Evolution of Ukranian legislation on criminal responsibility

Abstract

This article is concerning on peculiarities of evolution of Ukrainian criminal legislation at all stages of its development through complex analysis of its sources and historical periodization based on the principles of scientificity, historicism, objectivity etc., as well as the use of special historical, source-based, comparative methods and hermeneutics. The effectiveness of enforcement of criminal legislation, the consistent of the latter with the provisions of international legal acts requires a comprehensive scientific research, in particular thorough study of certain historical aspects. Such study will provide the background for future revision and improvement of the provisions of current criminal legislation. Key legal acts that emerged during the criminal legislation evolution (including customary law, “Rus’ka Pravda” (legal statute of Kyivan Rus), Lithuanian Statutes, hetman laws, Sachsenspiegel, Magdeburg Law, Laws to be used in courts by people of Little Rus, Lawbook of criminal and corrective penalties, Criminal Lawbook, “Guiding Principles on Criminal Law of Russian Socialist Federal Republic”, Criminal Code of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and Criminal Code of Ukraine) have been studied. As a result the determination of key stages of criminal legislation development driven by socio-political and economic changes in the process of Ukrainian statehood establishment has been envisaged. The following periods of evolution of domestic legislation on criminal responsibility have been distinguished: 1) ducal period (9th – mid 14th centuries); 2) inclusion of Ukrainian lands into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Polish and Hungarian kingdoms and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (mid-14th – mid-17th centuries); 3) Zaporozhian Sich and Ukrainian Hetman State (mid-17th – end of 18th centuries) 4) accession of Ukraine into the Russian, Austrian and Austro-Hungarian Empires (end of 18th – beginning of 20th century); 5) Ukrainian Revolution and the restoration of Ukrainian state (1917-1921); 6) establishment and existence of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919-1991); 7) independent Ukraine (since 1991-2020).