Exemption from Criminal Liability: History of the Formation and Development of the Institution in Domestic Law, Current State, and Development Prospects.

The article examines the institution of exemption from criminal liability in Russian law, its historical evolution, and current state. This institution is considered a key element of criminal policy, ensuring a balance between the inevitability of punishment and the principles of humanism. The main object of the study is the regulatory legal acts that govern the grounds for exemption from criminal liability in domestic law. The analysis covers a wide historical period: from ancient Russian legal monuments to contemporary legal sources. The subject, in turn, is the institution of exemption from criminal liability itself, as an independent legal mechanism in its evolution, key principles, and practical significance for criminal law. This institution is examined from several aspects: normative, functional, and historical-legal. The methodological foundation of the work is a historical-legal analysis that combines comparative legal and formal-legal methods. This approach allows for tracing the continuity of legal norms, identifying the patterns of the development of the institution, and its interrelation with changes in public consciousness and government policy. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the comprehensive historical-legal analysis of the evolution of the institution of exemption from criminal liability in Russian legislation from the 11th century to the present, which has allowed the identification of four distinctly marked stages of its development and the tracing of its transformation from archaic forms of royal pardon to the modern system of differentiated legal mechanisms. Particular value is placed on the analysis of the less-studied aspects of the emergence of this institution in ancient Russian law, as well as the study of the continuity of legal approaches between the pre-revolutionary, Soviet, and modern periods. In the future, the further development of the institution is linked to adaptation to new challenges, including the digitization of crime and the transformation of economic offenses. An important task remains the search for an optimal balance between repressive and restorative measures, which requires a balanced approach from the legislator and scientific reflection on the proposed changes.

Release from criminal liability, Institute of Criminal Law, Historical and legal analysis, Evolution of criminal legislation, Humanization of criminal policy, Criminal liability, Grounds for release, Special grounds for exemption, History of the Institute of Law, Criminalization