Keyword: «single crime»

The article is devoted to the study of the institution of a continued crime in Russian criminal law. The relevance of the topic is due to the lack of a legal definition of a continued crime in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which leads to inconsistent judicial practice and errors in qualification. The purpose of the work is to identify the criminal law nature of a continued crime, the problems of its classification, and to develop proposals for improving law enforcement. The research methodology is based on formal legal, comparative legal, and systemic approaches, as well as on the analysis of judicial practice. The article examines the concept and main features of an ongoing crime (common intent, identical actions, common goal, and temporal duration); it distinguishes it from related categories (conspiracy, repetition, and continuing crime); and it analyzes the problems of qualification when the method, object, and qualifying features change. Based on the analysis of specific court cases (the verdict of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Kirov, and the appellate ruling of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation), typical errors in law enforcement related to proving a single intent have been identified. A comparative legal analysis has shown that similar or related concepts exist in foreign legal systems (Germany, England, and France). In conclusion, it is proposed to legally establish the concept of an ongoing crime, clarify the criteria for distinguishing between them in a resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, and introduce an rebuttable presumption of a single intent. The results of the work can be used in law enforcement activities and in the preparation of proposals for improving criminal legislation.