Fine as a type of disciplinary penalty against prisoners of war

Abstract

The article examines national legislation and international legal acts operating in the field of international humanitarian law, in particular, regarding the treatment of prisoners of war. It has been emphasized that in the modern legal science of Ukraine there are no relevant scientific works devoted to the study of issues of bringing prisoners of war to disciplinary responsibility.

Emphasis is placed on the fact that the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 1949, in the conditions of martial law in our country, played an important role, determined the need and became the basis for the creation of appropriate national legislation regulating social relations in this area.

It has been established that the legal position of prisoners of war is not the same and depends on their military rank, in particular, this is clearly expressed, for example, when they are recruited to work, brought to disciplinary responsibility, etc.

It has been found that the fine, as a disciplinary sanction that can be applied to prisoners of war, from the point of view of its content and method of presentation, is characterized by its incomprehensibility, uncertainty and lack of terms used in its description in the national legislation. It has been concluded that the domestic legislator almost completely adopted (copied) this regulatory provision from the international legal act, without taking into account the realities and specifics of domestic legislation. In this regard, concerns have been expressed about its possible practical application in the form in which it currently exists.

It has been established that the fine for prisoners of war, in contrast to convicts, is assigned according to the system of penalty days, and consists in assigning to the prisoner of war the daily amount of the fine, determined in accordance with the legislation in the national currency of Ukraine. A clearly defined number of days (term), during which he or she is obliged to pay the corresponding amount of money has been set.

Emphasis is placed on the imperfection of national legislation, in particular, in the part of defining and applying fines to prisoners of war, on the basis of which the author has proposed appropriate changes and additions to it.