Amendment of the Criminal Code of the Russian Empire of 1903: Encroachment on a non-existent or clearly unsuitable object as a circumstance excluding criminal liability

The relevance of this study is determined by the need for regular adjustments and improvements in the criminal law regulation of circumstances that exclude the criminality of an act. This need is ongoing, as society’s values, needs and ideas about justice continually evolve. Additionally, new challenges and threats emerge, and recent scientific findings, particularly in criminology and criminal law doctrine, must also be taken into account. One of the novelties of the 1903 Criminal Code of the Russian Empire was its provision that a direction toward a non-existent or unsuitable object could exclude the criminality of an act. This article examines the theoretical and practical prerequisites for this innovation. It presents and analyzes the practice of the Governing Senate (the highest court of the Russian Empire) concerning offences involving imaginary or unsuitable objects of crime during the period when the Criminal Punishment and Correctional Statute - the predecessor to the 1903 Criminal Code - was in effect. The analysis concludes that there was an inconsistency in the judicial practices, highlighting a pressing need for law enforcers at that time to have clear and reasonable criteria on this issue. The article also analyzes the ideas and intentions of the developers of the 1903 Criminal Code regarding this circumstance, as well as the relevant provisions. It is noted that there was no application of this innovation by the Governing Senate, which can be attributed to the limited duration of the 1903 Criminal Code. The author concludes that the ideas and judgments expressed during the development and evaluation of this normative provision could be valuable for improving the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Currently, it does not directly regulate liability for attempts involving unsuitable objects nor define the legal consequences of factual and legal errors. The analysis and conclusions presented in this article may also be relevant in preparing a draft resolution for the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.