Characterization of crimes committed by groups of persons in crowded places
Characterization of crimes is one of the most important and responsible stages of the application of the provisions of the law on criminal liability. Correct qualification of crimes is a necessary condition for the implementation of the principle of legality in criminal proceedings, perfect and legally balanced criminal proceedings at the stage of pre-trial investigation and consideration of cases in court, the appointment of fair and reasonable punishment for persons found guilty by a court sentence, or their release from criminal liability or from punishment. The regulation of the institution of complicity existing in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation raises a number of questions regarding the qualification of crimes committed by group of persons. Modern researchers pay attention to certain shortcomings in the interpretation of the application of certain provisions of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provide for liability for crimes committed by accomplices. In particular, these are flaws in a systematic approach to resolving the issues of characterization of such crimes; lack of unity of understanding of the varieties of forms of complicity, their relationship, signs, their characterizing; the lack of clear criteria for delimiting the acts of accomplices and the imperfection of the development of rules for the characterization of these acts; lack of unity and balanced terminology.