THE ROLE OF JUDICIAL PRACTICE IN FILLING GAPS IN CRIMINAL LAW (ISSUES OF THEORY AND HISTORY)

Author(s): Yepifanov A.E.

Rubric: Relevant aspects of criminal law, criminal proceedings and criminalistics

DOI: 10.21777/2587-9472-2025-4-31-36

Release: 2025-4 (48)

Pages: 31-36

Keywords: criminal law; gap in law; judicial practice; analogy of statute; analogy of law; Supreme Court of the Russian Federation; Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation; judicial interpretation

Annotation: The article is devoted to the study of judicial practice as one of the most significant instruments for overcom- ing gaps in criminal law. Theoretical and legal foundations of legal gaps, their correlation with the analogy of statute and the analogy of law, as well as the specifics of judicial interpretation in the context of the principle of legality are considered. Particular attention is paid to the historical stages of the forming of the role of judicial practice in Russia — from the pre-revolutionary interpretation of laws by the Senate to the modern practice of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The impact of the Supreme Court Plenum resolutions on filling gaps in the regulation of new types of crime, including cybercrime and extremism, is analyzed. It is concluded that judicial practice in criminal law has a dual nature: on the one hand, it ensures legal certainty and fills legislative lacunae, and on the other hand, it entails the risks of “judicial law-making” and blurring of the principle of legality. In the text of the article, the Russian Federation is abbreviated as RF.

Bibliography: Yepifanov A.E. THE ROLE OF JUDICIAL PRACTICE IN FILLING GAPS IN CRIMINAL LAW (ISSUES OF THEORY AND HISTORY) // Journal of Legal Sciences. – 2025. – № 4 (48). – С. 31-36. doi: 10.21777/2587-9472-2025-4-31-36