Criminal Liability for Smuggling in Foreign Countries

The author of the article aims to study the design features of legal norms that provide for criminal prosecution for the commission of various types of smuggling in foreign countries. As a result of applying the comparative legal method and analyzing the provisions of the criminal laws of foreign countries, the author's position on the grounds for their classification is formed. The first classification is based on the presence (or absence) of criminal law provisions governing the criminal liability for the illegal movement of goods across the border. Depending on it, countries are divided into three groups. In the countries of the first group, there is no criminal liability for smuggling at all. In the countries of the second group, the relevant provisions are contained in separate regulations. In the countries of the third group, criminal liability for smuggling is enshrined in criminal codes. The second type of classification is based on the list of types of smuggling for which criminal liability is provided. So, there are countries whose legislation is primarily aimed at countering economic smuggling. Criminal laws of other countries regulate liability both for committing economic smuggling and for smuggling items that are restricted in circulation or prohibited from circulation. In some countries, priority is given to criminal-law measures to counteract the smuggling of goods that are restricted or prohibited from circulation. The third classification is based on the type of object of criminal law protection (according to the legislator) that a person who has committed the illegal import or export of certain goods or objects encroaches on. So, in some countries, smuggling can be attributed to crimes against the individual and public safety. In some countries, the corresponding offenses are classified as economic or related to falsification (fraud). In some countries, smuggling may be attributed to an act against environmental safety. As a result, a number of conclusions are drawn. Given the analysis of the provisions of foreign law, it can be noted that targets of acts related to smuggling differ. The methods of criminal law protection also differ. It is difficult to single out common features even in states of the same legal family. As a rule, in foreign criminal laws, among the punishable acts under one article, not only illegal movement of goods across the border is mentioned, but also other actions (inaction) are listed. The introduction of a criminal law prohibition by highlighting certain acts in separate norms leads to the expansion of the domestic criminal law, which is not always justified. In the author's opinion, illegal cross-border movement (as a criminal act) can be included in the rules governing criminal liability for the manufacture, sale, storage, movement (and other) of the relevant targets of crime. This would help to optimize criminal law.

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