Legislative comprehension and assessment of the biological criterion of diminished responsibility in Russia, England and Wales: comparative legal analysis

Introduction: the article deals with the criminal legislation of Russia and England and Wales with respect to diminished responsibility. Materials and Methods: the authors examined and analyzed the legislations of the Russian Federation, England and Wales on diminished responsibility and also domestic and foreign (in the original language) scientific literature on the study topic, data of the practitioners1. The methodological basis of the study was the dialectical method. General scientific methods (logical, systematic, analysis, interpretation, generalization) and particular scientific methods (formal legal, comparative legal) were used. Results: legislative comprehension and assessment of the biological criterion of diminished responsibility in two national legal systems were compared. It provided a brief data of the practical bodies of the concrete examples of the diseases which were considered as the biological criterion of diminished responsibility. Discussion and Conclusions: the authors examine the benefits in specific characteristics of legal regulation of studied aspects of diminished responsibility in both countries on the basis of the comparative analysis.