Genesis of criminal liability for offenses against public safety, the object of which is weapons, service ammunition, explosives and explosive devices

Abstract

The historical development of criminal liability for crimes against public safety, the object of which is weapons, service ammunition, explosives and explosive devices, has been analyzed. It has been established that the development of domestic legislation on criminal liability is related to the creation and operation of the Russkaia Pravda, the Statutes of the Principality of Lithuania, the Rights and Rules of Malorossiia, the Criminal Codes of Ukrainian SSR of 1922, 1927 and 1960, the Criminal Code of Ukraine of 2001.

It has been proved that the first mentioning of crimes against public safety (in the modern sense) appeared during the period of Kievan Rus, when the appropriation of the lost weapons was recognized as a crime. Sales and transportation of weapons became criminal acts during the time of Galicia-Volyn Principality. The issues of liability for the crimes of this group received rapid development at the end of the XIX century, at the time of the entry into force of the Code on Criminal and Corrective Penalties of 1845. Socio-political situation of the early XX century contributed to further changes in the determination of liability for the manufacture, acquisition, transportation, and sale without adequate permission of explosives or ammunition. The Criminal Code of Ukrainian SSR of 1922 and the Criminal Code of Ukrainian SSR of 1927 contained norms on liability for the crimes of the mentioned group, which had undergone minor changes for the entire period of the laws. Post-war times are characterized by the emergence of new corpus delicti, such as concealing trophy property or weapons. Analyzed crimes undergone substantial changes during the validity years of the Criminal Code of Ukrainian SSR of 1960, when the scope of criminal acts, the object of which is weapons, service ammunition, explosives and explosive devices, has increased quantitatively. For the first time in the course of the development of legislation, crimes against public safety were clearly stipulated in the separate Section IX of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine of 2001.

The author has defined the following main stages of the genesis of criminal liability for the crimes of this group: a) the formation of crimes against public safety (in their modern sense) as criminal acts; b) legislative consolidation of the norms on the liability for committing crimes of this group; c) the socialist period of criminal liability and its improvement; d) the modern period that is oriented towards international integration and adaptation to the norms of international law.