International Combating The Crimes Harming The Economic Development Of States
International Combating The Crimes Harming The Economic Development Of States
“International Combating The Crimes
Harming The Economic Development Of States”
by Kevin W. Godley, Brian Wilson
(extraction)
After disintegration of the former Soviet Union, and the camp of
socialism, the new order was established. And the basic element of this order
is the multipolarity of the world, the availability of several centres of
influence.
And one of elements reflecting today's condition is the instability
caused by the various factors and here not the last role plays the criminal
factor. The difficult economic, political and social situation, low standards
of living, growth of poverty - all this is nutritious environment for the
development of criminality.
The states as the institutes, in which responsibility is the
organization of struggle against criminality, already have serious difficulties
in combating the criminals crossing their ways. They are compelled to
cooperate and to render one another legal assitance on criminal cases.
All defects of international cooperation in this are area immediately
used by the offenders for fulfilment and concealment of traces of crimes of
international character, the number of is growing rapidly today.
Since 80-th years the growth rates of criminality in the world, were
increased on the average by 5 % annually. Only in the USA there are 35 billion
crimes committed annually. It is possible to note, that in Russia for the
period from1991 to 1995 13 million crimes were registered and in 1995г. -
3million.
According to the opinions of the experts, in some countries the losses
from fraud in financial sphere are equivalent to the sum making 10 % of the
annual internal gross product of this country.
The illegal turn-over of drugs brings to criminals the profit, amount
of which makes 500 billion US dollars per year. This sum is equal to a total
sum a GNP of two thirds of the members - states of the UN.
The large incomes they have and from economic crimes, character and
which methods are constantly improved.
The more and more complex and refined manipulations with the prices on
international and national exchanges are marked; sale of securities by the
persons and establishments, engaging confidential information; frauds with
credit cards; illegal trade of the weapon and ammunition; transfer of the
incomes from illegal activity in foreign banks and their «washing up» by
various methods; crimes against the cultural property; an intellectual piracy
connected to the illegal edition and use of products, inventions and opening; a
counterfeiting.
In this connection it is considered quite tolerant, that today from 1
million USD only three hundred are false.
The international danger of listed and other crimes considerably grows.
They destabilize the activity of the governments, undermine bases of civil
company, restrain the rights and freedom of the person, entail pernicious
consequences for economic and social development of the states and represent
threat to safety of the state.
This crimes damage normal economic development of the
states and usually complicated by presence of a foreign element,
sometimes are the part of a crime which is made on territory of other state.
The legal basis of activity of the states in combating international
crime is international criminal law, which is a branch of international public
law.
If the norms of international criminal law are not transformed into the
national legislation, then interrogators, inspectors, public prosecutors and
judges during abidance by rules of the named constitutional norm have the right
to refer to the decisions to specific norms of the international agreement.
The smuggling is committed only on the territory of two and more
states and according to the international custom, recognized by the states, is
an international offense. The punishment for a smuggling is established in the
national administrative or criminal legislation.
Till now there was no multilateral agreement on the struggle against
smuggling. In this respect it is possible to note only CTC CONVENTION about
cooperation in combating infringements of the customs
rules accepted in 1977 in Nayrobi (Kenya).
Generally the smuggling includes illegal moving of any values through
the border of the various states. Its danger for the international law and
order is that it undermines the relations of friendship and cooperation of the
states, monopoly of the states or other order in the field of foreign trade,
brings harm to the economic and cultural development of the states.
Unlike other crimes the smuggling is very dynamic ally and constantly
being «improved» by criminals and its updates are unpredictable. Now the
greatest danger to the international community is represented by a smuggling of
weapons to hot points of our planet. Quite often smugglers serve to the
representatives of the separate states which are supplied with the illicit
weapons various extremist, ultra-right, ultra-left, ultra-nationalistic, and
frank fascist groups, as well terrorists and simply criminals.
The Subject of smuggling is not only shooting, but also other kinds of
the weapon, including the ammunition and explosive substances. According to the
information of the UN, the representatives of some states also use services of
smugglers of the weapon «There is also black market of the weapon, of shooting
weapon and buyers of which can use in case when foreign governments do not
satisfy their needs. The sizes of this market cannot be determined, and
therefore also it is impossible to evaluate its real significance».
