not limited to the legal forum – in the final part of Chapter Two it is suggested that Ford’s novel, itself, responds to a sense of expert reading. Chapter Three discusses Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time (1913-1927) in connection to two points of legal interest. Firstly, the Dreyfus case, which, in its reliance upon absent evidence parallels the denigration of presence that exists in Proust’s novel. Secondly, Dreyfus’ supporters, in calling for a re-trial, asked for a certain form of repetition to take place. The repetitious legal forms of review, appeal, and precedent are then examined in relation to the various forms of repetition that exist within Proust’s work. By utilising Platonic, Nietzschean, and Freudian theories of repetition, it is argued that experience has truly fallen in value when the origins of repetition can be only obliquely discerned. In the Conclusion, the continuity of a realist tradition, and a modernist impulse of non-experience, will be traced in contemporary works – Ian McEwan’s Atonement (2001) and The Staircase (2005), a documentary film by Jean-Xavier De Lestrade about a real murder trial in North Carolina. Finally, a view is offered of the future of experience in the novel and courtroom: one which, based upon John D. Caputo’s reading of Jacques Derrida’s work, stresses the ethical nature of doing truth and making reality in the very act of allowing experience to slip away.

This thesis examines the sex industry as a whole with the intention of establishing that prostitution should not be marginalised but integrated within the criminal law and regulated as other Sexual Entertainment Venues. I first establish a framework of analysis needed to illuminate the constraints put upon the different elements of commercial sexual activities. This framework stems from the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) 2003, the primary statute that regulates all sexual activities, whether commercial or non-commercial. It has four elements: consent, nature, purpose and visibility. By means of ‘black letter’ law and case histories, I then explore three areas within the sex industry: pornography, live sexual entertainment and prostitution in order to show that the element of consent is consistent throughout and relies solely on the SOA 2003 and is linked directly to the nature of the sexual activities. The nature of the sexual activities has its basis in non-commercial sexual activities, but is regulated in the sex industry in such a way that the nature differs between each commercial area. By contrast, the purpose remains constant in commercial sexual activities although it is at odds with non-commercial. All aspects of consensual sexual activities, whether commercial or non-commercial, must not be visible for unintended viewers. However, advertising of commercial sex is possible and thus visible, with the exception of prostitution. With regards to prostitution, legislation criminalises prostitutes who advertise and their mere presence constitutes a form of advertising. The public presence of prostitutes as well as the presence of their clients also creates the grounds for public nuisance. I then suggest, based on the above information, that statutory legislation could include the use of brothels, this stems from the New Zealand model, in order to respond to issues raised about consent and visibility, as well as extend the protection offered to prostitutes to other sectors of the sex industry when they are confronted with the issue of consent.

The concept of state penalising a person for his or her failure to act must be understood and analysed as transcending a criminal responsibility for something that a person has failed to do. The idea that, unless a person complies with the obligations imposed by the state and acts accordingly, he or she will receive a court sentence, is related to the principle of legality in criminal law, individual liberty to act, and the rule of law. This article will underline the concept of improper omission, and how the criminal liability for improper omission is affecting individual liberty. Should there be a general responsibility to help other persons? Which are the obligations, whose neglect should result in criminal responsibility? Should there be situations, expressly regulated by the law, in which a person, although he or she has omitted to do something, should not be held criminally responsible? These are some of the questions I intend to answer in this article, offering a theoretical presentation of the main theories of responsibility for omissions. In conclusion, a theoretical study about criminal responsibility for omissions is, in essence, a study about the rule of law and individual liberty.

In the criminal justice system, the victim is a party whose rights, including the right to redress of harm, are protected by the Constitution and general principles of law. At the same time, the victim is obliged to participate in criminal proceedings in order to provide significant facts both for the investigation and for the person who has the right to defence. Therefore, this paper examines the role of the victim in achievement of the purpose of criminal proceedings: fair regulation of criminal legal relations.

