THE OBJECT OF A CRIMINAL OFFENSE: PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE BASED ON JUDICIAL PRACTICE

Abstract

B a c k g r o u n d . The object of a criminal offence is one of the key elements of the corpus delicti, as it directly determines which social values are protected by the criminal law. In the context of the constant updating of Ukraine's criminal legislation and the reform of the judicial system, the practical importance of correctly defining the object of a criminal offence is significantly increasing. An incorrect qualification of the object may lead to legal errors that negatively affect the effectiveness of justice and the protection of human rights. Despite a significant number of theoretical studies, difficulties still exist in defining the object of a criminal offence in practice, particularly during court proceedings. This creates a need for a deeper analysis of judicial practice to identify problems and develop proposals for improving law enforcement. Contemporary studies show that the issue of the object of a criminal offence is gradually acquiring new meaning. The aim of the study is to analyse the practical significance of defining the object of a criminal offence based on contemporary judicial practice.

M e t h o d s . The study applied general scientific and special legal methods, including the dialectical, systemic-structural, and formal-legal approaches, to clarify the theoretical aspects of the object of a criminal offence. The analysis of judicial practice and the comparative legal method made it possible to identify the specific features of defining the object of a criminal offence in domestic judicial practice. The legal modelling method was used to develop proposals for the correct application of the provisions of Ukraine's criminal legislation in law enforcement activities.

R e s u l t s . The article highlights the practical (law enforcement) significance of the object of a criminal offence. It has been established that the correct determination of the object of a criminal offence directly affects the proper criminal-legal qualification. At the same time, criminal law is characterized by the multiplicity of objects, and the accuracy of its determination depends on the specific factual situation.

C o n c l u s i o n s . Although the legal concept of the “object of a criminal offence” is not directly defined in normative acts, it is recognized and established in law enforcement practice, both during criminal-legal qualification and in the application of other institutions of criminal and criminal procedural law. Two key issues are particularly important for law enforcement practice in the context of the object of a criminal offence: (1) the essence of the harm caused to the object of criminal-legal protection (the object of a criminal offence); and (2) the mechanism by which harm is inflicted on the object of criminal-legal protection (the object of a criminal offence) and the criteria for determining its extent. Criminal law is characterized by the multiplicity of objects of a criminal offence within a single legal composition of a crime. This multiplicity primarily affects the correctness of criminal-legal qualification: depending on the specifics of the corresponding legal composition, the same object may be considered as primary or secondary, mandatory or alternative. Such multiplicity must be taken into account when applying both the norms of criminal law and the norms of criminal-procedural law.