Illegal crossing of the State Border of Ukraine: some aspects of elements of crime

Abstract

The article analyzes elements of the crime covered by the Article 332-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, establishing criminal liability for illegal crossing of the State Border of Ukraine, and also discloses peculiarities of the criminal legal qualification of this action.
 It is determined that as the patrimonial object of the crime under the Article 332-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine should be considered homogeneous social relations, covering a certain sphere of the public life that is the border security of Ukraine, violation of which causes socially dangerous harm to the components of this sphere that is defense of the State and its border protection, sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability. The direct object of this crime is the public relations, which provide for the normatively established and regulated procedure for crossing the State Border of Ukraine.
 It has been established that the procedure for crossing the State Border of Ukraine may manifest itself in several forms: 1) by any means (by foot, by auto transport, by swimming etc.) outside the checkpoints across the State Border of Ukraine; 2) by any means (whether hidden or breaking through, or not) at checkpoints across the State Border of Ukraine without the relevant documents; 3) by any means (whether hidden or breaking through, or not) at checkpoints across the State Border of Ukraine with the documents, containing inaccurate information.
 Should not be underestimated the blanket nature of the disposition of the mentioned article that requires precise determination of the relevant regulatory acts, determining the list of documents that are necessary for crossing the State Border of Ukraine by a certain category of people, and also confirm the fact of opening a specific checkpoint across the State Border of Ukraine.
 The disposition of the Article 332-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine defines several groups of subjects, in particular: 1) a person who is prohibited from entering the territory of Ukraine; 2) a representative of a unit of the armed forces or other law enforcement agencies of the State who is an aggressor; 3) a person with the aim to illegally cross the State Border of Ukraine for harming the interests of the State. Moreover, it was established that the aim for “harming the interests of the State” is not necessary for the illegal crossing of the State Border of Ukraine by persons who are prohibited from entering the territory of Ukraine, or by representatives of a unit of the armed forces or other law enforcement agencies of the State who is an aggressor.
 The criminalization of the illegal crossing of the State Border of Ukraine is an important aspect of creating conditions for the proper protection of the vital interests of an individual, the society and the State from real and potential external and internal threats in the border space of Ukraine.