Failure to Report a Crime: A Critical Analysis of the Criminal Law Norma

   The study analyzes Article 205.6 «Failure to report a crime» of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. A socio-political and legal assessment of the crime it provides for is given. The paper argues that criminal prosecution for failure to report a crime is problematic as an appropriate tool for countering terrorist threats. It is noted that the addressees of the state-coercive impact of this norm are not individuals involved in terrorist or extremist activities, but citizens who are not involved in them and for one reason or another have not reported the relevant criminal facts to the authorities. The focus is on the compliance of failure to report a crime with the criterion of public danger as a necessary condition for criminalization. The classification difficulties in applying this criminal law norm are reflected, and an opinion is expressed about its inconsistency with the principle of certainty of criminal law prohibition. The relationship between criminal liability for failure to report a crime and the goals of criminal punishment is analyzed. Based on the results of the study, it was concluded that it is advisable to revise the legislative approach to criminal liability of citizens for failure to report a crime.

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