Special participation in terrorist activities: issues of qualification and ways to improve legal regulation

The subject of the present study is the institution of special complicity in terrorist activities as a comprehensive legal category, which includes legal regulation, doctrinal approaches to defining the boundaries and forms of special complicity, law enforcement practices, and comparative legal aspects. The goal of the research is dual in nature. The scientific-analytical component includes the systematization of existing theoretical approaches to understanding special complicity in terrorist activities, identification of gaps and conflicts in modern legal regulation, and analysis of the transformation of forms of complicity under the conditions of digitalization of criminal activities. The relevance of the research is due to the need to develop unified qualification criteria that would ensure adequate criminal-law assessment of the actions of accomplices, exclude unfounded liability, and enhance the effectiveness of international cooperation in combating terrorism. The study is based on comparative legal, formal legal, and criminological methods. Norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, judicial practices, international acts, and doctrinal approaches of domestic and foreign researchers have been analyzed. As a result of the study, contradictions in judicial practices regarding the qualification of aiding have been identified. Deficiencies in legislative regulation have been established: the lack of clear criteria for distinguishing between general and special complicity and gaps in the assessment of indirect assistance. A comparative analysis of legal models (Russian, European, American) revealed the need for a balance between the effectiveness of criminal prosecution and the protection of citizens' rights. The results may be used in: the improvement of Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation; in law enforcement practices (development of methodological recommendations for investigative bodies and courts); in international cooperation to combat terrorism. As conclusions, specific measures for improving legislation have been proposed: 1) introduction of an exhaustive list of forms of aiding in the annotation to Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation; 2) differentiation of liability taking into account the degree of involvement; 3) harmonization with international standards.