PUNISHMENT FOR COMMITTING CRIMINAL OFFENCES IN THE FIELD OF ILLEGAL USE OF DRUGS, PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES OR THEIR ANALOGUES

Abstract

The article examines the legal and practical aspects of imposing punishment
for criminal offenses in the field of illegal use of narcotic drugs, psychotropic
substances or their analogues. The general and individual special principles of
imposing punishment are analyzed, in particular, imposing punishment within the
limits of the sanctions of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, in accordance with the
provisions of the General Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, taking into account
the gravity of the criminal offense, the identity of the perpetrator and the
circumstances that mitigate and aggravate the punishment, the sufficiency of the
imposed punishment to correct the person and prevent the commission of new
criminal offenses, imposing a more lenient punishment than is provided for by the
sanctions of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, approval of a plea
agreement and imposing a punishment determined by the agreement. It is
investigated what punishments (main and additional) are provided for by the
sanctions of Articles 314–317 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The issue of
additional punishment in the form of confiscation of property, its dependence on
the presence of a mercenary motive in a criminal offense, as well as the conditions
under which confiscation may be rejected are analyzed. A review of judicial
practice demonstrates the diversity of approaches to imposing punishment
depending on the circumstances of criminal proceedings.