Compensatory and restorative functions of criminal law

Introduction. At the present stage of social development, criminal law is characterised by compensatory and restorative functions. The purpose of the study is to substantiate this position. The author sets the following objectives in the study: to study the main approaches to defining the concepts of “function of law” and “function of criminal law”; to explore how the science of criminal law has evolved towards recognising an increasing number of functions inherent in the relevant branch of law; to identify the reasons for the absence of a clear division between compensatory and restorative mechanisms in domestic criminal law; to consider the specifics of implementing compensatory and restorative mechanisms when bringing a person to criminal liability and, from this perspective, to assess such criminal law measures as confiscation of property and a judicial fine. Methods. General and specific methods were used in the study: historical, system-structural, formal-logical, comparative-legal. Results. At the present stage of social development, criminal law is characterised by compensatory and restorative functions. Each of them should be considered independently. The identification of these two functions in the domestic doctrine is largely associated with the history of the formation of the legal system of our country. Compensatory and restorative functions inherent in criminal law are legal. Proving the validity of their allocation, one should rely on the general provisions of the theory of law, a unified approach to understanding the functions of law and their content, developed by legal scholars. The introduction of norms into Russian criminal legislation providing for the implementation of compensatory and restorative mechanisms, and the practice of their application have shown that there is a real need for such legal institutions.