Illegal organ transplantation: criminal law aspect and directions of countermeasures

In this article, the authors examine the criminal law aspects of illegal organ transplantation. The concept of «organ transplantation», as defined in national legislation and international documents, is explored. The subject matter of Article 143 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, «violation of the procedure established by law for the transplantation of human anatomical materials», is defined. The objective elements of this criminal offence are outlined, in particular its forms of commission. The subjective elements of this offence have been analysed, and it has been established that the perpetrator of the criminal offence in its first form is a healthcare professional. It has been established that, for the second form of this offence, a mandatory element of the subjective aspect is the intention to remove organs or tissues from a person for the purpose of their subsequent transplantation. Statistical data from the Office of the Prosecutor General for the period 2023-2025 were examined, and it was established that a negative trend was observed during this period, in particular an 181% increase in the number of registered criminal offences compared to 2024 and by 800% compared with 2023. The approaches to combating illegal organ transplantation have been analysed at both the general societal and the specialised criminological levels. Key international documents forming the basis of the general societal approach to combating crime have been identified. The role of international organisations in combating illegal organ transplantation at the specialised criminological level has been examined. It has been determined that the key organisations in this field are: Interpol, Europol, The Transplantation Society, the World Health Organization, and the «Cyber challenges in smuggling of migrants and human trafficking» project. It is concluded that despite the existence of international legal instruments, international organisations and established cooperation between states in this field, the effective combating of illegal organ transplantation remains one of the challenges on the global stage.