The Principle of Consumption in the Resolution of Conflicts in Criminal Law

Description

Legal doctrine identifies three main types of conflicts between criminal law norms and establishes corresponding principles for their resolution: the conflict between a special and a general norm, governed by the principle of speciality (lex specialis derogat legi generali); the conflict between a primary and a subsidiary norm, governed by the principle of subsidiarity (lex primaria derogat legi subsidiariae); and the conflict between a consuming and a consumed norm, governed by the principle of consumption (lex consumens derogat legi consumptae). Legal doctrine also refers to the conflict between a broader and a narrower norm, however, this category falls within the previously mentioned types. These principles serve to prevent a person from being punished twice for the same conduct. The aim of the study is to analyse the principle of consumption (lex consumens derogat legi consumptae) as a separate rule for resolving conflicts between criminal law norms. The research is based on doctrinal analysis and the examination of case law in order to explore the application of this principle and to distinguish it from other rules governing conflicts of norms. The study shows that the principle of consumption applies where a person’s conduct fulfils the elements of two or more criminal offences and the commission of one offence is typically not possible without the conduct constituting the other offence. In addition, both the conduct and the resulting harm are fully covered by a single criminal law provision. In such situations, the act should be classified under a single criminal law provision, and no concurrence of criminal offences (concursus delictorum) occurs.

Period	9 Apr 2026
Event title	68th International Scientific Conference of Daugavpils University
Event type	Conference
Conference number	68
Location	Daugavpils, LatviaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International