Problems of legal uncertainty of criminal law rules establishing liability for crimes against peace and security of humanity

The article examines legal uncertainty, which is a negative phenomenon that prevents proper understanding of the content of legal regulations, thereby creating opportunities for law enforcement officers to exercise unlimited discretion, which entails a violation of the principle of legality. Legal uncertainty is considered through the analysis of criminal law norms on crimes against peace and security of mankind in Russian criminal legislation. Based on the analysis, five types of legal uncertainty are presented: 1) legal uncertainty that remains when referring to the provisions of international law; 2) legal uncertainty that remains in judicial interpretation; 3) legal uncertainty resolved by clarifying the meaning of evaluative concepts through more obvious concepts; 4) presumed (hidden) legal uncertainty; 5) legal uncertainty arising from the competition of criminal law norms. It is concluded that different types of legal uncertainty reflect specific features: limited nature of the regulatory effect of a blanket norm; limits of judicial interpretation; the possibility of identifying the authentic meaning of concepts enshrined in the structure of a legal norm through other concepts; difficulties in understanding the true meaning of a legal norm when it seems obvious at first glance; ambiguity in regulating related social relations by two or more norms.