Articles

The concept of interpretation in constitutional law covers a wide range of meanings, each of which relates the definition of the meaning of the text to solution of a particular task, and to performance of a certain function. Defining the meaning of a text means not only to know, describe and explain, to solve and apply, but also to observe interpretation rules, be a participant or observer of the interpretation process, enter into an interpretation dialogue, and in some cases, concretize, develop and even shape the law.

The article raises the question of the appropriateness of applying Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for the qualification of crimes committed by medical workers in the field of professional activity. The author examines certain issues of the theory of qualification of crimes, referring to the works of famous scientists. The article also examines the official acts of the highest judicial bodies, analyzes the law enforcement practice.

Despite the requirement for clarity of terminology, the text of the criminal law has polysemy — the ability of a word, phrase, or other constructive object to have several meanings. The article analyzes the most problematic, according to the author, phenomena of polysemy in the criminal legislation of Russia. Some aspects of interbranch polysemy are considered. The terms with ambiguous or undefined definitions are identified, the real problems of law enforcement related to polysemy in criminal law are fixed, the main causes of the polysemy are identified, and ways to overcome the duality of interpretation of criminal law terms are indicated.

The article discuses the circumstances in which the appearance of self-incrimination and reservation on the part of the person held criminally liable. The main criteria are given that allow one to assess the reliability of a person’s confession of guilt in a crime and to distinguish between true and false confessions. When assessing the confession obtained, it is necessary to take into account how fully and accurately the accused (suspect) is aware of the circumstances and details of the criminal event. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the possible suggestive nature of the various investigative actions used in the process of incriminating a person of a committed crime, presenting material evidence and other factual information.

Federation Council is the chamber of the Federal Assembly of Russia (parliament of the Russian Federation). The author analyzes the procedures for the formation of the chamber — in the past and at present. Attention is drawn to the fact that in this process the sending of federal and regional functionaries to the Council of the Federation is prevailing. The author suggests proceeding to the election of members of the Federation Council by the population of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The article deals with the problems of practical application of Article 172.2 of the Criminal code of the Russian Federation. The emphasis is focused on the consideration of the features of its construction, entailing the qualification of acts related to criminal fundraising schemes as fraud under Article 159 of the Criminal code of the Russian Federation.

The article analyzes the problems of applying to persons aged 18–20 years the provisions of Chapter 14 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on the specifics of criminal liability and punishment of minors. The author concludes on the basis of a generalization of judicial practice materials on the problems under consideration.

The article analyzes courts decisions on crimes under art. 242 paragraph 3(b) and art. 242.1 paragraph 2(g) of the Russian Criminal Code. The author differentiates the concepts of “telecommunication networks” and “online media”. Special attention is paid to the issue of determination whether a person has intent on placement and distribution of pornographic materials or objects by the means of file-sharing (peer-to-peer) networks.