THE LEGAL NATURE OF COMPLICITY IN A CRIME: HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The institution of complicity plays a key role in criminal law as a mechanism for combating crimes committed by groups of individuals and organized crime. Most criminal codes of foreign countries do not provide a unified definition of complicity; however, its characteristics are revealed through the regulation of various forms and types of participation. The authors of the article compare the criminal legislation of several European countries, the United States, and Kazakhstan in terms of regulating crimes committed in complicity. The article analyzes differences and particularities in the classification of types of accomplices, forms of complicity, as well as the degree of danger posed by crimes committed by a group of individuals. The aim of this article is to compare and analyze the criminal legislative acts of the United States, Western European countries, and Kazakhstan regarding the regulation of complicity in the commission of criminal offenses. The scientific novelty of this research lies in identifying the specific features of the criminal legislation of European countries, the United States, and Kazakhstan in the methods of regulating complicity in criminal offenses. Upon completion of the study, the authors concluded that the issue of legal regulation of complicity in Western countries is associated with the lack of clear differentiation of the roles of accomplices. As a result, accomplices may, in some cases, receive penalties as severe as those imposed on the principal offender. This approach raises debates concerning the fairness and proportionality of punishment depending on the severity of the committed crime. The provisions of foreign criminal laws are compared with the corresponding norms of Kazakhstani legislation related to the institution of complicity. The study also notes that Kazakh criminal law was shaped under the influence of the Soviet legal system.