"Systematic Nature" of domestic violence: issues of interpretation

The article examines the interpretation of the characteristic of «systematic nature» in the commission of such acts. The authors note that since the enactment of the law on criminal responsibility for domestic violence, there has been no unified approach in criminal legal doctrine and judicial practice regarding the criteria for establishing the systematic nature of the act. This lack of consensus has led to errors in distinguishing between administrative offenses under Article 173­2 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (hereinafter - CAO) and criminal offenses under Article 126-1 of the Criminal Code (hereinafter - CC) of Ukraine. The article analyzes a range of theoretical and practical questions, the resolution of which is crucial for the accurate qualification of actions as one of the key prerequisites for achieving justice and ensuring the rule of law. These questions include: 1) what quantity of acts (of any form of domestic violence) indicates systematic nature, and thus provides grounds for qualification under Article 126-1 of the CC of Ukraine? Does systematic nature (as a basis for qualifying the act under Article 126-1 of the CC of Ukraine) involve the prior imposition of administrative liability on an individual for committing domestic violence? 2) if the acts are systematic (occurring three or more times) but do not result in the consequences specified in Article 126-1 of the CC of Ukraine, is it an administrative offense or a crime? 3) does the systematic nature of committed acts (three or more times) imply a presumption of the occurrence of consequences as specified in the disposition of Article 126-1 of the CC of Ukraine? The authors establish that due to the absence of a unified approach to defining the content of quantitative and qualitative criteria for the systematic nature as a criminalizing feature of domestic violence, errors occur in holding individuals criminally responsible. This situation necessitates a unified approach to this issue. To address this, the authors propose formalizing this characteristic by amending Article 126-1 of the CC of Ukraine with a note containing a clear definition of the quantitative and qualitative criteria for the systematic nature of the act.