LAWMAKING IN THE CRIMINAL-LEGAL SPHERE: BETWEEN TRADITIONALISM AND INNOVATION

Abstract

The study provides a comprehensive analysis of the deep substantive foundations of the formation of criminal legislation of Ukraine in the context of
transformations of legal reality (past, current, present and future law). The author
focuses on lawmaking as a multidimensional, spiritual and intellectual
phenomenon which encompasses not only normative construction but also the
symbolic mission of establishing justice and law and order. From the standpoint
of academic experience and scientific heritage of the classics of the Ukrainian
school of criminal law, in particular, V. Tatsiy, P. Fries, Y. Baulin, V. Tyutyugin, O.
Dudorov, O. Lytvynov, and Y. Orlov, the author examines the essence of criminal
law as a manifestation of the highest level of legal thinking, where each legal
provision is considered not only as a legal provision, but also as a socio-cultural
construction with sacred meaning.
The author emphasizes the need to maintain a balance between “stability
and dynamism” of criminal legislation, and the threat of “legislative viruses” that
violate the systemic integrity of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The author
criticizes the chaotic lawmaking which devalues the doctrine and practical
effectiveness of the provisions. The author highlights the role of professionalism,
doctrinal thinking and moral responsibility of lawyers in the process of
lawmaking. The study also emphasizes the importance of the spiritual and
cultural basis of the Ukrainian legal tradition, in particular, Orthodox values,
which can and should fill lawmaking with humanistic content.
Considerable attention is paid to the analysis of the Special Part of Criminal
Law as the structural core of the criminal liability system, the issues of unification
and classification of criminal offenses, the role of sanctions in the implementation
of the principle of justice, and modeling of the future Criminal Code of Ukraine
with due regard for the national mentality, social reality, experience of judicial
practice and wartime challenges. The author concludes that the new Criminal
Code of Ukraine should not be a “space construction”, but a simple, logical,
accessible, but at the same time profound instrument of justice which would meet
the needs of the people, the challenges of the times and the high standards of legal
science.