Criminalistic Characteristics of Crimes: Terminological Aspect

The article concentrates on the criminalistic characteristics of crimes as one of the key concepts of the criminalistic methodology of crime investigation from the point of view of the terminology used to designate it and its correspondence to the content of the concept. The article considers the evolution of views and approaches that have developed in science regarding the role of criminalistic characteristics of crimes in the structure of newly devised private methods, its content and structure. At the same time the article notes both substantial aspects of the criminalistic characteristics of crimes admitted by most scientists, and aspects that cause dispute. The analysis of the structure of the criminalistic characteristics of crimes and the main approaches developed on this issue in legal literature is carried out. The main elements proposed for inclusion into the structure of the forensic characteristics are considered and evaluated. Attention is focused on the need for further research on the issues of criminalistic characteristics of crimes and the possible development areas are proposed. One of such development areas is devising uniform criteria for building the structure of the criminalistic characteristics of crimes. In this connection, the article provides an overview of the author positions existing in this regard in forensic literature, where elements of the corpus delicti, circumstances to be proved in a criminal case, etc. are seen as a criterion. The reasons for the significant divergence of the positions of scientists towards the content and structure of the criminalistic characteristics of crimes are analyzed. One of the main reasons is different understanding by the authors of the essence and role of the criminalistic characteristics of crimes in the structure of the investigation methodology conditioned among other things by the employed terminology – "criminalistic characteristics of crimes", which does not accurately reflect the essence of the designated concept. In this connection, the analysis of the terminology with regard to etymology has been carried out and proposals for its further application in forensic methodology have been formed.