The basis of liability in contemporary criminal law
Annotation: the article deals with the three main types of basis of liability in the contemporary criminal law: bipartite, tripartite and quadripartite classifications. It is shown their content and application in the criminal law as well. It is pointed out a tendency towards giving up of archaic terms of actus reus and mens rea in the common law countries towards broadening their notions and it is also pointed out the possibility of imposing of strict liability. Bipartite classification of basis of liability in the criminal law France and Italy sometimes is added by so called legal element (l'élément légal). It is shown that tripartite system is typical of criminal law of Germany, Japan and some other countries and quadripartite - of criminal law of Russia and states of SNG. It is underlined therein the advantages of the latter in comparison with the others. In this connection the author is critical about sayings of american scholar G. Fletcher towards the Russian criminal law in particular concerning his prognosis that the quadripartite system would unlikely to survive the jurisprudence of the post-communist period.