Socio-criminological prerequisites for criminalization of land mismanagement

Abstract

The article focuses on the most important prerequisites for criminalization of land mismanagement which the authors define as phenomena and processes taking place in various spheres and levels of social reality and establishing the objective need and social demand for legislative recognition of the expediency to protect certain values under criminal law by defining the relevant socially dangerous encroachments as criminal offenses punishable under criminal law. The authors analyze some components of the socio-criminological prerequisites for land mismanagement criminalization which include the degree of social danger of acts, their relative prevalence and typicality, the dynamics of acts, the expediency of using criminal law means to influence such acts, and also the abilities of the criminal justice system. The authors provide a rationale for using the term “socio-criminological prerequisites” which ensues from the requirements of social adequacy of criminalization, its admissibility from the perspective of the main characteristics of social systems and processes, as well as the criminological nature of studies dealing with the prevalence of offenses, their typicality and dynamics.It is demonstrated that the high level of social danger associated with land mismanagement is attributable, inter alia, to the value of land as an object of encroachment, which is determined by its ability, in conjunction with society, to perform particular functions (economic, biological, and social) with regard to humanity. The article analyzes the global factors which increase the social danger of land mismanagement, such as Ukraine’s status as a guarantor of food security in many countries worldwide, and the persistent trends of global soil degradation which endanger food supply to a sizeable share of the world’s population and are thus recognized as one of the most crucial challenges to sustainable development globally.The analysis of criminological information sources in terms of identifying the land mismanagement facts provided the ground for the conclusion that such encroachments are classified as fairly common offenses and meet the requirements to the relative prevalence of the act. The authors draw attention to the limited abilities of the criminal justice system to counteract these encroachments, but despite the low effectiveness of such activities, there is still a need for ensuring protection of lands under criminal law and for recognizing criminalization of land mismanagement as quite possible and necessary.