At all stages of Ukraine’s development, the system of investigation of criminal offenses was one of the attributes of ensuring the rule of law in the state. Among this, the system of investigations of military criminal offenses in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (hereinafter – the AF of Ukraine) is not an exception. In the context of the Russian Federation’s military aggression against Ukraine and its integration into NATO, this issue is becoming more significant. It should be noted that there is an urgent need to reform such a major military law enforcement agency as the Military Law Enforcement Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which does not meet modern NATO standards, the member of which Ukraine plans to become in the nearest future, into a new Military Police that will investigate military criminal offenses together with the State Bureau of Investigations. Based on the above, we will review the activities of the State Bureau of Investigations and the Military Police, which will be established in the nearest future on the basis of the existing Military Law Enforcement Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as the main subjects of investigation of military criminal offenses.
To this date, in connection with the possibility of creating a Military Police in Ukraine we should: adopt amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provide for the classification of certain crimes under Articles 402, 403, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, etc., to criminal offenses; to determine the powers of the Military Police to conduct a pre-trial investigation in the form of investigation of criminal offenses committed by servicemen, civil servants of military formations, and to leave the powers to investigate war crimes and crimes in the military sphere (the latter include various encroachments on the military-industrial complex) for the State Bureau of Investigations; to refer to the jurisdiction of the Military Police certain components of criminal offenses, in addition to Article 422 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, committed by servicemen, sergeants and junior officers, and civil servants of military formations, whose positions belong to “B” category [6].
At the same time, it is necessary for the investigators of the State Bureau of Investigations to provide the pre-trial investigation of war crimes and crimes in the military sphere committed by the commanders of military units, heads of enterprises, institutions and organizations under the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations created according to the laws of Ukraine, by servicemen of field and high-ranking military officers, civil servants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations, whose positions are classified as “A” and “B” ones, as well as committed by servicemen of military law enforcement agencies.
References
- Ukraine (2019), Who will investigate crimes in the military, available at: https://resonance.ua/khto-rozsliduvatime-zlochini-u-viyska/ (accessed 25 April 2021).
- Ukraine (2015), “On the State Bureau of Investigations”, Law of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Kyiv, available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/794-19#Text (accessed 25 April 2021).
- Ukraine (2021), Investigation of war crimes by the State Bureau of Investigations dated 2020–2021, available at: https://armyinform.com.ua/2021/03/rozsliduvannya-dbr-vijskovyh-zlochyniv-za-2020-2021-roky/ (accessed 25 April 2021).
- Ukraine (2021), Taran advocates the creation of a military police, available at: https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-ato/3195340-taran-vistupae-za-stvorenna-vijskovoi-policii.html (accessed 25 April 2021).
- Ukraine (2020), Military Police instead of the Military Law Enforcement Service of Ukraine. What is the difference?, available at: https://www.armyfm.com.ua/vijskova-policiya-zamist-vsp.-v-chomu-riznicya-/ (accessed 25 April 2021).
- Ukraine (2020), Model of delimitation of investigation of war crimes – proposals of the State Bureau of Investigations, available at: https://sud.ua /ru/news/publication/171579-model-rozmezhuvannya-pidslidnosti-viyskovikh-zlochiniv-propozitsiyi-dbr (accessed 25 April 2021).
- Ukraine (2021), Military Police (MP) in Ukraine: Why is it necessary and why it is still missing, available at: https://milnavigator.com.ua/military-police-mp-v-ukraini-navishcho-vona-potribna-i-chomu-ii-dosi-nemaie/ (accessed 25 April 2021).
- Ukraine (2019), Military Police: what is it and why should Ukraine create it, available at: https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-polytics/2814484-vijskova-policia-so-ce-take-ta-naviso-ukraini-ii-stvoruvati.html (accessed 25 April 2021).
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