The article explores the evolution of collective liability in criminal law from historical forms of collective punishment to contemporary models of corporate and quasi-criminal responsibility.

The problem lies in defining the boundaries between individual guilt and collective responsibility, which is gaining increasing significance in connection with the transnationalization of crime, digital forms of governance, and military challenges. In contemporary conditions, corporate structures, transnational associations, political or military-industrial complexes act as autonomous actors, capable of coordinating mass violations of human rights or financing criminal activity while formally remaining outside the scope of criminal prosecution. This generates a doctrinal contradiction between the classical concept of personal guilt, based on the individual’s mental attitude toward the act, and the functional model of organizational responsibility, which takes into account the role of collective governance, corporate decisions, and deficits of control. The growing influence of artificial intelligence, digital platforms, and algorithmic management also blurs the traditional boundaries of criminal-law subjectivity, complicating the establishment of causal links between human intent and automated processes. In the military context, this problem is exacerbated by the participation of private corporations in military-technical support, information operations, and conflict financing schemes, where collective decisions may produce consequences commensurate with crimes of an international character. Therefore, determining the scope of criminal liability of collective entities requires a rethinking of the boundaries of guilt, complicity, and control, as well as the harmonization of national approaches with international standards of corporate responsibility and the principle of the rule of law.

The aim is to identify the patterns in the development of modern models of collective criminal liability and to outline the possibilities of their harmonization with European and international legal standards. The methodological framework combines historical-comparative, systemic, and functional analysis, applying the concepts of indirect co-perpetration, joint criminal enterprise (JCE), and corporate liability.

Main findings demonstrate that Ukrainian criminal law has evolved from a fiscally oriented administrative sanction model toward a system of quasi-criminal liability of legal entities (Article 96³ of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), allowing corporations to be held accountable for the acts of their authorized representatives even without establishing the guilt of a specific natural person.

This approach aligns Ukraine with European doctrines of corporate guilt, enhances the preventive function of criminal law through compliance and due diligence mechanisms, yet requires refinement of evidentiary standards and proportionality safeguards.

Conclusions. Following V. Stashis’s position on the dangers of absolutizing collective guilt, the author emphasizes the need for a cautious approach to the criminalization of collective entities, combined with alignment to global modernization trends and adherence to the principles of justice and the rule of law.

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