Careless destruction or damage to other people’s property (article 168 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation): issues of effectiveness of the legal norm

The theoretical, legal and practical aspects of the composition of careless destruction or damage to other people’s property provided for in Article 168 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are investigated. The problem of qualification of destruction or damage to other people’s property caused by driving a vehicle is considered from the standpoint of understanding the nature of this tort and establishing a connection with the acts provided for in Articles 168 and 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The necessity of improving the norm providing for liability for careless destruction or damage to other people’s property is justified. In particular, it is proposed to further differentiate criminal liability for careless destruction or damage to other people’s property. Taking in to account modern realities (the number of traffic accidents due to disregard for traffic rules, the expansion of motorization of the population, price increases, social significance and consequences of conviction for a citizen), it is proposed to provide art. 168 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation special qualified personnel on liability for the careless destruction or damage to someone else’s property on an especially large scale due to violations of the rules of driving vehicles or the rules of operation of machines, devices and mechanisms.