Actual criminal law problems of war and peace (view from military Kharkiv)

Abstract

The article examines actual criminal law problems of war and peace on the basis of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and related international law and taking into account the immediate sense of the features of modern war, which is still ongoing in Ukraine. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the concept of war needs to be defined in international and national criminal law as reflecting the large-scale bilateral use of armed forces by states or the state and private armed groups. War is the most dangerous manifestation of armed confrontation, which always has its own special character. The choice of means of response to the war should be made taking into account this nature, because it depends on the correct choice of method of reconciliation of the warring parties. The importance of this method of response is increasing in modern warfare, which is conducted with the use of non-nuclear weapons of mass destruction and manifests itself in the form of total destruction of settlements. Armed conflicts are less dangerous manifestations of armed confrontation, but they can be a manifestation of external manipulative influence on the state and then transform into war. Private armed groups can take part in the war or act as an enemy. A systematic solution to the various options for responding to war and armed conflict in the world is proposed to be implemented through the development of a Code of War and Peace. The article analyzes the provisions of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and international law relating to war. Some of them require terminological coordination. The category of "military necessity" is important for determining the content of such provisions, as well as for the correct choice of means of response to war. Proposals have been developed to improve the criminal legislation of Ukraine, which consists in establishing criminal liability for the following acts: 1) non-state armed aggression against Ukraine; 2) development and implementation of a plan for an armed conflict of a non-international nature in Ukraine or provocation of such a conflict, or public appeals to take such actions; 3) intentional provocation of the continuation of war or other military conflict or their escalation; and other proposals.