Кримінально-правовий вимір участі у війні в Україні: від комбатанта до військовополоненого

Abstract

Проаналізовано кримінально-правова характеристика видів участі у війні в Україні. Надано опис та пояснення правового становища учасників міжнародного збройного конфлікту на території України та похідних від нього проблем кримінально-правового значення. Виявлено недоліки вітчизняного законодавства та практики кримінально-правового регулювання відносин за участю комбатантів у війні як на боці України, так і на боці країни-агресора, запропоновано шляхи їх вирішення.The article is devoted to the criminal-legal characteristics of the types of par-ticipation in the war in Ukraine. A description and explanation of the legal position of the participants in the international armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine and the resulting problems of criminal law significance have been provided. The shortcomings of the domestic legislation and practice of criminal law regulation of relations involving combatants in the war both on the side of Ukraine and on the side of the aggressor country are identified, and ways of solving them are proposed. The following changes are proposed:1) change in investigative practice regarding the treatment of prisoners of war who are suspected of committing criminal offenses and in respect of whom, as evidenced by practice, preventive measures are not applied on the grounds that they are allegedly already in isolation, the threat of evading court and investigation or There seems to be no opposition to the investigation. The selection of a preven-tive measure and the transfer of such persons to pretrial detention centers is neces-sary at least for the reasons that this category of prisoners of war has a completely different motivation to escape and, accordingly, their status as detainees gives a wide list of powers to the corresponding category of officials who carry out their protection, in particular in pretrial detention centers;2) introduction of an addition to the Procedure for Detention of Prisoners of War by establishing theprohibition of prisoners of war to escape, arbitrarily leave the boundaries of the respective camps;3) addition of Article 438-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine "Escape of a pris-oner of war", the provision of which can be worded as follows: "Escape of a prisoner of war from a camp or precinct for keeping prisoners of war." The sanction must be proportional to the sanction of Part 1 of Art. 393 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. However, due to the fact that the object of this de lege ferendacriminal offense is the international legal order (in terms of the norms of international humanitarian law), the corresponding norm should be placed in Chapter XX of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.Correct and uniform qualification of the actions of theparticipants in the in-ternational armed conflict, which unfolded on February 24, 2022 as a result of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, is a guarantee of compliance with the principles of the rule of law and justice. At the same time, as evidenced by military, investigative and judicial practice, as well as the results of a systematic analysis of domestic legislation and the relevant international legal framework, there are both conflicts and gaps in the legal regulation of the status of combatants, prisoners of war and their treatment. In addition, the inadequacy in the qualification of actions of non-conventional combatants under Art. 258-3 or 260 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which obviously needs to be changed. Likewise, the area of criminal-legal response to conventional killings of combatants fighting on the side of Ukraine and cases of their capture remains completely incomplete. The opinion is advocated about the need to qualify similar cases according to Part 2of Art. 437 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, as waging an aggressive war. Military ser-vicemen of Ukraine should be recognized as victims of this crime.Проанализирована уголовно-правовая характеристика видов участия в войне в Украине. Дано описание и объяснение правового положения участников международного вооруженного конфликта на территории Украины и производных от него проблем уголовно-правового значения. Выявлены недостатки отечественного законодательства и практики уголовно-правового регулирования отношений с участием комбатантов в войне как на стороне Украины, так и на стороне страны-агрессора, предложены пути их решения.