Georgieva, Natalia2025-07-012025-07-0120252367-5314https://doi.uni-plovdiv.bg/handle/store/638This scientific article aims to explore the essence of the motive as a subjective element of the criminal act, which is not included in the content of guilt and to focus on the guidelines of its importance in criminal law. The theoretical foundations are laid out on the plane of the doctrine of crime and, through the dialectical method and the interdisciplinary approach, the questions about 1) Motive as a mental element of the criminal act; 2) The criminal law significance of the motive in determining the classification of the act and the punishment; 3) The comparative legal aspects between motive and purpose of the criminal act; 4) Classification of motives and criteria for their definition.othermotivecrimeactbehaviorsubjective partyguiltcriminal law meaningpurposeconstitutive signclassificationArticle