Legislative regulation of the concept of “crime” under the new criminal code of the Republic of Armenia

The purpose of the research: implementation of theoretical and applied research of the concept of “crime”, consideration of topical issues related to the concept of “crime” in the light of the new Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (adopted 05.05.2021, entered into force 01.07.2022). According to Part 1 of Article 16 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, an act culpably committed by the subject of the crime provided for in this Code is recognized as a crime, prohibited under threat of punishment. At the same time, the legislator formulated the formal concept of a crime, rejecting the material attribute: the public danger of the act. Attention is drawn to the deterministic connections of crime as a fundamental concept of criminal law; the emphasis is placed not only on the act, but also on the “actor” (the proper subject of the crime); the conclusion about the relationship of crime with the concept of the composition (structure) of the crime is substantiated.

Results. The authors conclude that the criminal law designates as crimes those acts that are socially dangerous, and only because they are socially dangerous. But the law also designates circumstances in which each of these acts, while remaining itself, will at the same time be different and invincible. It is also proposed to introduce the institution of criminal offenses into criminal legislation and the wording of the relevant norm is provided.