Separate Issues of Qualification of Theft or Extraction of Nuclear Materials or Radioactive Substances

Introduction: this article discusses issues related to the interpretation of certain elements of the crime under Article 221 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the legal assessment of the actions of individuals who commit theft or extortion of nuclear materials or radioactive substances, and the qualification of multiple offenses. Materials and Methods: the study relies on international law and current federal legislation that regulate public relations in the field of nuclear materials and radioactive substances, as well as on legal practice, including court decisions in specific criminal cases, explanations from the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, and scientific literature on the subject. The methodological basis was the dialectical, formal-legal and comparative-legal methods of scientific cognition. Results: the author analyzes the objective and subjective features of the composition under consideration and formulates the rules for qualifying the actions of the perpetrator who committed a crime regulated by article 221 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Special attention is paid to the criminal legal assessment of the acts provided for in parts 2 and 3 of article 221 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Discussion and Conclusions: the author criticizes the current position related to the definition of the circle of subjects of qualified compositions of special types of theft and extortion and makes proposals related to the interpretation of the attribute of «a person using his official position», resolves issues of legal assessment of the actions of the perpetrator who caused serious harm to health or death in the process of theft or extortion.