One crime committed by one person is the simplest situation which can occur in the law application practice. There is a more complicated situation where one person commits several crimes or one crime is committed by several persons (by association). Even more complicated are the situations where several crimes are committed by several persons and these include cases when crimes are committed by stable associations, the establishment and participation in which are criminal as such. And, perhaps, the most controversial issue is to decide on the qualification of crimes committed by a gang and a criminal organization.

The purpose of this article is to determine whether there are specific aspects in the application of the articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Ukraine’s CC) which establish liability for banditry and for forming of a criminal organization in modern conditions, and also to determine the prospects of maintaining the relevant articles in Ukraine’s CC.

Over time, there have been several changes to the approaches used to qualify the crimes committed by a gang. From the very beginning, the qualification as banditry was applied to any criminal act committed by a gang, and such acts did not receive a separate assessment under criminal law. This position rested upon very severe punishment for banditry.

Later, a different approach was proposed: the crimes punishable more severely than banditry were subject to separate assessment under criminal law. And today all crimes (regardless of the severity of punishment prescribed) should be additionally qualified under the articles prescribing liability for such criminal acts. The same approach is proposed for the qualification of crimes committed by a criminal organization.

As a result of changes in the approaches to punishability of crimes committed by a gang, banditry has gradually lost its essence and today it is merely a shell which needs to be filled in. There is also no self-sufficient essence in such a crime as forming of a criminal organization (at least in the forms of establishment of a criminal organization, participation in it and participation in crimes committed by a criminal organization).

The author proves the vulnerability of the approach according to which crimes committed by a gang and a criminal organization are subject to additional qualification under the articles prescribing liability for these crimes. This vulnerability is manifested, in particular, in the following: the preventive potential of the articles prescribing liability for banditry and for forming of a criminal organization are overestimated, the systemic nature of the law on criminal liability is infringed, and the principle prohibiting double incrimination is not complied with.

The problematic aspects pertaining to the application of Ukraine’s CC articles which prescribe liability for banditry and for forming of a criminal organization can be resolved by amending the Criminal Code of Ukraine (legislative level). And until such amendments are made – by direct application of provisions of the Ukrainian Constitution as the provisions having direct effect (law application level).

List of legal documents

Legislation

1. Kryminalnyi kodeks Ukrainy [The Criminal Code of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 5 kvitnia 2001 r. № 2341-III <http://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/ show/2341-14/ed20010405> (accessed: 25.11.2018) (in Ukrainian).

 2. Ugolovnyj kodeks Rossijskoj Socialisticheskoj Federativnoj Sovetskoj Respubliki [The Criminal Code of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic] (Izdanie Voennoj Kollegii Verh Tribun VCIK 1922) (in Russian). 3. Ugolovnyj kodeks Ukrainskoj SSR. Oficial’nyj tekst s izmenenijami i dopolnenijami po sostojaniju na 1 janvarja 1964 goda [The Criminal Code of Ukrainian SSR. The Official Text with Changes and Additions on January 1, 1964] (Politvydav Ukrainy 1964) (in Russian).

4. Ugolovnyj kodeks USSR [The Criminal Code of the UkSSR ] v redakcii 1927 g. s izm. po 1-e ijunja 1928 g. 3-e oficial’noe izdanie (Juridicheskoe izdatel’stvo Narkomjusta USSR 1928) (in Russian).

Cases

5. ‘O sudebnoj praktike po delam ob umyshlennom ubijstve [‘On Case Law in Intentional Homicide Cases]: postanovlenie Plenuma Verhovnogo Suda SSSR’ [Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the USSR’] ot 27 ijunja 1975 g. № 4 v Terebilov V (obshh red), Sbornik postanovlenij Plenuma Verhovnogo Suda SSSR 1924-1986 [Collected Resolutions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the USSR 1924-1986] (Izvestija Sovetov narodnyh deputatov SSSR 1987) (in Russian).

6. Pro praktyku rozghliadu sudamy kryminalnykh sprav pro zlochyny, vchyneni stiikymy zlochynnymy ob’iednanniamy [On the Practice of Court Proceedings in Criminal Cases for Crimes Committed by Stable Criminal Associations]: postanova Plenumu Verkhovnoho Sudu Ukrainy [Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Ukraine] vid 23 hrudnia 2005 r. № 13 <http://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/v0013700-05> (accessed: 23.11.2018) (in Ukrainian).

7. Pro sudovu praktyku v spravakh pro bandytyzm [On Case Law in Banditry Cases]: postanova Plenumu Verkhovnoho Sudu Ukrainy [Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Ukraine] vid 7 lypnia 1995 r. № 9 <http://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/ show/v0009700-95> (accessed: 27.11.2018) (in Ukrainian).

