The principle of democracy in Russian penal law – a principle without content or practical implementation

From a positivist perspective on law, the principle of democracy is examined as a principle of criminal-executive law. Based on an analysis of legislation, case law, and scientific literature, it is concluded that the principle of democracy enshrined in Article 8 of the Russian Criminal Enforcement Code is a principle without content or practical implementation in the Russian legal system. By its nature, it is unrelated to the penal system and does not align with its goals and objectives. This principle is debated in scientific literature, ranging from re-cognizing its meaninglessness to artificial attempts to find some content in it, with views on which vary greatly. In judicial practice, the principle of democracy has proven to be completely unused in any aspect. Despite its normative consolidation, it plays no role either in the regulation of criminal enforcement relations or in the Rus-sian legal system as a whole. It has been proposed to exclude the mention of the principle of democracy from Article 8 of the Criminal Enforcement Code of the Russian Federation.