Looting: Criminal Law Characteristic

Abstract

The article is devoted to the disclosure of the concept of “looting” and the description of the characteristic criminal law elements and signs of this military offense. The relevance of the presented material lies in the fact that there are not enough highly qualified specialists in the field of military-criminal and military-administrative legislation in Ukraine, that has a negative effect on the correct qualification of military offenses, the level of which has significantly increased against the background of full-scale military aggression by the Russian Federation. The aim of the article lies in formulation and suggestions regarding a decision on peculiarities of the criminal law characteristics of looting and distinguishing this offense from the related offenses against property. The research is based on the use of scientific methods of general scientific and special-legal levels. The obtained results allow to claim that looting is a crime of war or local armed conflict, committed by violent or non-violent means of misappropriation of personal belongings of the killed or wounded. The place of commission of this war crime can only be a battlefield or rear areas which are subjected to artillery, mortar, and rocket fire.