Brych, L.P. Use of negative terms in order to distinguish constituent elements of various crimes

Abstract: The article includes analysis of the existing legislative approaches to the use of negative elements as criteria for distinguishing various crimes. The author supports the position that it is not practical to use a popular legislative technique by formulating the distinguishing elements with the abstract reference to the absence of elements of other crime or group of crimes in the article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code. Such general references should be excluded from all of the articles of the Special Part of the Criminal Code, even when it is not possible to substitute it with positive or negative characteristic feature of the constituent elements of the particular crime. Due formulae should be applied by referring to specific elements distinguishing crimes with joint elements. Provisions for a specific element of a specific crime as a negative term Is acceptable on some conditions and with due application of rules of formal logic.

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