Introduction Of Criminal Misdemeanors In Ukraine: Urgent Need Or Unnecessary Initiative?

Abstract

The basic theoretical approaches, as well as provisions of special draft legislative acts concerning the introduction of the institution of criminal misdemeanors are analyzed. Controversial aspects of the introduction of criminal misdemeanors into the legislation of Ukraine are considered. A special attention is paid to the absence of clear arguments in expedience of supplementing the provisions of the Criminal Code with this institution. Issues connected with determining the concept of «criminal misdemeanor», criminalization of special administrative offences, refusal from convictions for the commission of a criminal misdemeanor by a person are examined.

The approach to the improvement of the current Criminal Code by bringing the norms of substantive law in conformity with the norms of procedural law is denied. As far as under a general rule, the norms of procedural law are derived from the norms of substantive law.

It is proved that there are no absolute arguments in expedience of the introduction of a criminal misdemeanor into the legislation of Ukraine neither in scientific publications, nor in the explanatory notes to draft laws on this issue.

Based on the analysis, the idea of introducing the institution of criminal misdemeanor into the provisions of the Criminal Code of Ukraine seems to be questionable, because the most effective argument for such novels is the need for discharging investigation units. However, this result can be achieved by means of prediction of simplified procedure for the investigation of special types of crimes in the Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine.