Defense of Ukraine, protection of its sovereignty, inviolability and territorial integrity against aggressive encroachments, and ensuring of security of the State is the matter for the State, society and the entire people of Ukraine, as expressly enshrined in articles 17 and 65 of the Constitution of Ukraine. This activity of the State and society in general is the right of all entities existing in society and each of them individually, and at the same time it is consistent with their constitutional duty. This duty may reasonably be divided into the general one – that of the State, society and every citizen of Ukraine, and the special one, which is intrinsic to individual entities, namely: the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), the Security Service of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the National Guards of Ukraine, the State Special Transport Service, the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine and other military formations created in accordance with laws of Ukraine. In their essence and interaction, these entities constitute the military organization of Ukraine.

To ensure appropriate functioning of the military organization and the fulfillment of the tasks assigned to it, the State creates a fundamental legal framework which defines a special legal regime with regard to the rights and obligations of structural units of this organization. The basis of the legal regime is military discipline and military law and order.

This legal regime is implemented through a system of appropriate means: organizational, economic, and legal ones. The latter include the means of regulation, under criminal law, of public relations in terms of criminal liability for military crimes, which are generally (specifically) preventive, educational and punitive in nature and have a significant role to play. It is criminal law protection of public relations in the area of military service that contributes to the existence of proper military discipline and law and order in military units, this being a prerequisite for combat capability of these units and also ensuring generally that the State has defense and security capability. Under modern conditions, when Ukraine is, in fact, in the midst of armed conflict, this significantly affects the situation with crime in various areas of the State’s life, including in the AFU and other military formations created in accordance with legislation. The statistical data provided by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine show that recently, since 2014, there has been an increase in the number of crimes against the established procedure of military service (military crimes), which undoubtedly has a negative impact on defense capability and national security of Ukraine, and the capability of Ukraine’s military organization to respond adequately to any hostile acts by other States. Crimes against the military service procedure account for a significant share of the total crime rate in Ukraine. It is clear that if no measures are taken which can significantly affect military crime with a view to stabilizing the situation with military law and order and military discipline, this will create a considerable threat to national security of Ukraine.

The purpose of the article is to propose appropriate changes to the content of some articles of the current Criminal Code of Ukraine which establish criminal liability for military crimes.

Bibliography

Authored books

1. Brajnin Ja, Ugolovnyj zakon i ego primenenie [Criminal Law and Its Application] (Jurid lit 1967) (in Russian).

2. Iering R, Izbrannye trudy [Selected Works], t 2 (Jurid centr Press 2006) (in Russian).

3. Kharytonov S, Kryminalna vidpovidalnist za viiskovi zlochyny za kryminalnym pravom Ukrainy [Criminal Liability for Military Crimes under Criminal Law of Ukraine] (Pravo 2018) (in Ukrainian).

4. Kudashkin A, Voennaja sluzhba v Rossijskoj Federacii: teorija i praktika pravovogo regulirovanija [Military Service in the Russian Federation: Theory and Practice of Legal Regulation] (Jurid centr Press 2003) (in Russian).

Dictionaries

5. Ukrainskyi tlumachnyi slovnyk (tezaurus): 250 000 sliv [Ukrainian Explanatory Dictionary (Thesaurus): 250,000 Words] (Busel V uklad i holov red, Perun 2016) (in Ukrainian).

Journal articles

6. Kovalev M, ‘Optimal’noe sootnoshenie formal’nogo i ocenochnogo v ugolovnom zakone’ [‘Optimal Balance between the Formal and the Evaluative in Criminal Law’] (1973) 11 Sovetskoe gosudarstvo i pravo 68–74 (in Russian).

7. Panov N, ‘Ocenochnye ponjatija i ih primenenie v ugolovnom prave’ [‘Evaluative Concepts and Their Use in Criminal Law’] (1976) 7 Problemy socialisticheskoj zakonnosti 99–106 (in Russian).

8. Frolov E i Piteckij V, ‘Garantii zakonnosti i ocenochnye ponjatija v ugolovnom prave’[‘Guarantees of Legality and Evaluative Concepts in Criminal Law’] (1979) 6 Sovetskoe gosudarstvo i pravo 87–91 (in Russian).

9. Kharytonov S, ‘Suspilna nebezpechnist yak oznaka viiskovykh zlochyniv’ [‘Public Danger as a Sign of Military Crimes’] (2016) 3 Visnyk Vyshchoi kvalifikatsiinoi komisii suddiv Ukrainy 37–41 (in Ukrainian).

Thesis

10. Kharytonov S, ‘Viiskovi zlochyny: poniattia, systema ta problemy kvalifikatsii’ [‘Military Crimes: Concept, System and Qualification Issues’] (avtoref dys d-ra yuryd nauk, 2019) (in Ukrainian).