The contemporary world often sees a contradiction between the actions of states to advocate their own interests and the interests of the international community in combating the most dangerous crimes. In the field of international criminal law, the problem of imbalance between interests of particular states (‘private’ interests), and the interests of the international community in general ‘public’ interests) is especially evident. This imbalance indirectly manifests in the occurrence of contentious situations during the criminalisation of international crimes in national law. This article covers the problem of the imbalance of interests, from its general philosophical underpinnings to specific manifestations in criminal law. This objective mediates the construction of the article according to the principle ‘from the general to the particular’: from the general problem of the relation of the interests of the state and the global community through the prism of international criminal law to the specific problems of criminalisation in domestic law. The article was prepared with the use of historical, comparative-legal, and formal-juridical methods. The ain provisions of the article are illustrated with examples from international and national law, supported by quotations from philosophers and contemporary scholars of the philosophy of international law. The author begins by exploring the development of ideas of sovereignty as a private interest of the state. Upon establishing that the evolution of sovereignty ideas has not led to its uniform understanding and consistency with the interests of international law, the author delves into the problems of international criminal law. The author adresses the problems occurring during the criminalisation of international crimes in the framework of domestic law. The author makes a conclusion regarding the possible ways of national law refinement for strengthening the interaction of states in the field of international criminal law.

Accurate determination of the place of preliminary investigation indicates adherence to the principle of legality in criminal proceedings and the achievement of goals on the protection of rights and lawful interests of the affected parties, as well as on protection of individual from wrongful and unfounded accusations and restrictions of their rights and freedoms. Science addresses the general questions pertaining to determination of the place of preliminary investigation, but does not give due attention to realization of discretionary powers of the higher investigating authority to determination of the place of preliminary investigation. The article reveals the essential conditions for application of such power by the investigating authority, and analyzes case law for compliance with these conditions. The conclusion is made that legislation does not contain clear and specific rules for determination of the place of preliminary investigation, including the territorial jurisdiction of advocating for the election or extension of pre-trial detention. The author describes the flaws in legal regulation associated with the possibility of determination of jurisdiction of a case in administrative proceedings, by means of law enforcement decision prior to the emergence of legal situation (for example, before submission of a request for the election or extension of pre-trial detention) by lowering the rank of investigating authority, for example to district level. From the practical perspective, elimination of such flaws should facilitate the proper application of the corresponding legal norm, as well as accurate determination of the place of preliminary investigation.

This article is devoted to the study of the essence and content of institutions of exemption from criminal responsibility and punishment. It is concluded that exemption from criminal responsibility and punishment as two types of criminal protection serve to implement the principles of humanism and justice in criminal law; ensure that the convict is corrected without criminal coercion.

The EU enlargement policy requires creation of the new institutional organization, alignment of legal acts, increasing capacities of administration in the candidate countries. In relation to the Western Balkans the conditionality has an increased focus on good governance criteria, particularly maintenance of the rule of law, an independent judiciary, and an efficient public administration. To address raised concerns of the EU accession process in the Western Balkans as a box-ticking exercise, the European Commission in February 2018, adopted the Credible Enlargement Perspective for an Enhanced EU Engagement with the Western Balkans’ strategy, which introduced some renewed policy objective on the future enlargement of the EU including fundamental democratic, rule of law and economic reforms. In March 2020 the Council of the EU officially endorsed Commission proposal for a new enlargement methodology that is based on grouping the negotiation chapters in clusters, based on their interconnection, which requires tangible progress in all chapters merged to a cluster. The above-mentioned introduction of a new methodology and the decisions of the WesternBalkans candidate countries to apply it, correspond in time with the ongoing Europe and worldwide struggle to overcome challenges imposed by COVID-19 outbreak. The response to the pandemic influenced on the functioning of judiciary across the world and the rule of law in general. To respond to pandemic EU members states accepted new standards in relation to judiciary which tend to be threat or suspension for fundamental rights protection and right to fair trial. Outbreak of COVID-19 revealed new trends in rule of law like limited access to the lawyer in criminal cases, use of IT tools for trials, and cancelation or limitation of public hearings. The scope and modalities of such rule of law exemptions differ across the EU member states. Introduced measures and responses shed a completely new light on the issues of relevant standards in the accession process and modality to be addressed and implemented in the candidate countries. Finally, this also triggers the issue of evaluation and assessment of the reform achievements in candidate countries by EC when measuring the progress. In the analysis of the abovementioned issues the authors assessed whether derogation of the well-established rule of law principles influenced on EU accession requirements towards candidate countries and whether they temporary changed understanding and implementation of the fundamental rights or made permanent transformations in understanding of rule of law requirements.