In practice, the international-legal combating such smuggling is not
conducted because the weapon is a legal object of foreign trade, and export of
the weapon — Legal tool of external policy of a state.
By virtue of the public danger, the smuggling is known for the
national law of all states. In our country the struggle against it is conducted
on the basis of the customs, administrative and criminal codes.
The legalization of the criminal incomes became widely circulated in
the countries with market economy. The mechanism of these crimes is rather
complex. As it is shown in the circuit, indicated in appendix, extracted by a
criminal way money removed abroad and located in different countries on the
accounts of business banks.
On these finances criminals create enterprises and banks, by an
official way buy foreign currency, conclude external economic and other
contracts. The accomplices of such crimes are the workers of banks hiding the
actions under pretext of preservation of bank secret.
This crime is referred to the Strasbourg convention on «washing up»,
revealing, withdrawal and confiscation of the incomes from criminal activity
1990 to the number of international crimes. The state-participants have
undertaken the obligations to announce «washing up» of such money as a crime,
to accept the laws in order to search, withdraw and confiscate the illegally
received finances, to remove all restrictions from disclosure or unfair use by
the workers of banks data about the holdings of the bank clients.
The states have undertaken obligations to fix legally the rights of
access of the authorized officers of law-enforcement bodies to banking operations
allowing duly investigation of these crimes.
Several states, having joined this Convention, already have introduced
to their national legislation essential amendments.
For example, in Great Britain since 1994 acts the law, according to
which the workers of all banks which have not informed law-enforcement bodies
about unusual, suspicious moving of money resources, can be called to account
in the criminal liability and to get up to 14 years of deprivation of freedom.
Earlier in the Netherlands started to act the law obliging the bank
workers to inform law-enforcement bodies about receipt on the accounts of the
bank customers of the sums of more than 25 thousand guldens. About the origin
of such means the account holder is obliged to give an explanation. The similar
norms are in USA, Italy and other countries.
The certain contribution to strengthening struggle against these crimes
has been introduced in International conference on prevention of «washing up»
of money, using the incomes from criminal activity and combating these illegal
incomes, conducted by the UN in Hens - Mayer (Italy) in June, 1994, and World
conference on the organized and transnational criminality at the governmental
level, organized by UN in Naples (ITALY) in November 1994.
At the World conference conducted under auspices of the UN the
Neapolitan political declaration and Global plan of actions against the
organized transnational crime were adopted, and further authorized by the
resolution of General Assembly of the United Nations.
In this Declaration of heads of the states and governments, ministers
and the officials of law-enforcement bodies have accepted the decision to
protect the countries from criminal incomes and from international criminal
organizations by adopting effective legislative measures and operative means.
The Global plan of actions emphasized the necessity of rendering the
technical assistance by the United Nations, including communication of
experience and exchange training, developing the drafts of bills, special
training of the officials of criminal justice, acquisition, analysis of the
information about the indicated crimes and exchange by it.
The Conference accepted offer of the representatives from Italy about
establishing on its territory new International training centre for the
officers of the law-enforcement bodies and the system of criminal justice.
One of the problems of this Centre — communication of experience of
combating legalization of the criminal incomes and other economic crimes of
international character.
Among other documents, it is necessary to mention Facultative protocol
to the Standard Agreement about the mutual assistance in the field of criminal
justice concerning the incomes of crimes, accepted by the resolution of the
General Assembly of the UN in 1990.
Illegal operations with narcotic means and psychotropic substances are
the most widespread among considered crimes. Attempts of the states alone to
combat these crimes were almost unsuccessful. The epidemic of drug habit went
worldwide.
In 1909 there was the first international organization to struggle
against the drug abusing — Shanghai commission. It coordinated cooperation of
the states in the struggle against an illegal turn-over of drugs, which has
become to be qualified as an international criminal offence.
