Models of criminal liability of legal entities outside Russia

Changes in the international sphere dictate the need to introduce the institution of criminal liability of legal entities. In order to overcome the slowness of the legislative process in the Russian Federation, the article presents models of criminal liability of legal entities in other countries where this institution has been operating for centuries. Attention is drawn to the specifics of the United States, where companies are subject to criminal prosecution on the basis of the doctrines of «strict» or absolute liability (i.e. objective imputation) and vicarious liability. The law enforcement practice of the English courts is reflected, which over time changed the limits of the doctrine of identification, or the theory of identification, and subsequently expanded the range of subjects of crime. In conclusion, it is indicated that it is necessary to recognize a legal entity as a subject of a crime in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which was provided for by the draft Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in 1994.