The Qualification Problems Of The Qualifying Characteristics For Crimes Against Human Life And Health

Abstract

The author highlights the errors in the formation of such characteristics for crimes against human life and health, as «against two or more persons», «on grounds concerning racial, national or religious intolerance», «concerning the minors and causing the death of the victim». In specific cases, to designate some of these characteristics a legislator uses different phrases, as well as the different interpretations of the identical terms that generally do not affect the content of such characteristics, but unreasonably diversifies the text of the criminal legal norms.

The author stresses the inadmissibility of repeated strengthening the characteristics of the crime components in those parts of the criminal legal norms, where the characteistics of the qualified components of these crimes are provided.

To improve the criminal legal norms it has been proposed to unify the terms that are used in the formulation of the qualifying characteristics, and some of them we propose to entrench into the criminal law that will facilitate their correct interpretation. In addition, in order to unify the criminal law norms we should develop clear criteria for selecting the qualifying characteristics that will make it possible to set them apart from the odd ones and will provide strict observance of the principles of criminal law when qualifying the committed crime and choosing the punishment for the guilty person.