No 4 (2025)

The present study is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of "digital mimicry" – the illegal use of deep synthesis technologies (deepfake) in the context of protecting individual rights. The subject encompasses both criminal law and forensic aspects of the application of synthetic audio and video materials that reproduce a person's biometric characteristics (appearance, voice, facial expressions) without their consent. Special attention is paid to the qualification of unlawful acts related to deepfakes within the current Russian legislation, identifying gaps in legal regulation, and their correlation with international approaches. Typical models of criminal schemes, including deepfake fraud and "virtual kidnapping," are analyzed, as well as the issues of the admissibility of using synthetic media for cultural, educational, and law enforcement purposes. The research is based on the study of judicial practice, doctrinal sources, comparative legal data, and technological characteristics of modern deep synthesis algorithms. The study employs formal-legal, comparative-legal, forensic, and system-structural methods, combined with an analysis of judicial practice and regulatory acts. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the comprehensive interdisciplinary examination of the deepfake phenomenon from the perspectives of criminal law, forensic science, and comparative jurisprudence, as well as in formulating proposals for improving Russian legislation in the field of biometric data protection. For the first time, the main models of illegal application of deep synthesis technologies have been systematized and classified, gaps in the qualification of acts related to the forgery of images or voices have been identified, and the necessity of introducing an independent criminal offense into the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has been justified, stipulating liability for the illegal use of synthetic biometric images. Additionally, the significance of implementing procedural guarantees ensuring the admissibility of digital evidence obtained using specialized deepfake detection algorithms has been substantiated. A conclusion has been drawn about the feasibility of developing a unified methodology for proving the fact of deepfake use, integrating automated detection systems, and harmonizing national regulations with international standards.

This article presents a study of the criminal law characteristics of illegal electronic payment instruments and payment documents that are not securities. The relevance of this research topic is due to the fact that Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which deals with the illegal circulation of electronic payment instruments and payment documents that are not securities, has inadvertently undergone significant amendments over the past ten years (in 2015 and 2025). The rapid development of high technology in the banking sector in the late 1920s led not only to the emergence of new payment instruments (in particular, payment stickers) and payment methods (in particular, payment apps), but also to the formation of a «gray» market for electronic payment instruments. To effectively combat this, legislators are frequently forced to reform Article 187 of the Criminal Code. The following methods were used as the methodological basis for the study: analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction, comparison, generalization, and the formal-legal method. The author of the article identified the following shortcomings of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: 1) excessive broadness and casuistry of the wording «counterfeit payment cards, orders for the transfer of funds, documents, or means of payment (except for cases provided for in Article 186 of this Code)»; 2) failure to indicate the deliberate (conscious) counterfeiting of payment cards, orders for the transfer of funds, documents, or means of payment; 3) the absence of a clear distinguishing feature between the elements of the crimes described in Part 1 of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Parts 3 and Part 5 of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. To address these shortcomings, the article provides recommendations for improving Part 1 of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the title of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The subject of this study is the work of internal affairs officials in reviewing incoming incident reports that do not contain elements of a crime, for the subsequent decision to include the incident report and its review materials in the nomenclature file attached to the register of applications and reports of crimes, administrative offenses, and incidents. This study examines the need to improve the procedure for reviewing incident reports received by territorial divisions of internal affairs agencies that do not contain information on the elements of a crime, taking into account current conditions characterized by a significant number of citizen complaints and staffing shortages within internal affairs agencies. The objective of the study is to develop proposals for optimizing the procedure for reviewing incident reports that do not contain elements of a crime. The methodological basis of this work is formed by a group of general scientific and specialized methods, including dialectical, formal-legal, statistical, sociological, predictive, as well as induction and deduction. Scope of application of the results, novelty. It is proposed to exclude investigators from reviewing incident reports received by internal affairs agencies that lack data indicating elements of a crime. The optimal reviewers for incident reports lacking elements of a crime are identified. The tools and procedures for reviewing incident reports lacking elements of a crime, as stipulated by departmental legal regulation based on criminal procedure legislation, are proposed. These procedures are intended to facilitate the subsequent decision on including the incident report and its review materials in the nomenclature file attached to the register of applications and reports of crimes, administrative offenses, and incidents. These proposals do not require changes to criminal procedure legislation, are consistent with departmental regulations, are in line with current realities, and may also harmonize existing practices.

