Termination of Citizenship of the Russian Federation because of Crimes or Actions that Pose a Threat to National Security: A Comparative Legal Aspect

Abstract

The formation of a new direction of state policy on the termination of citizenship of the Russian Federation is conditioned by the need to ensure the national security of the country in the modern world. The international legal doctrine in the field of revocation of citizenship states that this measure will never be able to comply with modern international human rights law, while many Western states turn to this institution not only when perpetrators commit terrorist crimes, but also in all types of treason. The objectives of the study are a comparative legal and historical analysis of the regulations on the termination of citizenship for crimes and actions that infringe on national security in Russia and a number of countries in which this practice exists. The purpose of the study is to analyze trends in the formation of Russian state policy in this area. The methodological basis of the research is the use of general scientific and private scientific methods of cognition, including historical and formal legal ones. The authors conclude that the termination of citizenship is a de facto sanction. Punishment in the form of revocation of citizenship can be a deterrent in conditions of constant (often uncontrolled) increase in the Russian population due to migrants. Termination of citizenship as an additional criminal law measure to the main type of punishment should be applied only by the court, accordingly, such a sanction should be fixed directly in the criminal law. The authors point to the need to modernize the legislation on citizenship of the Russian Federation, as well as to expand the list of types of penalties provided for by criminal law, provisions on termination of citizenship for committing specific crimes and actions that pose a threat to national security.