Economic Crime or Offence: Search for Criteria of Distinction

Research objective is search of effective criteria of differentiation of crimes and offenses. In article features of maintenance of essential elements of offense and offense are revealed. Special attention is paid to a concept public danger and to its substantial signs. Features of manifestation of public danger in subject to encroachment, a way of commission of crime (offense), the caused damage, fault and the sanction of precept of law are considered.By the author it is noted that the public danger can’t be effective and reliable criterion of differentiation of administrative offense and crime. On the example of the bans which are contained in the Criminal code of Russia ( further - СС) and the Code about administrative offenses of Russia ( further the Administrative Code) has shown efficiency of degree and the nature of public danger of the acts made in the sphere of economic activity. It is noted that now the side between economic crimes and offenses is almost not audible. The author makes a hypothesis that neither substantial characteristics of public danger, nor character and degree of public danger are able to predetermine qualitative characteristics of the made act and on this basis to carry out clear split of crimes and offenses (administrative offenses). Search of criterion of differentiation of crime and offense doesn’t come down only to material structure - public danger. Doctrinal approach to permission of the real problem indicates that facet distinctions are not in the field of substantive law, and beyond his limits and can be explained with the only contents of the legal policy pursued in the state. Scope: law, law-enforcement practice, law-making, lawmaking.