Minority of an act in Russian criminal law and law enforcement practice

Subject of research: criteria and conditions for establishing signs of insignificance of an act in the light of the latest scientific research and judicial practice. Purpose of research: to determine the most optimal criteria for determining the insignificance of an act, capable of influencing the formation of a unified approach to resolving issues related to recognizing an act as non-criminal on the basis of insignificance, in law enforcement practice. Methods and objects of research: the basis of the research is the dialectical method of scientific knowledge, along with which formal-legal, analytical, logical and system-structural methods, the method of comparative analysis of the emerging law enforcement practice were used. Main results and conclusions of research: the institute of insignificance of an act in criminal law is considered in the context of the problems of its legislative consolidation and application practice. Based on the study of judicial practice materials, cases of establishing insignificance features in acts, which entail the exclusion of criminal liability of the persons who committed them, are analyzed. It is established that the doctrinal understanding of the insignificance of an act differs from the interpretation of this institute by law enforcement agencies, which causes uncertainty and disputes when applying this criminal law category. The root of the problem lies in the lack of clear criteria and a uniform approach to establishing the features of insignificance of an act. Court decisions use template formulations of recognizing an act as insignificant without examining all the necessary facts, which entails unfounded conclusions and makes the criminal justice system unfair. The key characteristics of an insignificant act are analyzed, a range of features is formulated that are mandatory for study when making appropriate decisions. Options for solving the identified problems are proposed, which boil down to the need for legislative adjustments in both criminal and criminal procedural legislation.