JUVENILE AS A CRIMINAL CATEGORY

The current topic of research is touched upon, since there is an increasing trend towards the rejuvenation of juvenile delinquency. We establish that the weakening of family education and supervision, the desire to imitate adults, curiosity, self-affirmation among peers leads a teenager to use alcohol, intoxicating and narcotic substances, which pushes them to the path of a criminal life. We consider issues related to the definition of a juvenile as a criminal legal category, various points of view on the “juvenile” concept, as well as factors that influence the formation of a juvenile’s criminal behavior. We analyze the concept of “legal capacity of juvenile”, which is enshrined in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes the total age of criminal liability from 16 years old, as well as from 14 years old for committing serious crimes, therefore, juvenile acts as a subject of criminal law relations. We note that the legislator points out the possibility of a juvenile to realize the illegality of his act and bear responsibility for it. We point out that the use of the modern approach is to determine the possibility of bringing the child, by virtue of the individual characteristics of his upbringing and understanding, to responsibility for antisocial behavior.