Criminal Law Characteristics of the Forms of Use of Prohibited Means and Methods of Warfare

The use of prohibited means and methods of warfare and other war crimes are quite common in the modern world. During armed conflicts, the rights of prisoners of war and civilians are often violated, historical and art monuments are destroyed, and irreparable damage is caused to the natural environment. The study analyzes such forms of use of prohibited means and methods of warfare as: a) ill-treatment of prisoners of war; b) ill-treatment of the civilian population; c) deportation of the civilian population; d) looting of national property in the occupied territory; e) the use of means and methods in armed conflict prohibited by the international treaty. The analysis of the forms of use of prohibited means and methods of warfare proves that the disposition of the main composition of this crime defines alternative acts in its commission, each of which, in turn, forms the complete composition of the crime provided for in Part 1 of Article 356 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. A feature of the legislative definition of the objective element of the use of prohibited means and methods of warfare is both a descriptive and a blank definition of the signs of this crime. The content of the main forms of this crime is defined in the disposition of Article 356 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and many other forms are defined in the relevant international agreements of the Russian Federation. In this case, we are talking about the double wrongfulness of the specified act.