Strengthening liability for unauthorised abandonment of a military unit or place of service in the light of current criminal law issues

Abstract

The norm of criminal law in the part of crimes against the established procedure of military service, namely, unauthorized abandonment of a military unit or place of service, has been considered. The chronology of the formation of Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine has been characterized, the acquired changes, in particular, both in terms of disposition and sanctions. A comparative analysis of draft laws that increase criminal liability for unauthorized abandonment of a military unit or place of service has been carried out. The dispositions that took place in the application of changes to the current legislation have been outlined. The issues of draft law No. 8271 of December 8, 2022 on increasing responsibility for unauthorized abandonment of a military unit or place of service have been analyzed, in particular, a comparative analysis was carried out with a retrospective view. The impossibility of applying the institution of exemption from serving a sentence with probation was considered as a criminal legal consequence in the course of acquired changes. At the same time, separate criminal law norms that are applied by the courts after the acquisition of changes in the criminal legislation have been highlighted. In addition, an analysis of public opinion has been carried out, which gained resonance, and the main theses proposed by the authors of the petition have been outlined. Based on the fundamental positions of the public, the risks that are likely to occur in the practical plane of applying changes to the current legislation have been investigated. With the use of criminological research, statistical data have been provided that make it necessary to strengthen the responsibility of military personnel for committing crimes against the established order of military service. As part of this, quantitative indicators of the growth of military crime in different years and at different background stages of the socio-political situation, economic situation, etc. have been given. The expediency of applying the strengthening of legal responsibility of military personnel, in particular criminal, taking into account individual recommendations, has been emphasized.