The use of information and telecommunication networks for criminal purposes: regulatory accounting and prospects for expanding criminal law authority

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

The rapid digital transformation of crime determines the high importance of criminal law regulation, which, according to some scholars, requires modernization to ensure a stricter state censure of persons encroaching on security in the information and communication space. Critically assessing this proposal, whose implementation will entail numerous norms that are constructively inconsistent with the requirements of non-characteristic property of a qualifying feature for acts, which threatens to artificially increase the danger of crime, the author proposes to amend the law, ensuring a unified definition of the relevant objective feature. The totality and multivariability of the use of information and telecommunication networks for criminal purposes actualizes the issue of determining the boundaries within which the involvement of communication reserves of the relevant technologies will form a mechanism for a criminal act, the significance of which has increased due to the broad interpretation by the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of the relevant objective feature in relation to the composition paragraph "b" part 2 Article 228.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The systematic implementation of the law may serve as a basis for a broad definition of this feature also within the framework of other compositions, posing a threat of judicial penalization of acts. The repressive nature of criminal law regulation precludes hasty reforming of the law, devoid of criminological substantiation. The decision to expand the differentiating meaning of the analyzed objective feature may be dictated by the emergence in society of social relations that are not regulated by law, giving rise to acts that pose danger, or to ensure a unified normative definition of related criminal acts. The methodological basis is made up of general scientific (analysis and synthesis, dialectics) and private scientific research methods (criminal-statistical, systemic structural, formal legal).

About the authors

Nina Yu. Skripchenko

Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov

Author for correspondence.
Email: n.skripchenko@narfu.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2445-2231
SPIN-code: 9849-8083

Doctor of Legal Sciences, Full Professor of the Department of Criminal Law and Procedure

