The dissertation represents the first comprehensive research at least for last decade which analyses problems of criminal liability for acts of abuse of power by the officials and representatives of state authority, their illegal use of power and systematic assessment of the state of counteraction to this socially dangerous phenomenon in today's conditions.
The relevance of the research topic is related to the process of dynamic reforms in Ukrainian state and society accompanied by the European association and integration processes in recent years. This process directly depends on the activity of the officials, that are empowered representative, managerial, organizational, administrative, economic rights and obligations. Any acts of abuse of power by the officials possess extremely negative consequences for the public administration system and economic activity. In turn, the state and law enforcement agencies must implement effective and efficient measures to counteract such manifestations, including methods of criminal law.
The general analysis of the scientific literature proves that the application of criminal law to combat abuse of power still causes a lot of discussion. Some aspects of such counteraction are insufficiently studied and other issues not resolved for practice. There is a need to respond quickly to new practical situations in consider dynamic of criminal policy in order to avoid gaps in legislative framework, to conduct a correct and complete criminal qualification of complex socially dangerous acts of officials and to provide the same law application.
The introduction to the dissertation contains the following provisions: substantiation of the author's scientific interest in the chosen research topic and its relevance; the current state of scientific research in this area; the purpose, tasks, object and subject, methods of research; scientific novelty and practical significance of the obtained results; information on approbation and publication of research results is presented.
The history of criminal liability for socially dangerous actions of officials on the territory of modern Ukraine is presented in the thesis, since the formation of the first forms of statehood. At the same time, author emphasizes the pros and cons of legal protection of the sphere of official activity in different periods of time.
The research provides the analysis of social conditionality issues of criminal liability for socially dangerous actions which are related to the use of official power. The author notes statistical information about the process of registration and counteraction to such socially dangerous acts. In particular, the author's vision of the issue of criminalization of the illicit enrichment is further developed. Also, author pays attention to the practical significance of civil proceedings, which are related to the recognition of unexplained wealth of the persons, that are authorized to perform the functions of state or local government. Also, the issues of criminal liability for avoidance of financial control, inaction of the official and mediation in corrupt practices are investigated.
International practice and experience of foreign countries in the field of legal regulation of the institute of criminal liability of officials is comprehensively studied, positive and negative tendencies of its development are outlined, in order to implement certain aspects into the national legislation.
The concept and system of criminal offenses, which are related to the use of official power, are described. Also the author describes the criteria for their delimitation in the case of adjacency issues. In the course of research the criminal-legal analysis of objective and subjective signs of investigated offenses is carried out, their features for the process of proving are indicated and ways to eliminate regulatory gaps and inaccuracies are also offered for practice. In particular, the understanding of the system of objects of criminal offenses of officials is improved; definitions of the sphere of official activity, interests of the service and legal entities are defined; the official abuse is characterized, as the basic feature of the objective side of the analyzed crimes; the specifics of general and special properties of officials are determined; it is claimed that private entrepreneurs may be recognized by officials that is justified by legal possibility and practical necessity. As a result, the author proposes to replace the criminal law categories «official position or power» with the intersectoral category «official power» with further legalization of its definition in anti-corruption legislative act.
