Yakovlieva S. Criminal responsibility for criminal off enses in the field of illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues and precursors committed by a minor or with the involvement of a minor

The dissertation is a comprehensive scientific study of the theoretical and applied problems of criminal responsibility for criminal offenses in the field of illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues, committed by minors or with their involvement, in which scientific provisions are formulated and practical results are obtained. Together, these results are aimed at solving an important scientific task in the field of criminal law and contain practical recommendations for law enforcement agencies regarding the qualification of such criminal offenses, sentencing of punishment for their commission, and exemption from criminal liability. The concept of the specific object of the analysed group of criminal offenses has been improved. It was determined that the specific object of this category of criminal offenses is not public health as such, but safety of public health. The safety of public health should be understood as social values that ensure the safety of the population's health from non-medical negative effects or possible effects of narcotic drugs, which are protected by criminal law. It was established that the terms «personal health» and «public health» should be distinguished. Such demarcation is based not only on quantitative indicators, but also on substantive indicators, because the peculiarity of the concept of «public health» is that it is based not only on medical characteristics, but also includes its social components. It was determined that the main direct object of criminal offenses committed in the field of illegal drug trafficking involving minors is the safety of public health as a social value protected by legal norms that ensure a certain degree of physical, mental and psychological well-being of an undefined circle of persons. An additional direct object has been identified, which is mandatory in certain qualified (especially qualified) compositions of criminal offenses. It is interests of minors, conditions for normal development and correct moral education of minors, public order, etc. The algorithm for determining the aggregate amount of the stuff of a criminal offense during the seizure of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances assigned to different qualification groups has been improved. In this case, it is proposed to indicate that the amount of narcotic drugs of different qualifying groups, after adding up their number, should be determined by the amount of the most dangerous narcotic drug (psychotropic substance). It was pointed out the need to create a List of new psychoactive substances and to establish criminal responsibility for the illegal trafficking of such substances at the level of a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. At the same time, it must be taken into account that actions with new psychoactive substances can be committed with the involvement of a minor and this circumstance carries an increased degree of public danger and should be considered as aggravating (especially aggravating). The opinion is expressed that the involvement of a minor should be considered complete from the moment an adult performs actions aimed at involving a minor in illegal drug trafficking, regardless of whether the minor has committed a criminal offense.