The article is devoted to the consideration of the phenomenon of «friendly fire» in modern military conflicts and the development of general criminal-legal approaches to its assessment. The article analyzes the causes of «friendly fire», discusses its types and provides the most famous cases of «fire on their own» in military history. Еhe article contains recommendations for determining the guilt of persons who committed cases of «friendly fire» and compares the phenomenon under consideration with the criminal-legal category of extreme necessity

The general objective of this study was to assess the knowledge of the main principles of economic liberty and free market, and the affinity with them in Puerto Rico. A questionnaire was constructed and administered that included the dimensions “current situation,” “economic liberty,” “free market,” “individual liberty,” “rule of law,” “property rights,” “limited government,” “challenges of free market,” “moral agency,” “social welfare,” and “meritocracy.” In addition, a ranking of a series of principles of economic liberty and free market was created, according to their importance to participants and the functioning of those principles in Puerto Rico.

From January 22 to 25, 2018, RTI International, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE) held the 2018 Impression, Pattern and Trace Evidence Symposium (IPTES) in Arlington, VA, to promote collaboration, enhance knowledge transfer, and share best practices and policies for the impression, pattern, and trace evidence forensic science communities. NIJ and FTCoE are committed to improving the practice of forensic science and strengthening its impact through support of research and development, rigorous technology evaluation and adoption, effective knowledge transfer and education, and comprehensive dissemination of best practices and guidelines to agencies dedicated to combating crime. The future of forensic sciences and its contribution to the public and criminal justice community is a motivating topic to gather expertise in a forum to discuss, learn, and share ideas. It’s about becoming part of an essential and historic movement as the forensic sciences continue to advance. The IPTES was specifically designed to bring together practitioners and researchers to enhance information-sharing and promote collaboration among the impression, pattern, and trace evidence analysts, law enforcement, and legal communities. The IPTES was designed to bring together practitioners and researchers to enhance information sharing and promote collaboration among impression, pattern, and trace evidence analysts, law enforcement, and legal communities. This set of proceedings comprises abstracts from workshops, general sessions, breakout sessions, and poster presentations.

The purpose of the work is to determine the specifics of the worldview foundations of bioethics, their structure, nature and essence of man in the context of the “new experience” in the field of biotechnology. Research methods - philosophical and general logical.”New experience” in the field of biotechnology, as a stimulating discussion of anthropological, axiological and social problems, must be guided by the strategy of personal preservation and the methodology of human integrity and have value-worldview attitudes as real prerequisites. In the new ethics, the fundamental principles of two historically established systems - individualism and conciliarism (collectivism) are considered in the form of complement, not contradictory. We are only talking about their ratio and the degree of demand. At the same time, the state and society, and not “personal law”, are of decisive importance.

