Law Enforcement Control Over the Commission of a Crime: Criminal Law Aspect

clarifies, from a criminal law perspective, the nature of lawful behavior that comprises law enforcement control over the commission of a crime as an undercover investigative operation. The author establishes that in the course of this activity, law enforcement officers and persons who cooperate confidentially with pre-trial investigation bodies often commit acts that are formally similar to the corresponding crimes in the sphere of official activity, trafficking drugs, weapons etc. It is substantiated that the legitimacy of these actions is determined by provisions of laws other than the Criminal Code of Ukraine, in particular pursuant to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. Based on analysis of other scientific publications the author concludes that it is necessary to study law enforcement control over the commission of a crime in the aspect of the criminal law institute of circumstances excluding criminality of an act. In the article, distinction is made between lawful control over the commission of a crime and the circumstances stipulated in Section VIII of the General part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Given that the studied behavior is not covered by any of the circumstances excluding criminality of an act provided for in the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the author assumes that the law enforcement control over the commission of a crime is a relatively independent circumstance excluding criminality of an act. The author highlights conditions of legality of the law enforcement control over the commission of a crime that include the grounds, subjects, purpose and forms of this lawful behavior. He also formulates a typical list of acts committed during the control over the commission of a crime, criminality of which is excluded. The author distinguishes control over the commission of a crime from related acts that are criminal in nature, in particular provocation (incitement) to a crime. A draft section of the Criminal Code of Ukraine has been developed that is intended to specify constitutive features of the law enforcement control over the commission of a crime as a circumstance that excludes criminality of an act. Finally, the author outlines directions of further research in this topic.