METHODOLOGY OF RUSSIAN CRIMINAL LAW SCIENCE AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS

Objective: The article considers the concept and methodology of criminal law science with due regard to the latest scientific achievements in the field of methodological support of criminal law research. Methods: Dialectical, descriptive, and analytical methods, as well as the method of explication (explanation), were the main methods used in this article. Results: In Russian criminal law science, the dialectical method is the most important, which is largely due to the Soviet legacy (when materialistic dialectics was considered a necessary philosophical basis for all specific areas of scientific knowledge). The main materials and methods used in the process of studying the theory of criminal law are briefly listed. Much attention is drawn to the fact that almost all the materials on this issue were in documents and electronic form. The authors have discussed some definitions of such a concept as the methodology of criminal law science presented in scientific literature, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. They have distinguished between two concepts: the methodology of criminal law science and the method of criminal law science. The authors have highlighted the absence of a specific methodology of the theory of criminal law, which distinguishes it from the methodology of other legal sciences. As a result, they have defined the concept of the method of criminal law science, whose main distinction lies in the field of application, i.e. criminal law science. The system of methods of criminal law science is considered and the main principles of its construction are highlighted. This discloses the main methods of criminal law science that are most often used in the research of criminal law issues. Conclusion: The authors have concluded the methodology of criminal law science that should be presented as a result of the research conducted.