COMBAT SITUATION AND MARTIAL LAW AS QUALIFYING FEATURES OF MILITARY CRIMINAL OFFENSES

This article delves into the concept of “situation” through the lens of various legal sciences, with a specific focus on how “combat situation” and “martial law” relate to military criminal offenses. The author emphasizes that multiple factors can contribute to the circumstances in which a criminal offense is committed, and views the situation as a structured entity with interconnected elements that give rise to a specific scenario. Additionally, the author explores how a particular situation can affect the degree of public danger of criminal offenses, with the commission of a criminal offense under martial law carrying significant weight and often resulting in more severe punishment. Despite the legislative definition of “combat situation,” scholars hold differing interpretations of the term within the context of criminal law. It is established that the situation of a criminal offense can transform the relevant offense into a qualified form, with martial law and combat situation serving as qualifying features for eighteen military criminal offenses under the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The primary punishment for these offenses is imprisonment, with no alternative, less severe forms of punishment available under the sanctions of the relevant articles.