General Principles of Criminal law Qualification of Smuggling of Timber or Sawn Timber

Abstract

The article is devoted to establishing the general principles of criminal law qualification of the offence under Article 201-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, namely, transportation across the customs border of Ukraine outside the customs control or with concealment from customs control of timber or sawn timber of valuable and rare tree species, unprocessed timber, and other timber prohibited for export outside the customs territory of Ukraine (smuggling of timber or sawn timber).
 The article deals with the issues related to the result of criminal law qualification of timber or sawn timber smuggling, and determination of the specifics of such qualification, if it is carried out officially. The attention is focused on recording the process and the result of criminal law qualification of timber or sawn timber smuggling, in the context of which the peculiarities of its substantiation, specification of the qualification formula and formulation of suspicion (accusation) are determined. It is analysed the grounds for criminal law qualification of timber or sawn timber smuggling. The recommendations on criminal law qualification are illustrated with examples from court practice. 
 The author distinguishes and characterises the types of criminal law qualification of the offence under Article 201-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, depending on the specifics of the corpus delicti of a criminal offence, other criteria and taking into account the peculiarities of the initial stage of criminal procedure.
 Based on the results of the research, it is drawn a conclusion about the general principles underlying the criminal law qualification of smuggling of timber or sawn timber. On this basis, the author formulates scientifically based recommendations aimed at ensuring effective application of Article 201-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in the course of pre-trial investigation.