Kononchuk A. Criminal-legal characteristics on the creation of non-statutory paramilitary or armed formations and participation in them.

The dissertation is a comprehensive scientific study of modern problems connected with criminal liability for the creation of non-statutory paramilitary or armed formations and participation in them. It formulates proposals to improve the effectiveness of criminal protection of public safety from these criminal formations. The erroneous qualification of the actions of participants of paramilitary or armed formations not provided by law operating in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine under Article 260 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine has been proved. We are talking about those cases when participants realize that they take part in paramilitary or armed formations subordinated to a terrorist association (such actions should be qualified under Article 258-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The expediency of criminalization in Article 260 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine of unlawful paramilitary or armed formations creation and participation in such formations, if participants are not intended to commit criminal offenses, is substantiated. It is proposed to recognize the lack of purpose for committing criminal offenses as the main criterion for their separation from related criminal groups. A system of negative criminal-legal consequences of the creation and functioning of unlawful paramilitary or armed formations has been formulated, which have necessitated the criminalization of socially dangerous acts provided for in Article 260 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.