Estamos ante una encrucijada global de proporciones nunca vistas. El planeta se calienta más rápido de lo esperado y enfrentamos condiciones climáticas cada vez más extremas, lo que pone en riesgo la sostenibilidad de la vida humana en el mediano y largo plazo. El nivel de los océanos está aumentando, los arrecifes de coral están muriendo, las especies se están extinguiendo, los glaciares se están derritiendo y las condiciones climáticas extremas se hacen cada vez más frecuentes con intensas olas de calor, inundaciones, huracanes, incendios y/o sequías. Para hacer frente a esta compleja situación, todos, personas e instituciones en los ámbitos nacional, regional y global, tenemos que hacer nuestra parte para evitar llegar a un punto de no retorno. Aunque Colombia solo genera el 0,6 % de los gases de efecto invernadero (GEI), es uno de los veinte países más amenazados por la crisis climática. Nuestro país alberga el 50 % de los páramos del mundo y es catalogado como una potencia en agua, biodiversidad y ambiente, aloja alrededor del 10 % de la fauna y flora del mundo, teniendo por ello un rol central en los esfuerzos globales que se realizan para mitigar los efectos del cambio climático. También es reconocido por ser el segundo país con más alta presencia en biodiversidad en la tierra, goza de dos océanos, cinco vertientes hidrográficas, ríos, lagunas y ciénagas, siendo de esta manera el agua un recurso fundamental para el desarrollo de las generaciones futuras. El país cuenta con grandes extensiones de páramos, los cuales son la fuente del 70 % de agua dulce en nuestro país y comparte al sur de nuestras fronteras con la Amazonía, considerada la selva tropical más extensa del planeta y el pulmón del mundo. Una porción representativa de ese 10 % del total de la biodiversidad mundial que tiene nuestro país, se encuentra dentro del Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (SINAP), del que hace parte el Sistema de Parques Nacionales Naturales y las Reservas Forestales (más de 17 millones de hectáreas), una fuente importante de bienes y servicios ecosistémicos, entre los cuales, el suministro del recurso hídrico incluye más del 62 % de los nacimientos de los acuíferos nacionales y abastece a casi un 80 % de la población colombiana. Así mismo, protege lagunas y ciénagas que contienen el 20 % de los recursos hídricos que abastecen la generación de energía eléctrica del país. En estas áreas protegidas se conservan muestras representativas de los ecosistemas naturales marinos y continentales, los cuales, además de albergar un gran número de especies de fauna y flora, contribuyen a la regulación del clima y protegen las cuencas hidrográficas. Es así como por su especial importancia ecológica, los Parques Nacionales Naturales tienen la función de conservar, proteger y salvaguardar sus ecosistemas de especial valor por medio del Estado y de los particulares. Esta gran riqueza ambiental del país está siendo amenazada por el uso indebido de los recursos naturales, lo que genera un acelerado deterioro de los ecosistemas, alterando su funcionalidad y poniendo en riesgo la biodiversidad. Esta problemática se ha convertido en un reto de primer orden para el Estado colombiano, sus autoridades ambientales y la sociedad en general. El Sector Defensa no ha sido ajeno a esta realidad, por lo que en el marco definido por la ley, la Presidencia de la República y el Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible, ha reconocido el potencial desestabilizador de las afectaciones causadas por las diversas actividades ilícitas de los Grupos Armados Organizados (GAO), los Grupos Delincuenciales Organizados (GDO) y ciudadanos que hacen un uso indebido de los recursos naturales. Fenómenos como la siembra de cultivos ilícitos, la extracción ilícita de minerales, la tala indiscriminada, la ganadería extensiva, el acaparamiento de tierras, la pesca ilegal, la contaminación, el vertimiento de sustancias peligrosas y el tráfico ilegal de flora y fauna, han debilitado los ecosistemas nacionales. Estas actividades ilegales afectan los recursos hídricos del país, los suelos, los páramos y la atmósfera, produciendo efectos negativos que generan deforestación, pérdida de hábitats, extinción de especies, la destrucción de fuentes de agua, el deterioro de las tierras de cultivos e impactos negativos en las reservas forestales y las áreas que integran el Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (SINAP). La degradación ambiental que hemos visto no solo es utilizada por las organizaciones criminales para obtener recursos que les permiten sostener su accionar delictivo en diversas zonas del país, más grave aún, se constituye en un atentado directo contra el porvenir de las generaciones futuras. Es por ello que el Sector Defensa ha reconocido el agua, la biodiversidad y el medio ambiente como activos estratégicos de interés nacional, con un carácter principal y prevalente, buscando apoyar con sus capacidades a las autoridades ambientales del país, con el fin de realizar acciones cada vez más eficaces contra las organizaciones criminales responsables del deterioro ambiental. Es en ese contexto surge la idea de este libro, que busca presentar la problemática que se enfrenta y visibilizar las acciones realizadas por el Sector Defensa en coordinación con las autoridades ambientales, con el fin de apoyar la defensa de estos activos estratégicos, así como prevenir los daños futuros a los mismos, en aras de trabajar en la protección de los recursos naturales, bajo una visión multidimensional de la seguridad. El Ministerio de Defensa (MDN) ha sido consciente de