Abstract:
The article provides analyses of the development trends of the legislation of Ukraine on liability for economic criminal offenses over the past five years. Such trends are determined by the analysis of legislative innovations related to the criminalization of timber smuggling, legali-zation of gambling and reducing pressure on business.
The analysis has allowed to make sure that during this period state criminal law policy in terms of combating criminal offenses in the field of economic activity in Ukraine has not under-gone radical changes. Two major trends in this policy, initiated by the Law of Ukraine of No-vember 15, 2011 "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on the Humanization of Liability for Offenses in the Sphere of Economic Activity", remain:
first, giving preference to special (casuistic) criminal law prohibitions, reference to which allows only a fragmentary response to the presence of certain economic abuses. Instead, com-prehensive and systematic approach to criminal law protection of economic and financial activ-ities is preferable. Such approach (though not without its own flaws) was embodied in the orig-inal version of Section VII of the Special Part of the current Criminal Code of Ukraine, which was characterized by the presence of general provisions, such as Articles 201 "Smuggling" and 202 "Violation of rule of engagement in economic and banking activities"; second, exaggeration of the role of the repressive influence of criminal law prohibitions as a factor, which worsens business climate and hinders normal development of economic rela-tions. As a result, there is humanization of criminal liability for committing economic and simi-lar criminal offenses, which is carried out in various forms and at the same time is usually un-founded and does not take into account criminal law doctrine recommendations.
