CONCEPTUAL PRINCIPLES OF CODIFICATION OF MILITARY LEGISLATION OF UKRAINE AND THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND: A COMPARATIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the conceptual foundations of codification of military legislation of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland, to the identification of the internal structure of codification acts of military legislation of the two countries, to the determination of the subject matter of their legal regulation, the scope and content of legal provisions, and to the identification of the advantages and disadvantages in the rule-making process. The article provides a comparative legal analysis of the main structural elements of codification acts of military legislation of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland. The article highlights a number of problematic aspects of legal regulation of military legal relations which require legal regulation in the course of codification of military legislation of Ukraine, and also identifies the key areas for its improvement, and also determines the genesis and general trends of its further development. The author emphasizes the need to take into account in the military legislation of Ukraine the modern, positive practical experience of rule-making work on codification of military legislation carried out in the Republic of Poland, which is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty.The article pays special attention to the analysis of the essence and content of codification of military legislation at the level of regulatory and legal regulation and scientific and applied developments, and emphasizes the need to introduce the conceptual and categorical apparatus of military legislation and the normative definition of the concept of “codification of military legislation” as a way of systematizing military legislation. Given the above problematic aspects and progressive scientific ideas, the article also outlines the prospects for further development of codification of military legislation in Ukraine. The comparative legal analysis of the conceptual foundations of the structure and constituent elements of the codification acts of military legislation of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland made in the article will contribute to determining the theoretical and legal basis for further preparation of practical recommendations (proposals) on the codification of military legislation in Ukraine. The article draws attention to the need to continue scientific research and in-depth study of the leading foreign experience of the Republic of Poland on the codification of military legislation, and to formulate and implement in Ukraine the basic conceptual foundations for the construction of a codification act of military legislation, and to clearly define its subject matter of legal regulation, the scope of legal relations and content.The article notes that the basis of military legislation of Ukraine at the legislative level is made up of 4 codification acts (the Statutes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine) which regulate only certain groups of military legal relations on the organization, performance of military service, and disciplinary liability of military personnel.Based on the results of the comparative legal analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that the codification of military legislation carried out in the Republic of Poland is larger than the codification of military legislation of Ukraine in terms of the number of legal provisions included in the codification act (824 articles) and the content thereof. The article draws attention to the fact that military legislation of Ukraine, unlike the military legislation of the Republic of Poland, does not regulate many important legal relations, including those related to the operation of the system of military justice bodies (military police, military courts, military prosecutors), etc.Given the above problematic aspects and advantages, the article emphasizes that military legislation of Ukraine needs to be systematized in the form of codification, taking into account the experience of leading European countries. One of the priority areas of codification of military legislation is the formation and construction of a conceptual new system of military legislation in Ukraine, which will be based on a single codification act – the Military Code of Ukraine. At the same time, an important area of legal regulation of military legislation in Ukraine will remain the strengthening of social protection of servicemen and their families.