Now only in the UN, there are several commissions who act in the field
of combating these crimes:
- UN Commission on narcotic means, which
determines the policy of international community in the field of the
international control of drugs. In its structure 40 members appointed by
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOS) of the UN;
- The department of the UN on narcotic means in
Vienna. It acts for the abovementioned Commission as Secretariat and supports
political will of governments by granting the information and services of the
experts;
- International council of controlling the narcotic means (ICCNM),
consists of 13 members - experts appointed by ECOSOS for supervision over
action of system of the international agreements for controlling drugs and
psychotropic substances. Annually it presents the report on world situation in
the field of the control drugs and psychotropic substances;
- the United Nations Fund of Drug Abuse Control
(UNFDAC), which is financed at the cost of voluntary contributions, helps
countries in planning and realization of the specific programs of the drugs
control and rehabilitation of drug addicts. In 1989 the Fund rendered the
assistance in realization of 152 projects in 49 states;
- the United Nations Drug Control Programme
(UNDCP), according to which General Assembly of the UN annually hears the
report of the General Secretary about realization of the World program of
actions on combating against illegal production, offer, demand, turn-over and
distribution of narcotic means and psychotropic substances. Such attention is
not casual. The public danger of these crimes grows. The object of their
encroachment is not only health of the people, but also external economic
relations among the states, damage to pharmaceutical and other branches of
national economy. They render negative influence on the relations with those
countries, which condone offences in this area and default the international
obligations, taken per.
Along with growth and distribution of drug addiction there had been
developed the process of development, perfection and rapprochement of the
international and national legislation on directions of agreements
between the states and national measures of criminal, administrative
and medical character.
The first international agreement became the Hague convention adopted
1912, which fixed the following basic rules:
- the production and distribution of crude opium
should be supervised by legislation;
- its smoking should be eradicated;
- the production, sale and use of drugs should
be limited by the law extremely in the medical purposes etc.
Subsequently 9 international agreements on struggle against considered
crimes had been adopted. Among them it is necessary to mention the Convention
on prohibition of illegal trade of narcotic means adopted in 1936.
With the purposes of unification of the numerous international norms of
law, in 1961 the Uniform convention on the narcotic means which have replaced
all earlier Conventions in this area except for the Convention 1936 was
adopted .
The article 36 of Single Convention describes 18 punishable acts:
cultivation, production, manufacturing, extraction, preparation, storage, offer
with commercial objectives, distribution, purchase, sale, delivery on any
terms, brokerage, dispatch, transshipment in transit, delivery, importation and
exportation of drugs made in infringement of the Convention norms.
Besides, the Convention gives the interpretation of cultivation, importation,
exportation and other acts. This list cannot be full, therefore the state in
norms of the national legislation can recognize criminal, for example,
consumption of drugs.
All of them are conditionally subdivided into illegal operations
manufacturing-oriented of narcotic means, their sale and purchase and
transportation.
The experts know about 500 kinds of narcotic means, which are made in
mainly from plants which contain narcotic substances. (poppy, hemp, coca,
cannabis and etc.). Narcotic properties have also psychotropic substances,
which cause in the person relaxation, hallucination or depression.
They are artificially created medicines, rendering influence on mental
functions of the person. They are even known as tranquilizers or antidepressants.
It establishes the measures regulating the control of production and
distribution of psychotropic substances, gives their provisional list, sets
the criminality and punishability of these acts at the discretion of states. In
the Convention there is no list criminally punishable acts.
Both conventions order the states, that all serious and deliberate
illegal operations with narcotic means and psychotropic substances be punished
by the imprisonment or other punishment connected with deprivation of freedom
(article 36 of Convention of 1961 and article 22 of Convention of 1971).
In violation of these norms Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Malaysia and other
countries (about 12) established death penalty for the use and distribution of
drugs.
The conventions provide a territorial principle of punishment of
criminals, i.e. under the laws of the state, on which territory the crimes are
accomplished.
On a place of detention of a criminal the jurisdiction is carried out
only for the reason of inadmissibility of his extradition.
The UN Convention of maritime law also contains the norm about struggle
against these crimes. Under the maritime law. According to an article 108 all
states cooperate in suppression of illegal trade of drugs and psychotropic
substances realized by ships in the high sea in violation of the international
rules.
The Convention 1988 determines as criminal the following acts:
production, manufacturing, extraction, distribution, sale, delivery on any
terms, transportation, import or export, and also cultivation of poppy, cocaine
sheets, cannabis with the purposes of illegal production of drugs.
The public instigation or prompting others to fulfillment such acts and
introduction into criminal arrangement with the purposes of their fulfillment
(article 3) is punished also.
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