Emotions and their criminal legal value: controversial aspects

The study discusses the controversial issues of the place of emotions in the structure of corpus delicti. There are two opposite opinions on the inclusion of emotions in the system of the elements of a crime. The author notes that one group of scientists argues that emotions are an optional sign of the mental element of a crime while the other one regards it as a characteristic of the perpetrator. The research proves that it is necessary to consider emotions as an independent sign of the mental element of a crime. The discussion focuses on the determination of the place of an affect in the corpus delicti, its relationship with sanity and guilt. International legal practices are analyzed as well. The research highlights the feasibility of the in-depth study on the role of emotions in criminal law and the need to enshrine them in more detail in both the General and Special Parts of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.