Abstract
This article explores the criminal legislation of Russia and other countries that provides for responsibility for the commitment of computer-related crimes. Comparative legal analysis is carried out both at the level of national criminal legal systems (Russia, USA, China, France, Germany, etc.) and at the level of legal families: the Anglo-American (the UK, the USA), Romano-Germanic (France, Italy, Russia, Germany, etc.) the Scandinavian (Denmark, Sweden, Finland), socialist (China). Comparative legal research was performed according to the following criteria: the source of law that stipulates criminal responsibility for committing cyber crimes and the objective and subjective characteristics of corpus delicti. The article achieves several goals of scientific research. The cognitive goal is the study of the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation and foreign countries that regulates liability for the commission of cyber crimes. The informational goal is to present legally relevant information on the criminal legislation of Russia and that of foreign countries regarding responsibility for cyber crimes. The analytical goal is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of criminal law legislation of Russia and foreign countries, fixing liability for the commission of cyber crimes, to identify its peculiarities and development trends. The integrative goal is to determine the possibility of harmonization and approximation of criminal legislation of Russia and other countries that regulates liability for the commission of cyber crimes. A critical goal is to identify the gaps that exist in the legal regulation of guilty persons’ responsibility for the commitment of computer-related crimes in the Russian criminal legislation and that of other countries.
Research Methods. The study uses the dialectical method on the basis of which phenomena and concepts are determined comprehensively, in conjunction with public relations, and it makes use of historical and legal, formal-legal and comparative legal methods.
Results. The authors identify contradictions, gaps and collisions in the Russian and foreign legislation regarding liability for cyber crimes. They put forward recommendations aimed at eliminating these contradictions and improving some norms of criminal law. A general conclusion was made concerning a trend towards convergence of national criminal legal systems in terms of responsibility for computer information crimes. In particular, it finds its expression in common characteristics of corpus delicti and the existence of crimes similar in nature and content and different only in names.