Obstruction of the legitimate professional activities of journalists (Article 144 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation): delimitation of the considered composition from related crimes

Abstract

In the science of criminal law and in the law enforcement practice of competent authorities, much attention is paid to the rules of qualification of crime. Both theorists and law enforcement officers refer to the rules of qualification of crimes. Article 17 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation states: "if a crime is provided for by general and special norms, there is no combination of crimes and criminal liability occurs under a special norm". In the event of competition of norms, the same act falls under the signs of different crimes. Overcoming the competition of norms by law enforcement officers affects the correct application of criminal law norms, and therefore the principle of legality in the application of law is realized.Analysis of law enforcement practice for crimes aimed at obstructing the legitimate professional activities of journalists shows that at present, despite the enshrining at the legislative level of the norm serving as a guarantee of freedom of speech, freedom of the mass media, directly protecting the legitimate professional activities of media representatives, criminal attacks are often qualified under related crimes. Rare application in judicial practice of Art. 144 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (in the presence of all the grounds for this provided by the criminal law) is to a certain extent due to the imperfections of the legislative design of the norm, which in turn determines the need to improve it.