THE HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRIMINAL LEGISLATION IN THE FIELD OF COMBATING BANDITRY

Abstract

The criminal law does not disclose the meaning of the concept of gang, its interpretation is provided by case law, in particular, the decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Ukraine «On the practice of criminal cases of crimes committed by stable criminal groups». In this regard, the question arises about the appropriateness of the use of this concept in the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The aim of the article is to substantiate the expediency of defining a gang in criminal law with the disclosure of the sign of armament of this stable criminal group. Realization of the set purpose provides the decision of a number of problems: 1) to carry out the historical and legal analysis of concept of a gang; 2) to investigate the objective and subjective signs of banditry; 3) analyze the practice of applying Art. 257 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Scientific novelty. The article considers the issues of defining the concept of gang in the Ukrainian criminal legislation of the XIX-XXI centuries. art., because it was at this time that the basic institutions of modern criminal law of Ukraine were formed. In conclusion, the article emphasizes that in order to prevent ambiguous interpretation of criminal law in the Criminal Code of Ukraine, it is advisable to avoid concepts, the interpretation of which is provided not by law but by case law. It would be appropriate to define the gang in the footnote to Art. 257 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine with the disclosure of the sign of armament of this stable criminal association.