17 nab. Northern Dvina, Arkhangelsk, 163002, Russian Federation

References

  1. Artyushinа, O.V. (2019) Violent Crime and IT Technology. Lex russica. (9), 77-84. https://doi.org/10.17803/1729-5920.2019.154.9.077-084 (in Russian).
  2. Bazelon, D.L., Choi, Y.J. & Conaty, J.F. (2006) Computer Crimes. The American criminal law review. 43(2), 259-310.
  3. Babaev, M.M. & Pudovochkin, Yu.E. (2021) Criminality and criminal justice policy. Journal of Russian Law. 25(12), 26-40. https://doi.org/10.12737/jrl.2021.145 (in Russian).
  4. Begishev, I.R. (2022) Criminal legal protection of public relations related to robotics. Moscow, Prospekt Publ. (in Russian).
  5. Begishev, I.R. & Khisamova, Z.I. (2021) Artificial intelligence and criminal law. Moscow. Prospekt Publ. (in Russian).
  6. Bukalerova, L.A., Utorova, T.N. & Sizov, D.O. (2020) On the problem of artificial intelligence in criminal law. Penitentiary Science. 14(1), 72-80. (in Russian).
  7. Bykova, E.G. & Kazakov, A.A. (2022) Features of the imputation of a qualifying sign, provided for in paragraph “b” of Part 2 of Art. 2281 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Narkokontrol. (1), 15-20. https://doi.org/10.18572/2072-4160-2022-1-15-19 (in Russian).
  8. Efremova, M.A. & Lopatina, T.M. (2021) Robotics in the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation. Russian investigator. (11), 55-58. https://doi.org/10.18572/1812-3783-2021-11-55-58 (in Russian).
  9. Fortes, V.B. & Boff, S.O. (2017) An analysis of cybercrimes from a global perspective on penal law. Revista Brasileira de Direito. 13(1), 7-24.
  10. Golovanova, N.A., Gravina, A.A., Zaycev, O.A., Kashepov, V.P. & Koshaeva, T.O. (2019) Jurisdictional lawful activities within the criminal law sphere frame work in the context of digitalization: Monograph. Moscow, The Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation, CONTRACT Publ. (in Russian).
  11. Gerd, L. (2018) Technology vs humanity. Transl. from English by Yurkova, A.O., Kilina, M.Yu. & Glazkova, T.Yu. Foreword by Fedorova, M. Moscow, AST Publ. (in Russian).
  12. Grachevа, Yu.V., Malikov, S.V. & Chuchaev, A.I. (2020) Preventing deviations in the digital world by criminal law means. Law. The Journal of the Higher School of Economics. (1), 188-210. https://doi.org/10.17323/2072-8166.2020.1.188.210 (in Russian).
  13. Guk, P.A. & Korshunova, P.V. (2020) Unity of judicial practice as the distinctive value of justice. Journal of Russian Law. (12), 103-118. https://doi.org/10.12737/jrl.2020.151 (in Russian).
  14. Hancock, D.H. (2001) To What Extent Should Computer Related Crimes be the Subject of Specific Legislative Attention? Albany Law Journal of Science & Technology. (12), 97-98.
  15. Harlamova, A.A. (2016) To the question of the use of the term “information and telecommunication networks” in the Russian criminal legislation. State and law. (8), 93-98. (in Russian).
  16. Hromov, E.A. (2021) Problems of qualifying the sale of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues using the mass media or electronic or information and telecommunication networks (including the Internet). Criminologist. (3), 30-37. (in Russian).
  17. Kruglikov, L.L. & Vasilevsky, A.V. (2002) Differentiation of responsibility in criminal law. Saint-Peretsburg, Yuridicheskii centr Press Publ. (in Russian).
  18. Momotov, V.V. (2023) The space of law and the power of technology in the mirror of judicial practice: A modern view. Journal of Russian Law. (2), 112-123. https://doi.org/10.12737/jrp.2023.021. (in Russian).
  19. Milyukov, S.F. & Skripchenko, N.Yu. (2022) Strengthening Criminal Repression for Sexual Infringements: Regulatory Vision and Prospective Law Enforcement. All-Russian criminological journal. 16(5), 580-589. (in Russian).
  20. Nekrasov, V.N. (2019) Technologies in Russian Criminal Legislation: Problems and Prospects. Penitentiary Science. (3), 372-376. (in Russian).
  21. Russkevich, Е.A. (2017a) Criminal law counteraction to crimes committed with the use of information and communication technologies: textbook. Moscow, INFRA-M Publ. (in Russian).
  22. Russkevich, Е.A. (2017b) Criminal law and informatization. Journal of Russian Law. (8), 73-80. https://doi.org/10.12737/article_597714e7c1b439.5259306 (in Russian).
  23. Russkevich, Е.A. (2019) Criminal law and “digital crime”: problems and solutions. Moscow, INFRA-M Publ. (in Russian).
  24. Russkevich, E.A., Dmitrenko, A.P. & Kadnikov, N.G. (2022) Crisis and palingenesis (rebirth) of criminal law in the context of digitalization. Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. Law. 13(3), 585-598. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu14.2022.301 (in Russian).
  25. Shevko, N.R. & Chitai, Z.I. (2016) Problems of determining the objective side of crimes committed using modern information technologies. Bulletin of the Kazan Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. 3(25), 118-122. (in Russian).
  26. Shulman, H.M. (1952) Cultural Aspects of Criminal Responsibility. The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, And Police Science. 43(3), 323-327.
  27. Shutova, A.A. (2015) Modern trends in the use of information and telecommunications network in the process of committing a crime. Gaps in Russian legislation. (4), 205-208. (in Russian).
  28. Stephen P. Heymann (1997) Legislating Computer Crime. Harv. J. On Legis.
  29. Vasyukov, V.F., Volevodz, A.G., Dolgieva, M.M. & CHaplygina, V.N. (2023) Crimes in the sphere of high technologies and information security. Textbook. Volevodz, A.G. (ed.). Moscow, Ptometey Publ. (in Russian).
  30. Viano, E.C. (2017) Cybercrime: Definition, Typology, and Criminalization. In: Viano, E. (ed.). Cybercrime, Organized Crime, and Societal Responses. Springer, Cham. pp. 3-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44501-4_1
  31. Voronin, M.I. (2021) Features of evaluating electronic (digital) evidence. Actual problems of Russian law. (8), 118-128. https://doi.org/10.17803/1994-1471.2021.129.8.118-128 (in Russian).
  32. Wang Guanglong. (2022) Criminal law regulation of countering cybercrime in China: State, trends and shortcomings. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Law. (3), 661-677. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu14.2022.305 (in Russian).

Copyright (c) 2024 Skripchenko N.Y.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This website uses cookies

You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website.

About Cookies