Complicity in the Criminal Law of Ukraine

Abstract

Complicity  in  crime  is  one  of  the  forms  of  criminal  activity.  It  has  its  specific  features  which  allow  the  scholars  to  treat  complicity  as  a separate  criminal  law  institution.  These  specific  features  comprise  the  following  elements:  a)  the  participation  in  the  commission  of  an  offence  of  two  or  more  persons  bears  a heightened  danger  for  the  public  safety;  b)  an  offence  with  its  statutory  features  is  committed  only  due  to  the  joint  action  of  all  participants.
The  institution  of  complicity  in  the  commission  of  an  offence  is  regulated  in  greater  detail  by  the  Criminal  Code  of  Ukraine  from  2001  than  it  was  the  case  in  the  Criminal  Code  form  1960.  The  whole  Chapter  IV  of  the  General  Part  of  the  Criminal  Code  of  Ukraine  entitled  “Complicity  in  the  commission  of  an  offence”  is  devoted  to  it.  Some  norms  referring  to  the  problem  can  also  be  found  in  the  Special  Part  of  the  Criminal  Code  of  Ukraine.  Despite  such  a detailed  legal  cover  of  the  institution  of  complicity  in  the  Criminal  Code  of  Ukraine,  individual  problems  are  not  sufficiently  explained  and  there  are  some  internal  contradictions  as  well.
Therefore  the  issues,  conclusions  and  propositions  presented  in  this  article  referring  to  the  improvement  of  the  criminal  law  seem  to  be  up  to  date  and  indispensable.  It  is  necessary  to  amend  the  individual  legal  issues  referring  to  complicity  and  to  explain  them  with  greater  precision.  This  will  foster  greater  effectiveness  in  counteracting  such  criminal  acts.