The article presents a comprehensive analysis of the legal regulation of the prohibition of illegal arms trafficking in Russia, covering the historical period from pre-revolutionary times to the present. The study is based on an analysis of normative legal acts from various historical periods, judicial practice materials, and statistical data. The aim of the research is to identify patterns in the development of legislation in the field of arms control and to determine current trends in law enforcement practice. Special attention is given to the evolution of legal norms regulating liability for illegal arms trafficking, as well as to the mechanisms of state control in this area. The work examines key stages in the formation of arms legislation, the specifics of legal regulation during the Soviet period, and modern approaches to addressing the problem of illegal trafficking. The methodological foundation of the study includes formal-legal, historical-legal, comparative-legal, and statistical methods, as well as methods of analysis, induction, and deduction. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the systematization of historical experience in the legal regulation of arms trafficking and the identification of promising directions for improving existing legislation. The author analyzes the effectiveness of existing legal mechanisms and suggests ways to optimize them. The practical significance of the work lies in the possibility of using the results obtained to improve legislation in the field of arms control and enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement practice. The author proposes a new perspective on the periodization of the historical development of the prohibition of illegal arms trafficking, and to achieve this goal, ancient monuments of Russian legislation are examined. Special attention is given to studying the issue of the subject of illegal arms trafficking. The author substantiates the position that considering weapons of mass destruction as a subject of illegal arms trafficking is inappropriate. Furthermore, the author, using statistical data, analyzes the biased nature of the issues at hand in detail.

The subject of the research is the transformation of the subjective aspect of the crime defined by Article 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the context of the introduction of automated vehicle control systems of various levels of autonomy. The evolution of the driver's mental attitude towards the act committed and its consequences is analyzed when management functions are delegated to artificial intelligence, the issue of distinguishing intent from negligence in the context of hybrid control modes is explored, and the phenomenon of distributed responsibility between the human operator and the automated system is examined. The relevance of the chosen subject is determined by the rapid development and widespread adoption of active assistance systems and automation in transportation, which fundamentally changes the mechanisms of interaction between humans and vehicles. Classical criminal law approaches, based on the belief that the driver fully controls the driving process and bears personal responsibility for violations, face new challenges as part of the control functions shift to technical systems. The methodological basis of the study consists of a formal-legal method for analyzing the current criminal legislation and law enforcement practices, a comparative-legal method for studying foreign experience in regulating liability for road traffic accidents involving autonomous vehicles, and a system-structural method for identifying gaps in legal regulation and formulating proposals for improving criminal law. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the conceptualization of a new type of subjective attitude towards the automated control systems that does not fit into the classical dichotomy of "intent-negligence." The necessity of differentiating criminal liability depending on the level of vehicle automation and the mode of control at the time of the offense is justified. Specific proposals are formulated for supplementing the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with a special provision that provides for responsibility for violations of the rules for operating vehicles with automated control systems, as well as for modifying the conceptual apparatus of criminal law in relation to new technological realities. Based on the analysis of foreign models for regulating liability for traffic accidents involving autonomous vehicles, adapted recommendations for improving Russian criminal legislation are proposed, which significantly increases the practical value of the research and contributes to the integration of Russian legal norms into the global context.

