Socially dangerous state of the person occupying a high position in a criminal hierarchy: problem statement

The article examines the concept of a socially dangerous state of a person as the basis (criterion) of criminal responsibility and a factor influencing the process of executing a custodial sentence. The authors note that the concept of a person occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy is not legally established, which raises a number of controversial issues. The article discusses the question of the existence of unified features for the subject under study. According to the authors of the article, the complexity of the concept under study is determined by its criminological nature. Based on the conducted research, a number of conclusions are formulated: 1) the use of the concept of «socially dangerous state» as a basis for criminal liability under Art. 210.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contradicts the doctrinal theoretical postulates enshrined in criminal law; 2) the category of «socially dangerous state of a person» should be taken into account when executing imprisonment for special types of convicts with the status of leaders of criminal underworld, applying special corrective and preventive measures to him. The authors conclude that there is a lack of current norms of penitentiary law, which provide for a full range of measures aimed at reducing the negative criminal impact of the studied category of persons on other convicts.