Self-interest as a qualifying sign of crimes in the field of entrepreneurial activity

Entrepreneurship in the general consciousness can be represented as the most ancient and natural institution of society for humanity. Legislative regulation of such a significant social institution was only a matter of time. Rapidly changing historical conditions radically changed both society and the state; legislation, as a superstructure, underwent modernization in accordance with changing realities, which led to the formation of some legal rudiments that migrated from earlier norms of law. This article examines the criminal law norms of Russian law that establish responsibility for committing crimes in the field of business activity, the main or qualified elements of which include such a sign of the subjective side as “selfish interest”. In the context of this study, selfish interest is analyzed as one of the main crime-forming factors of some articles of the Criminal Code, while in other norms of law the attribute in question is only implied in absentia when qualifying unlawful acts committed. The author used both theoretical and empirical methods of cognition when considering existing criminal law norms and their practical use in modern realities. Based on the results of the analysis, the author comes to his own conclusion that the appropriateness of the presence of the above feature in the criminal law in the form in which it currently exists should be questioned. The author provides arguments and evidence of reasons to doubt the generally accepted point of view based on the very nature of entrepreneurial activity and its correlation with self-interest. Based on the collected data presented in this article, the author has identified and discussed possible shortcomings of the current criminal law, expressed in the presence of a designated sign of the subjective side of crimes enshrined in many articles of the criminal code.

self-interest, selfish interest, selfish criminals, selfish motive, selfish goal, sign of the subjective side, entrepreneurship, business crimes, the distinction between crimes, qualification of crimes