The subject of the research is a comprehensive analysis of criminological counteraction to youth extremism as a systemic socio-legal phenomenon. The paper examines in detail the conceptual foundations of this counteraction, including its essential characteristics, regulatory and legal support and organizational mechanisms of implementation. Special attention is paid to the specifics of the determination of youth extremism in modern conditions, the interrelation of socio-economic, psychological and informational factors contributing to the spread of extremist manifestations among young people is considered. The subject of the study analyzes the system of subjects of prevention, their competence and forms of interaction, as well as the effectiveness of applied measures of general and special criminological prevention. A separate aspect is the study of the victimological component and the specifics of the use of preventive technologies in the digital environment. The purpose of the work is to conceptualize the concept and revise the content of criminological counteraction to youth extremism in modern conditions through the identification of systemic relationships between its elements. The methodology is based on the application of system-structural and intersectoral approaches, combining methods of comparative legal, formal-logical and criminological analysis, which made it possible to study the object as an integral phenomenon. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the development of a comprehensive concept of criminological counteraction to youth extremism, integrating victimological and preventive approaches. For the first time, a classification of the factors of victimization of youth in the digital environment has been proposed with the allocation of three levels: personal-psychological, socio-environmental and technological. A typology of victims of extremist recruitment has been developed, taking into account the transformation of their status from an object of manipulation to a subject of illegal activity. The necessity of differentiating the legal regulation of preventive activities depending on the stages of personal radicalization is substantiated. The conclusions of the study indicate the systemic nature of the determination of youth extremism, which requires the transformation of public policy from a power paradigm to a comprehensive risk management model. The key conclusion is the need to reallocate resources in favor of primary prevention based on early identification of risk groups and neutralization of destructive content in the digital environment. The effectiveness of creating a multi-level system of re-socialization with the involvement of social educators, psychologists and former members of extremist communities has been proven. The practical significance of the findings is confirmed by the possibility of their use in the development of departmental programs of the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as in the formation of regional strategies for the prevention of radicalization.

The application of artificial intelligence in law enforcement plays an important role today in addressing the challenges faced by officers, namely in the fight against crime and the prevention of offenses. This study focuses on the promising areas of AI usage, including data analysis, facial recognition, crime prediction, audio material examination, and the detection of economic crimes online. The aim of the research is to highlight the problems and risks associated with the use of AI in the law enforcement sphere, such as ethical issues, violation of citizens' privacy, abuse of AI capabilities by officers, among others, and to explore potential solutions, as well as to examine the prospects for the development and application of AI in combating crime, solving crimes, and locating individuals, its regulation, and legal support in law enforcement under existing legislation. The methodological framework of this work consists of a group of general scientific and special methods, including dialectical, normative-legal, statistical, sociological, predictive, as well as induction and deduction. The novelty of the conducted research lies in: firstly, substantiating the need to transition from framework strategies and "regulatory sandboxes" to a stable special law on AI in the law enforcement sphere, proposing key elements of such legislation; secondly, proposing a mechanism for independent ethical and legal oversight and a procedure for public transparency without disclosing algorithmic details; and thirdly, formulating criteria for the admissibility and proportionality of using AI in law enforcement activities. Thus, this study proposes a comprehensive analysis of the use of AI in law enforcement, particularly in combating crime, its detection, and prevention. This tool, in the hands of knowledgeable and highly qualified personnel, will help efficiently, quickly, and resourcefully resolve the tasks faced by authorities.

The subject of the study is the criminal law response to the illegal circulation of narcotic substances conducted at the national level in the Russian Federation and the Republic of India. The object of the study includes not only legislative models but also the real law enforcement practices of the two countries in this area, which allows for an assessment of the effectiveness and direction of legal norms. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the initial legal paradigms, criteria for criminalization and differentiation of liability, including legislative systems for classifying quantities of drugs. The legal qualification of consumption and storage, types and severity of established sanctions, including exceptional punitive measures, as well as institutional mechanisms such as treatment, rehabilitation, and confiscation of property, are also analyzed. Special attention is paid to a comprehensive comparative analysis of the repressive potential of legislation, identifying the imbalance between declared goals and actual punitive orientation, as well as assessing the search for a balance between coercive and medical-social approaches in the formation of national drug policies. The basis of the research is a comparative legal method used for the systematic comparison of legislative norms, legal constructions, and law enforcement trends. The analysis also relies on a formal-legal method and includes elements of critical analysis of statistical data and scientific literature. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the comprehensive comparative legal analysis of Russian and Indian anti-drug legislation, which reveals not only formal differences but also profound similarities in the repressive orientation of both systems, masked by different legal techniques. The main conclusion of the work is the assertion of the dominance of the punitive paradigm in both countries, despite the declared commitment to comprehensive approaches. This is manifested in the focus on criminal prosecution of consumers, low thresholds of responsibility, widespread application of strict sanctions, and the marginal role of treatment and rehabilitation mechanisms. The study demonstrates that India implements this paradigm through direct criminalization of consumption and the retention of the death penalty, while Russia utilizes an indirect model that ties responsibility to the possession of minimal quantities. A common systemic problem recognized is the overload of the criminal justice system with cases of consumers at the expense of combating organized crime.

