PROBLEMATIC ISSUES OF QUALIFICATION OF CRIMINAL OFFENSES WITH REGARD TO REPETITION

The study is devoted to the problems of qualification of criminal offenses in which the characteristic of a qualified criminal offense is its repeated commission. The author provides examples of criminal law qualification of acts in which repeated commission of criminal offenses creates a certain conflict in the application of criminal law. The author reveals an ambiguous approach of the legislator to the criminal law assessment of several offenses committed by a person, where in one case such acts are a sign of the main body of a criminal offense, and in another case, taking into account the repetition, similar acts form a qualified body of a criminal offense. It is noted that for the correct application of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in theory and practice, law enforcement agencies should understand and correctly apply a number of theoretical provisions of criminal law science in their activities. In particular, this applies to the issue of repetition of criminal offenses and the rules for qualifying acts which constitute repetition. The article emphasizes that considering «repetition» as a feature of a qualified criminal offense violates the principle of criminal law «Non bis in idem», according to which no one may be held legally liable twice for the same type of crime, since the commission of the same criminal offense by a person is previously taken into account when qualifying the act of that person. The author emphasizes that the feature of repetition should not affect the qualification of criminal offenses, but should be taken into account by the court when imposing a sentence as an aggravating circumstance. The author emphasizes that in the course of qualification of criminal offenses' repetition, certain problems arise which are ambiguously resolved in the theory of criminal law.