International treaties of the Russian Federation on the restriction or prohibition of means of warfare as a source of interpretation of article 356, paragraph 1, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Introduction. Part 1 of Article 356 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes one of the most socially dangerous crimes recognised by the entire world community – war crimes.The disposition of the structure as alternative actions provides for the use of means of warfare prohibited by international treaties of the Russian Federation. However, the criminal law does not specify such means, which creates a problem for the qualification of the crime. The analysis of such treaties makes it possible to form specific prohibitions, the violation of which should be considered as the commission of the objective aspect of a war crime. At present, this issue is very relevant, since a large number of armed conflicts are taking place in the world and such crimes are being committed. Defending the inevitability of punishment for war crimes, Russia, in accordance with the norms of international law, should have a legal possibility to apply the mechanism of such responsibility. Therefore, the presented analysis is relevant and interesting. Methods. Methods of description, analysis, comparison and systematic method of research are used. Results. The results of the research were the final assessment of the analysed international treaties of the Russian Federation, enshrining prohibitions on the use of specific means of warfare, and the formation of recommendations to improve the provisions of the disposition of part 1. art. 356 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for more effective use and classification of war crimes.