The subject of the research is the institution of civil claim in the Russian criminal process as a synthesis of private law and public law principles. The object of the research consists of legal relations arising in connection with the submission and examination of claims for property restitution and compensation for moral harm within the framework of criminal proceedings. The author thoroughly examines aspects of the topic such as the concept, subject, and grounds for a civil claim in a criminal case, the specifics of the composition of the parties involved, as well as the procedural advantages for the victim, including exemptions on state duty and the definition of jurisdiction. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the limited nature of the subject of the claim, which excludes from joint consideration regression, counterclaims, and other requirements that go beyond the immediate harm caused by the crime. Additionally, the distribution of the burden of proof, which is largely placed on the prosecution, is explored. The study employs general scientific and specific scientific methods: formal-logical, comparative-legal, systematic analysis of legislation and judicial practice, as well as the method of interpreting legal norms. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the comprehensive analysis of systemic problems of legal regulation and law enforcement practice related to the civil claim in criminal proceedings, as well as in the justification of specific proposals for its improvement. As key conclusions, the author asserts that, despite the declared advantages (procedural economy, benefits for the victim), the institution is characterized by serious shortcomings. These include the fragmentary nature of the norms in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, the vulnerability of the victim's position when the prosecutor refuses to prosecute, contradictory practices of so-called “resolution of the claim on the merits” with the transfer of the issue of the amount of compensation to civil court, as well as gaps in the regulation of notifying the plaintiff. The study demonstrates the feasibility of maintaining the institution while pointing to the necessity of its precise reform. The main ways of improvement are seen in legislative strengthening of guarantees for the rights of civil plaintiffs, detailing procedural aspects, and actively utilizing the guiding role of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to achieve a balance between procedural economy and effective protection of victims' rights.

The author studied the features of legislative regulation and law enforcement practices regarding the confiscation of a vehicle as another measure of criminal law applied in connection with the commission of crimes provided for in articles 264.1–264.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter - CC RF). Despite the relatively recent consolidation in criminal law of the grounds for the forced gratuitous seizure of a vehicle used in the commission of repeated serious violations of traffic rules by a person subject to administrative punishment or having a criminal record, the courts of the Russian Federation have developed sufficient practices for applying this measure of criminal law. Within the framework of law enforcement activities, a number of problematic issues have been identified, due to the lack of uniform practice among the courts in applying the provisions established in paragraph "d" of part 1 of article 104.1 of the CC RF. In addition, in the context of analyzing the outlined issues, controversial situations regarding the question of confiscation of a vehicle are examined. The methodological basis of the research consists of general scientific methods: synthesis, induction, and generalization. Using the formal-legal method, an analysis of the norms of domestic criminal legislation regulating the grounds and conditions for the application of vehicle confiscation has been conducted. The method of legal modeling has allowed for the formulation of specific proposals to improve another measure of criminal law in the form of vehicle confiscation. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the identification of contradictions arising in the process of applying another measure of criminal law - the vehicle confiscation. The result of the work is the development of scientifically grounded proposals aimed at eliminating the contradictions, improving the mechanism of confiscation, and increasing its effectiveness in the context of preventing repeated road traffic crimes. It is concluded that the collection of a monetary amount equivalent to the market value of the vehicle used in the commission of crimes provided for in articles 264.1–264.3 of the CC RF and owned by other individuals or legal entities negates the potential advantages arising from the use of someone else's property, including based on a short-term rental agreement (car sharing), at the moment of committing road traffic crimes.