Public danger of action in the system of features of the concept of «criminal offense»

The article is devoted to the analysis of the social danger of an act – a sign of the concept of «criminal offense», which actually performs the functions of the category of criminal law and is important for the entire system of concepts and norms of both the General and Special parts of criminal law. The most essential features and properties of this feature – a structural element of the concept – are considered, which reflect the social harmfulness and increased danger of this act for the values of society and social relations protected by criminal law, which are formed about these values. It is argued that the public danger of an act is organically inherent in a criminal offense, acts as its objective social characteristic, immanent to it as an objective social and legal phenomenon (fact of reality). Using a systematic approach, the author investigates the relationship and interconnection of this feature with other features of a criminal offense – with “criminal wrongfulness” and “criminal law punishability” of the act. It is noted that the social danger of an act is the social basis of criminalization and its recognition as criminally illegal and punishable. The signs of «public danger» and «criminal wrongfulness» of an act correlate with each other as the categories «content» and «form» correlate. The interrelation of the sign «social danger of an act» with the sign of «criminal-legal punishability of an act» is clarified. Attention is focused on the fact that the public danger of an act significantly affects the degree of punishability of the act, on the establishment in the sanction of the type and measure of punishment for committing a socially dangerous act provided for in the disposition of the article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code. At the same time, it is emphasized that the type and measure of punishment specified in the sanction are important formalized indicators of the degree of public danger of an act, which constitutes the content of a criminal offense and determine its severity when deciding whether to classify it (classification) as a criminal offense or a crime, and the latter to one of the categories – not heavy, heavy or especially heavy. The role and influence of the public danger of a criminal offense on the systemic and structural links between various elements of the law on criminal liability is considered. The conclusion is formulated that the sign «social danger of an act» in the structure of signs of the concept of «criminal offense» has a fundamental character, is an immanent (organically inherent) property of a criminal offense and therefore must certainly be indicated in the legislative definition of the concept of «criminal offense»