“THIEF IN LAW”: A KNOWN NOTION AND NEW CRIMINAL LAW PROBLEMS

Abstract

The article states that a “thief in law” is one of the types of persons who are in the status of a subject of increased criminal influence and is characterized by such features as the presence of authority, the presence of other personal qualities and capabilities; criminal influence and coordination of criminal activity of other persons who carry out criminal influence. It was stated that the word “thief” is Russism, and the very phrase “thief in law” is jargon, the use of which is unacceptable in the Criminal Code, which violates the requirement of an official nature. The phrase “thief in law” in the Criminal Code carries a substantive problem, which is to reveal the features of this concept with the help of evaluative vocabulary, which is a violation of the requirement of legal certainty. The analysis of interim decisions in criminal proceedings and final court decisions in administrative proceedings, which addressed the issue of revoking the decisions of authorized bodies to prohibit entry into the territory of Ukraine of foreign nationals due to their status as “thieves in law”, revealed criteria that use courts to establish that a person had the status of “thief in law”.These are: passing the initiation procedure (“coronation”) and obtaining the appropriate status; control and distribution of material goods; fulfilling the role of a “justice of the peace” in resolving conflicts and disputes that have arisen between representatives of crime; influence on the representatives of crime, providing them with appropriate instructions, control over their implementation; the presence of criminal authority in the criminal world; unquestionable authority among criminals. The fact of the status of a “thief in law” can be confirmed by publications in the press of the relevant content, if there is no court decision refuting the inaccuracy of this information.