The purpose of the research is to identify the problems existing in the application of these principles in the process of lawmaking and judicial practice, as well as to develop proposals and recommendations for improving the theory of criminal law and criminal legislation, based on a comprehensive study of the essence of criminal law principles.
Research task:
determining the place of tasks and functions of criminal law in the formation
of criminal law principles; study of the concept of criminal law principles, its features; analysis of theories about the system of criminal law principles; study of the importance of international criminal law principles in the
formation of national criminal law principles; research of the experience of reflection of criminal law principles in the
Criminal Code of some foreign countries; analysis of the reflection of the features of the principles in the Criminal
Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan; investigation of the influence of the principles of the Criminal Code on the
definition of criminality and punishability of acts; analysis of issues of compliance with the principles of the Criminal Code in
the process of qualification of crimes based on materials of judicial practice; study of the meaning of the principles of the Criminal Code in the
imposition of punishment, exemption from responsibility or punishment; development of proposals and recommendations for improving the theory of
criminal law and criminal legislation.
The scientific novelty of the study is as follows:
it is proved that the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan provides for the principles of criminal responsibility and the principles of the Criminal Code, distinguishing aspects of the principles of criminal responsibility from the principles of the Criminal Code; based on the fact that the principle of legality covers the requirement not to apply the criminal law by analogy, it is proved that it is necessary to indicate in the law that the criminal law cannot be applied by analogy; it is proved that the content and name of the principle of equality of citizens before the law do not correspond to each other, and in the Criminal Code this principle should be stated in a new edition; it is proved that the exemption from liability or punishment does not correspond to the content of the principle of the inevitability of responsibility and it is necessary to reflect the exemption from criminal liability and punishment in the legislation as a principle; based on the disclosure of the essence of the principle of culpable responsibility, it is substantiated that a mental disorder of a person that does not exclude sanity entails responsibility on general grounds;
it is proved that the commission of a crime as a result of physical or mental coercion does not correspond to the content of the principle of culpable
responsibility, such cases should be assessed as a circumstance excluding the criminality of the act; it is proved that the terms of exemption from responsibility for crimes
provided for in the law due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for bringing to responsibility should be brought into line with the content of the principles of humanism and justice; in order to ensure the inevitability of responsibility, the necessity of
establishing criminal responsibility for inducing suicide is justified; the necessity of establishing responsibility for the illicit trafficking of
analogues of narcotic drugs is justified in accordance with the rule that the criminality of the act is determined only in the Criminal Code.
Implementation of the research results. The scientific results obtained in the framework of the study of theoretical and practical aspects of criminal law principles were used in the following:
proposals to reflect the principles of the Criminal Code in the second part of article 2 of the Criminal Code; to supplement Article 4 of the Criminal Code with part three on the inadmissibility of applying criminal law by analogy; to change the title of Article 5 of the Criminal Code to the principle of equality before the law and to state this principle in a new edition; on the reflection in the content of the principle of inevitability of responsibility provided for in Article 10 of the Criminal Code of the provision that a person can be released from criminal liability in cases established by the Criminal Code were taken into account when drafting a new version of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Reference of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated December 27, 2022 № 27/2-362-22 ). These proposals served to ensure the uniform application of the concepts of criminal law, the implementation of the principle of legality in investigative and judicial practice, the prevention of cases of arbitrary qualification of criminal acts, ensuring equality of persons who committed crimes when brought to criminal responsibility, ensuring compliance of institutions of exemption from responsibility and punishment with the principle of inevitability of responsibility; based on the requirements of the principle of culpable responsibility, the proposal that persons suffering from a mental disorder that does not exclude sanity are not exempt from criminal liability, reflected in the development of amendments and additions to articles 18 and 181 of the Criminal Code by the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated September 12, 2019 № 567 “On amendments and additions to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan in connection with the improvement of the system of psychiatric care” (Reference of the Committee of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of
Uzbekistan on Combating corruption and judicial and legal issues dated December 17 , 2021 № 06/1-05/12-2171 ). This proposal served to establish responsibility on a general basis for crimes committed by persons with a temporary mental disorder that does not exclude sanity;
the proposal to include crimes committed by a person as a result of physical
or mental coercion or threat in a number of circumstances precluding the criminality of the act is reflected in the development of article 411 introduced into the Criminal Code by the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated January 9,
2018 № 459 “On amendments and additions to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan” (Reference of the Committee of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Combating corruption and judicial and legal issues dated December 17, 2021 № 06/1-05/12-2171 ). This proposal served to correctly apply the principles of justice and culpable responsibility in practice, that is, to exclude criminal liability for committing a crime regardless of the person; the proposal to reduce the terms of exemption from responsibility in connection with the expiration of the terms of criminal responsibility in criminal legislation is reflected in the development of amendments made to article 64 of the Criminal Code by Law № 485 of July 20, 2018 “On amendments and additions to the Criminal, Criminal procedure codes and the Code of administrative responsibility of the Republic of Uzbekistan” (Reference of the Committee of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan on
Combating corruption and judicial and legal issues dated December 17, 2021 № 06/1-05/12-2171 ). This proposal served to further improve the implementation of the principle of humanism by reducing the time limits established by article 64 of the Criminal Code; proposals to improve responsibility for driving to suicide and establishing criminal liability for inducing suicide are reflected in the development of amendments and additions to articles 103 and 1031 of the Criminal Code by Law
№ 436 of June 13, 2017 “On amendments and additions, as well as the recognition of certain legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan as invalid” (Reference of the Committee of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Combating corruption and judicial and legal issues dated December 17, 2021 No.06/1-05/12-2171 ). This proposal served to implement the principle of legality, according to which the criminality and punishability of an act are determined only by criminal law, as well as to ensure the inevitability of responsibility for driving to suicide or inducing suicide; the proposal to establish criminal liability for illegal acts related to analogues
of narcotic drugs in connection with the growth of illegal trade in substances that are not narcotic drugs, but affect human consciousness, is reflected in the development of amendments and additions to articles 271, 273, 274 and 276 of the
Criminal Code by Law № 503 dated October 22, 2018 “On Amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan, aimed at ensuring public safety” (Reference of the Committee of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Combating corruption and judicial and legal issues dated December 17, 2021 № 06/1-05/12-2171). This proposal served to implement the principle of legality, according to which criminality and punishability of an act are determined only by criminal law, as well as ensuring the inevitability of responsibility.
