The situation as an optional (special) feature of the objective side of a crime

The article considers that the terms «situation of the crime» and «situation of committing the crime» are different in content: the first term determines the legal assessment of a socially dangerous offence, and the second - its actual parameters that help reconstruct the picture of the event. In this regard, within the framework of the doctrine of the corpus delicti, it is suggested to use the term «situation of a crime». From the standpoint of criminal law, the situation of a crime performs two functions: it acts as a condition for exemption from criminal liability, and is also part of the doctrine of corpus delicti, namely, it is an optional (special) feature of the model of the latter. In the second case, along with other similar signs, it has a threefold criminal-legal significance. In science, judgments are expressed that the content of the situation may include the time and place of a socially dangerous act. The author notes that such features relate as a whole and a part. In addition, attention is drawn to the fact that in a number of cases, when forming a crime corpus, several features of a crime model (for example, the situation and time) can form a symbiosis. In conclusion, the author’s vision of the concept of «crime situation» is presented.