Criminal Code of Ukraine 2001: chronicles of preparation and adoption

Abstract

The study of the preparation and adoption of the Criminal Code of Ukraine of 2001 is of cognitive importance for the modern generation of the national legal community, since the Working Group on the Development of Criminal Law (approved by the Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 584/2019 of 07.08.2019) is currently developing a new Criminal Code of Ukraine. The author set out to show how responsible, complex and intense the process of developing a legal act of a codified level is. The work on the draft of the Criminal Code of 2001 lasted more than 8 years, the most qualified practitioners, leading scientists, university professors, employees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, and, of course, the people's deputies of Ukraine, who adopted it on April 5, 2001, were involved in its development. The Criminal Code of Ukraine of 2001 is actually the first fundamental legal act, which became a significant event in the development of Ukraine as a sovereign, independent, democratic, social and legal state. The article defines the main stages of work on the Code related to the approval of conceptual provisions and the development of regulatory material on their basis, bringing the draft law in line with the Constitution of Ukraine of 1996 and generally accepted principles and norms of international law, the procedure for its adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. According to the author's estimates, the working group prepared 10 editions of the Code, each of which was the subject of thorough discussion. The conclusion about the importance of the Criminal Code of 2001 in the formation of Ukraine is made.