los desafíos climáticos a los que se enfrenta, no solo el Sector, sino el territorio nacional, en cuanto a los impactos cada vez mayores derivados de las condiciones meteorológicas extremas y la explotación de los recursos. Por ello, el Sector ha trabajado para alinearse con la Política Nacional de Cambio Climático, los compromisos del país ante la Contribución Nacionalmente Determinada (NDC), el cumplimiento del CONPES 4021 de diciembre de 2020 para el Control de la Deforestación y la Gestión Sostenible de Bosques, para así aportar con acciones de adaptación, mitigación y gestión del riesgo ante el cambio climático y variabilidad climática mediante del Plan de Gestión de Cambio Climático del Sector Defensa (PIGCCSD). Este libro reúne los principales resultados del Sector Defensa en materia de protección del medio ambiente y resalta la articulación de las políticas, así como de la operativización de las mismas por parte de las Fuerzas Militares y la Policía Nacional, por la protección de los recursos naturales de la Nación, una responsabilidad que ha quedado claramente plasmada en la “Estrategia Artemisa”, que es un esfuerzo permanente, sostenido, conjunto, coordinado, e interinstitucional que permitirá proteger y defender el agua, la biodiversidad y el medio ambiente como activos estratégicos de la Nación, a partir de la lucha contra la deforestación, sus causas directas o subyacentes y contrarrestar los efectos del cambio climático, como también la lucha contra la explotación ilícita de minerales, contra los cultivos ilícitos que afectan el medio ambiente y el conjunto de actividades de control y vigilancia que apoya nuestra Fuerza Pública para la defensa de los recursos naturales. Trabajando de forma articulada con la Fiscalía, el Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible, el Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales (Ideam), y la Unidad de Parques Nacionales Naturales, en diversas zonas del país, la Estrategia Artemisa ha permitido brindar apoyo a las autoridades ambientales y administrativas, para preservar y defender el agua, la biodiversidad y el medio ambiente en las áreas de reserva forestal, áreas protegidas y 59 Parques Nacionales Naturales. Mediante la Directiva Permanente 008 del 22 de marzo de 2022, el MDN institucionalizó e impartió lineamientos e instrucciones al Comando General de las Fueras Militares, la Dirección General de la Policía Nacional y la Unidad de Gestión General del MDN, con el propósito de implementar medidas, desplegar operaciones, actividades de apoyo y gestión ambiental, para la implementación de la Estrategia Artemisa. De esta forma y bajo un enfoque sostenido, conjunto, coordinado, interinstitucional y multilateral, se trabajará para incluir dentro de la doctrina militar y policial las acciones relacionadas con la protección del agua, la diversidad y el medio ambiente, al tiempo que se concentrarán los esfuerzos de inteligencia en la identificación del modus operandi de las organizaciones criminales que afectan el medio ambiente, desarrollando operaciones contra los GAO y los GDO que atentan contra el medio ambiente. Desde el 2019 a la fecha se han realizado diecisiete (17) operaciones sobre las áreas de los Parques Nacionales Naturales, especialmente en las regiones de la Amazonía y la Orinoquía, como son los Parques Nacionales Naturales (PNN) Serranía de Chiribiquete, PNN La Paya, PNN Tinigua, PNN Picachos, PNN Sierra de La Macarena, la Zona de Reserva Forestal de la Amazonía y la Reserva Natural Nukak. Se han dispuesto, para esta campaña, 22.300 hombres de la Fuerza Pública, que, desde sus respectivas unidades militares y policiales resguardan las áreas protegidas del territorio nacional. Estas unidades incluyen: 10 batallones de alta montaña (páramos), una brigada contra el narcotráfico, una brigada contra la minería ilegal, unidades de guardacostas, infantería de marina y efectivos de la Policía Nacional. El Sector Defensa es consciente de que a futuro será fundamental continuar fortaleciendo las capacidades de la Fuerza Pública para, en el marco de sus competencias, continuar apoyando a las autoridades ambientales, entes territoriales y a la comunidad en la defensa y preservación del agua, la biodiversidad y el medio ambiente como activos estratégicos de la Nación. Será fundamental profundizar la disrupción del delito de la explotación ilícita de minerales, mediante el desmantelamiento de las economías ilícitas que se lucran de ella y de la afectación de la cadena criminal. En igual medida, será vital apoyar la recuperación de los ecosistemas más afectados por las actividades ilegales, por medio de actividades de restauración de áreas, del trabajo articulado con las comunidades, la construcción y mantenimiento de viveros forestales y el fortalecimiento a las investigaciones científicas lideradas desde la Armada Nacional y la Dirección General Marítima para la protección de los océanos, el recurso hídrico y sus ecosistemas. De esta forma será posible continuar trabajando en la reducción de los riesgos que se ciernen sobre los ecosistemas del país y disminuir los índices de deforestación, y tras la búsqueda de soluciones que contribuyan a la reducción y mitigación de los GEI. Esta estrategia que ha puesto en marcha el Sector Defensa y que es recogido en esta obra, presenta los aportes sectoriales del trabajo interinstitucional que se han venido realizando en los últimos años, siendo un ejemplo de la forma en la que se pueden sumar esfuerzos para contribuir a la superación de la encrucijada global que nos afecta a todos y que debe ser enfrentada con un esfuerzo común.