The concept of a criminal offense in the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan: current state and prospects of development

The concept of «criminal offense» occupies an important place in the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The relevance and necessity of solving this issue is indicated in the Concept of Legal Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2030. At the same time, an analysis should be carried out from the practice of criminal proceedings in the countries of the world whose criminal legislation contains this legal category. In the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, there are definitions of «criminal misdeed» and «criminal act», but there is no definition of «criminal offense», which is important for the doctrine of criminal law and the practice of applying criminal legislation. The purpose of this article is to present the author’s concept of the need for an analysis and legislative consolidation of the concept of «criminal offense» in the criminal law of the Republic of Kazakhstan and to define its features. The scientific novelty of the article is determined by a fundamentally new approach to the identification of signs of a criminal offense and its formulation in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The article uses general scientific and specific scientific methods of research, in particular, methods of historical and comparative legal analysis. The object of the study is the social relations arising within the framework of the institution of a criminal offense, and the subject is the rules of criminal law governing the legal nature of the institution of a criminal offense. Results: 1) in the criminal legislation of Kazakhstan, the most important and basic is the institution of a criminal offense, there are theoretical approaches to the concept of a criminal offense, while there is no legislative definition of it; 2) the concept of a criminal offense and the definition of its signs are of crucial importance for the practice of applying the criminal law and regulatory decisions of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, it is essential that this concept be enshrined in law, which corresponds to the implementation of the country’s main criminal policy.