Ptaschenko, D.S. Imaginary defense in criminal law of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States: specific features of legislative regulation

Abstract: The author studies specific problems of legislative regulation of imaginary defense in criminal law of Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (hereinafter, the CIS). The author established that there are three main approaches towards its regulation in the legislations of the CIS Member States depending on the type and extent of its regulation. The first approach provides for regulation of the imaginary defense with the general norms of criminal law; the second approach is to regulate imaginary defense with the norms on mistakes in the sphere of circumstances, excluding criminality of an act; the third approach is to regulate imaginary defense with special norms. The author made a conclusion that none of the existing approaches to the regulation of imaginary defense in the criminal law of the Member States of the CIS may be unilaterally accepted as a model for unification of such regulation. The most preferable type of regulation unification by the CIS Member States is systemic use of positive features of all three of these approaches, namely, adoption of norms on causing harm in the absence of guilt (casus); norms on mistakes regarding circumstances, excluding criminality of an act; as well as the specific norms on imaginary defense. In order to achieve complete and systemic regulation of imaginary defense in the criminal law of the CIS Member States, it is also necessary to amend their criminal legislation with the norms on mistakes, including them in the General Parts of criminal codes. Additionally, specific norms on imaginary defense should also be amended.

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