In the dissertation research, a comprehensive theoretical generalization has been carried out, and new approaches have been proposed to address the scientific task of defining the content of legal regulation of labor for individuals held in penal institutions. The dissertation formulates a number of new conceptual provisions, conclusions, and recommendations that hold significant theoretical and practical importance.
First and foremost, the dissertation examines the state of scientific research by domestic scholars who have studied the issue of labor among convicts in their scientific works. It also explores the genesis of research on the legal regulation of convict labor, refining the stages of legal regulation of labor for individuals held in penitentiary institutions during different periods of the penal system's development. Specifically, five main stages are identified: 1. Pre-penitentiary period (from the emergence of civilized societies to the early 18th century); 2. Philanthropic period (the last quarter of the 18th century to the mid-19th century); 3. Period of emergence and development of penitentiary labor legislation (mid-19th century to 2014); 4. Modern period of legislative development in the regulation of labor for individuals held in penal institutions (from 2014 to 2022); 5. Wartime period (from 2022 to the present).
The authors propose an original definition of the concept of "convict labor," namely: Convict labor is a purposeful, productive activity carried out by an individual with the legal status of a convict, aimed at meeting their own needs, rehabilitation, resocialization, personal development, acquisition or maintenance of professional skills and knowledge, and regulated by both labor and criminal-executive legislation.
A mandatory condition for the emergence of labor relations for convicts, as well as for civilian citizens, is the signing of an employment contract. Given the established differences between the labor of convicts and that of free individuals, it is proposed to introduce a separate type of employment contract into national legislation, namely: an employment contract with individuals sentenced to restriction or deprivation of liberty. Accordingly, a draft order has been prepared, including a sample standard form of this employment contract.
The authors proposed amendments and additions to Article 60 of the Criminal Executive Code of Ukraine regarding the provision of annual basic leave for convicts sentenced to restriction of liberty. Additionally, alongside amendments to the Labor Code of Ukraine, it was proposed to grant the right to remote work to certain categories of convicts sentenced to restriction of liberty.
The large-scale aggression of russia against Ukraine has introduced a new category of individuals held in institutions of the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine—prisoners of war. As a result, the issue of the specifics of labor for prisoners of war has been analyzed, primarily from the perspective of national labor legislation.
In exploring the issue of legal regulation of labor for individuals held in pre-trial detention centers of the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine, certain requirements regarding the involvement of convicts, who remain in these detention centers, in work related to economic maintenance have been refined. Additionally, it has been proposed to simplify the procedure for engaging convicts in labor and to expand the list of activities where the use of prisoner labor is prohibited.
The issue of legal regulation of convict labor was separately examined based on the experience of foreign countries. By analyzing various practices of engaging convicts in labor within penitentiary institutions abroad, the authors proposed the implementation of certain norms into national legislation, aimed at improving the subject of the research.
Since education is inextricably linked to labor relations, its accessibility and quality serve as a significant lever for future employment. In this regard, changes to the criminal-executive legislation have been proposed, emphasizing the need to make general secondary education mandatory not only for minors but also for individuals who lack it entirely, as is practiced in some foreign countries.
It is also important to legislatively enshrine the right to higher education for individuals sentenced to deprivation of liberty. To this end, legislative amendments have been proposed. The suggested form of education is distance learning, which is currently quite advanced.
Due to the rapid development of modern technologies, the conceptual foundations for introducing digitalization of labor for individuals held in penal institutions have been outlined, and the possibility of remote work for prisoners in pre-trial detention centers of the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine has been proposed.
