VIOLATION OF CUSTOMS RULES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW: THE PROBLEM OF DELIMITATION

Abstract

The definition of a customs offence is necessary to develop a unified approach to them, to establish the powers of customs authorities, and to ensure interaction between customs authorities of different countries.The problems of countering smuggling have recently become particularly relevant in terms of its regulatory and organizational support, which objectively brings to the fore the study of the causal complex of both smuggling and relevant changes in legislation. The International Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in the Prevention, Investigation and Suppression of Customs Offences (the "Nairobi Convention") defines a customs offence, which includes such customs offences as customs fraud and smuggling. The article is devoted to the study of the issue of distinguishing between the types of customs rules violations in their qualification in foreign economic activity. It is noted that smuggling is considered to be the movement of goods outside checkpoints and violation of routes intended for the import or export of goods; loading or unloading of ships and aircraft outside the places intended for this purpose; failure to declare goods; concealment of goods in caches or other places not intended for goods; release of goods from free zones, duty-free shops, customs warehouses and customs zones without completion of customs procedures; provision of false, fraudulent or forged documents; provision of The following signs of a customs offence are distinguished: material, formal and procedural. The article considers two groups of crimes which are distinguished in the theory of international criminal law: international crimes and crimes of an international nature, or conventional crimes. The author formulates the definition of an international customs crime as a socially dangerous act that infringes upon the procedure established by international legal acts for the movement of goods and other items across the customs border, which entails criminal liability under national legislation. The author proposes a classification of customs rules violations depending on the object of the offence.