The dissertation is devoted to a comprehensive study of the criminal-legal characteristics of rape under the laws of Ukraine and South-Eastern Europe, based on the results of which substantiated proposals are formulated aimed at improving the norm of liability for rape under the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The genesis of the legislation of Ukraine and some countries of South-Eastern Europe on criminal liability for rape from ancient times to the present has been studied. Common and distinctive features of the formation of legal norms on rape have been established. It is determined that the main direct object of rape under the criminal law of Ukraine and the countries of South-Eastern Europe is sexual freedom. Sexual inviolability as an object of rape occurs in relation to victims who, either due to their age or certain psychological characteristics, are not able to make their own decisions about consent to sexual intercourse. It was found that a victim of rape under the criminal law of Ukraine and some countries of South-Eastern Europe can be a person of both female and male sex. The criminal codes of some countries in South-Eastern Europe clearly state that only a woman (Albanian Criminal Code) can be a victim of rape. It is concluded that for the qualification of the act as rape, the moral qualities of the victim and (or) his way of life do not matter. Objective signs of rape under the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the countries of South-Eastern Europe have been clarified. Unlike the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the Criminal Code of some countries of South-Eastern Europe defines rape as a sexual act (relationship, action) committed under threat of use of force and attack on the life or body of the victim or other relatives (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Criminal Code). Republika Srpska and the Brcko District Criminal Code). It is concluded that given the absence in the Criminal Code of Ukraine of a provision on violent sexual intercourse without consent, it is proposed to supplement the Criminal Code of Ukraine with Article 152-1, which provides for criminal liability for violent rape. It was found that the subject of rape under the legislation of South-Eastern Europe is a physically sane (limitedly sane) male or female (under the Criminal Code of Bulgaria, Albania only male), who has reached a certain age at the time of such rape. It is concluded that the subjective side of rape under the laws of Ukraine and the countries of South-Eastern Europe is characterized by a deliberate form of guilt in the form of direct intent. However, it has been found that under current Croatian criminal law, rape can be committed both intentionally and negligently. It is substantiated that rape committed by a group of persons has been established as a qualified type of rape in most countries of South-Eastern Europe (Moldova, Bulgaria, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Slovenia, Albania; Serbia, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania). Rape is considered to have been committed by two or more persons if it was committed by several (two or more) persons, who, as a rule, must act as co-perpetrators. It was found that, depending on the consequences of the rape, the legislation of Ukraine and the countries of the South-East named the following qualifying signs of rape: pregnancy; severe damage to health; death, suicide of the victim or attempted suicide; intentional infection with a sexually transmitted disease; with intentional infection with AIDS; rape, which led to "other serious consequences." To incriminate such a qualifier, it is necessary that the death of the victim occurred through negligence. If the death occurred through negligence, but as a result of intentional (direct or indirect intent) actions aimed at raping the victim, such a criminal offense may be qualified under competition rules. It is proposed to supplement Part 3 of Art. 152 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine such an aggravating circumstance as the commission of a crime "against a person who has a mental illness, temporary or long-term mental disorder or against a person who is in a helpless state." It is established that as a qualifying feature in all codes of South-Eastern Europe and Ukraine is the commission of a crime against a minor, and as a particularly qualifying - his commission against a person under 14 years of age, if the perpetrator knowingly understood such a circumstance as juvenile age. In a number of countries in South-Eastern Europe, rape of minors is a separate crime. It was found that the common trend of qualified constructions of rape under the legislation of Ukraine and the countries of South-Eastern Europe is the gradual introduction of international standards for the construction of qualified types of rape. It is concluded that the difference lies in the different content of the lists of qualified species under the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Code of South-Eastern Europe.