Bibliography

Authored books

8. Baulin Yu ta inshi, Kryminalne pravo Ukrainy. Zahalna chastyna: pidruchnyk [Criminal Law of Ukraine. General Part: Textbook] (5-te vyd pererobl i dopovn, Pravo 2015) (in Ukrainian)

9. Gercenzon A i drugie, Ugolovnoe pravo (Osobennaja chast’). Gosudarstvennye prestuplenija [Criminal Law (Special Part). State Crimes] (Juridicheskoe izdatel’stvo NKJu SSSR 1938) (in Russian).

10. Holina V, Kryminolohichni ta kryminalno-pravovi problemy borotby z bandytyzmom: sotsialno-pravove i kryminolohichne doslidzhennia: monohrafiia [Criminological and Criminal-law Problems of Fight against Banditry: Social-legal and Criminological Research: Monograph] (Rehion-inform 2004) (in Ukrainian).

11. Shargorodskij M i drugie, Kommentarij k Ugolovnomu kodeksu RSFSR 1960 g. [Commentary of the Criminal Code of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic adopted in 1960 year] (Izdatel’stvo Leningradskogo universiteta 1962) (in Russian).

12. Zinchenko I ta Tiutiuhin V, Odynychni zlochyny: poniattia, vydy, kvalifikatsiia: monohrafiia [Single Crimes: Concept, Types, Qualification: Monograph] (FINN 2010) (in Ukrainian).

Journal articles

13. Bykov V, ‘Kak razgranichit’ banditizm i razboj’ [‘How to Distinguish between the Banditry and Brigandage’] (2001) 3 Rossijskaja justicija 52 (in Russian).

14. Hiljuta V, ‘Kak razgranichit’ razboj i banditizm?’ [‘How to Distinguish between the Banditry and Brigandage?’] (2012) 3 Zakonnost’ 42 (in Russian).

15. Mal’cev V, ‘Banditizm: osobo opasnoe social’noe javlenie ili juridicheskaja fikcija?’ [‘Banditry: a Particularly Dangerous Social Phenomenon or a Legal Fiction?’] (2012) 10 Zakonnost’ 39 (in Russian).

16. Mykhailenko D, ‘Struktura bahatorubizhnoho mekhanizmu pravovoi protydii koruptsii’ [‘Structure of Multifrontier Mechanism of Legal Corruption’s Counteraction’] (2017) 2 Yurydychnyi visnyk 114 (in Ukrainian).

Conference papers

17. Navrotskyi V, ‘Kryminalno-pravovi aspekty pryntsypu pravovoi vyznachenosti’ [‘Criminal-law Aspects of the Principle of the Legal Certainty’] v Tatsii V (holov red), Sotsialna funktsiia kryminalnoho prava: problemy naukovoho zabezpechennia, zakonotvorennia ta pravozastosuvannia: Mizhnarodna naukovo-praktychna konferentsiia [Social Function of Criminal Law: the Problems of Scientific Support, Law-making and Law-application] (Pravo 2016) <http://ivpz.org/images/pdf/zbirnik_konf_2016.pdf> (accessed: 17.11.2018) (in Ukrainian).

Thesis abstracts

18. Achmiz L, ‘Banditizm: pravovye, kriminologicheskie i pravoprimenitel’nye aspekty (po materialam sudebnoj praktiki Krasnodarskogo kraja)’ [‘Banditry: Legal, Criminological and Law-application Aspects (Based on the Juridical Practice of the Krasnodar Territory)’] (avtoref diss kand jurid nauk, Kubanskij gosudarstvennyj universitet 2006) (in Russian).

19. Chornyi R, ‘Bandytyzm za kryminalnym pravom Ukrainy’ [‘Banditry in Criminal Law of Ukraine’] (avtoref dys kand yuryd nauk, Akademiia advokatury Ukrainy 2005) (in Ukrainian).

20. Nagaeva T, ‘Ugolovno-pravovaja ocenka napadenija’ [‘Criminal-law Evaluation of Attack’] (avtoref diss kand jurid nauk, Moskovskaja gosudarstvennaja juridicheskaja akademija 2005) (in Russian).

21. Ostrovskih Zh, ‘Ugolovno-pravovaja i kriminologicheskaja harakteristika banditizma (po materialam Vostochno-Sibirskogo regiona)’ [‘Criminal-law and Criminological Characterization of Banditry (Based on East-Siberian Region)’] (avtoref dis kand jurid nauk, Bajkal’skij gosudarstvennyj universitet jekonomiki i prava 2006) (in Russian).