ANALYSIS OF THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE UNDER ARTICLE 201-2 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The introduction of martial law in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale armed aggression of the rf has become the impetus for the adaptation of legislation to new times. Criminal legislation has also been affected by such changes, in particular, by the introduction of new offenses and toughening of sanctions. The article analyzes the composition of the criminal offense under Article 201-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine "Illegal use of humanitarian aid, charitable donations or free assistance with the purpose of profit". A number of shortcomings and problems of application of Article 201-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine are identified, taking into account both the construction of the article and the legal nature of what happened following the introduction of this article. The article discloses the main components of the criminal offense of misuse of humanitarian aid, namely "humanitarian aid", "charitable donations" and "free aid". Attention is focused on the subject of the criminal offense of non-targeted use of humanitarian aid. In particular, attention was drawn to the legal nature of the subject of this criminal offense: goods, funds, foreign currency, performance of works, provision of services, etc that must be recognized as humanitarian aid by the central executive body implementing the state policy of social protection of the population. It was also analyzed what constitutes a "violation of the legislation on humanitarian aid". A number of shortcomings and problems of the application of Article 201-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine have been identified, taking into account both the construction of the article and the legal nature of what happened with the appearance of the specified article. In particular, the following atypical situations in law enforcement regarding the responsibility of volunteers have been identified. It was established that the construction of the article is imperfect, which causes the emergence of both theoretical inaccuracies and the absence of unified law enforcement. Taking into account the arguments presented, we are inclined to think that the specified article should be excluded from the current Criminal Code of Ukraine, since the use of humanitarian aid for the purpose of obtaining profit could be fully covered by the existing system of criminal offenses, without creating an artificial competition of norms.