Oleg Lozinskiy Jul 24, 2012:

improper resolution of competing corpus delicti Proposed as a variant. Or not to involve Latin, There was an improper resolution of competing consituent elements of offense.

Anna Kostorna (asker) Jul 24, 2012:

in order to sound clear I guess..: incorrect classification of the elements of the crimes

Angela Greenfield Jul 22, 2012:

Continuation of my thoughts: In our case the hate crime was classified as "хулиганство", as far as I understand, so the конкуренция here, again as far as I understand, is due to the fact that, while хулиганство is part of the состав преступлений of this particular offense, the charge should have been for "fomenting hated" and the offense should have been classified as such.

rns Jul 22, 2012:

Still, "конкуренция составов преступлений" is a bit different.

Конкуренцию следует отличать от коллизии правовых норм и от совокупности преступлений.

как практическая проблема конкуренция возникает в тех случаях, когда у составов преступления (норм) совпадает не один элемент, а несколько, в особенности относящихся к объективной стороне.

Разрешение конкуренции (выбор одного состава из нескольких) зависит от типа конкуренции и ее разновидности.
— http://www.pravoznavec.com.ua/books/277/20220/28/

So, Angela, I'd say you were more right. :)

rns Jul 22, 2012:

well yes "you can only charge the person once for one crime" — sure, but AFAIK, you can charge the person for many crimes at once and if that's true then there can be no such thing as "conflict of elements of crime".

Angela Greenfield Jul 22, 2012:

And now, going back to what exactly the source sentence means. There was no conflict between the elements of the crime, there was an incorrect determination as to which criminal code provision to apply when charging the person for the offense. So the "conflict" (or whatever we call it) would have to be in the application of law, and not in the "elements of the offense".

Angela Greenfield Jul 22, 2012:

So, going back to what I was trying to say, "competing provisions" in these situations mean "overlapping provisions", or something to this effect. Going back to the same Wiki article we are both using: В англо-американском праве конкуренция уголовно-правовых норм рассматривается в рамках учения о «включающих» и «включаемых» преступлениях: признаки более сложного преступления (например, предумышленного убийства) считаются включающими признаки менее сложного (например, непредумышленного убийства)[1]. Based on this: норма, предусматривающая более строгое наказание, исключает необходимость одновремен­ного применения нормы с менее суровой санкцией. This is how "конкуренция" is resolved, and in that sense (you are right) they are mutually exclusive.

Angela Greenfield Jul 22, 2012:

not in a sense that I mean in your example it actually says what I am trying say - that the offense falls under two legal provisions/regulations, but you can only charge the person once for one crime, therefore you have to chose the best fit, so to say.
Conflict (again, IMHO) is when one provision, let's say, states that it is a felony and another provision states that it is not. I.e. contradicting provisions.

rns Jul 22, 2012:

"конкуренция" is mutually exclusive Конкуренция уголовно-правовых норм имеет место в случаях, когда одно и то же деяние регулируется двумя нормами уголовного законодательства, из которых подлежит применению только одна.
— http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Конкуренция_уголовно-правовых_н...

Angela Greenfield Jul 22, 2012:

I think we can say "competing elements of the offense" here. I am not sure, since I've never met it in English in any of the documents I worked in. I'll look around to see if this is an acceptable translation. What do my colleagues think?

Angela Greenfield Jul 22, 2012:

I think "conflict" means "mutually exclusive" and is better related to "коллизия" in Russian, whereas in our case from two or more possible scenarios the prosecutor has to chose one to use as a basis for his indictment, but the others (not chosen) are also possible. IMHO. Here's some reading on "конкуренция" in criminal law: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Конкуренция_уголовно-правовых_н...

Anna Kostorna (asker) Jul 22, 2012:

more context: the case of fomenting hatred was qualified as hooliganism therefore "имело место неправильное разрешение КОНКУРЕНЦИИ составов преступлений"