BIOLOGICAL SABOTAGE: ANALYSIS OF CURRENT AND PROSPECTIVE LEGISLATION ON CRIMINAL LIABILITY

Abstract

The study conducted a legal analysis of the criminal law provision provided for in Article 113 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which establishes liability, in particular, for biological sabotage. It was found that the object of unlawful encroach- ments here are living organisms, so the mandatory feature of the composition of this crime is the victim (people) or object (animals or plants). It was argued that their characteristic feature is “mass character”, which means a large number of living organisms. It was noted that the draft of the new Criminal Code of Ukraine contains an interpretation of this feature that deserves support.It was found that biological sabotage can be committed both by action and by inaction. In the latter case, it is most likely a special subject – a person who is obliged to comply with the rules of biological safety.It was established the imperfection of the construction of the disposition and sanctions of the criminal law norm provided for in Art. 113 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which complicates the qualification, in particular, creates the problem of choosing between the principle of proportionality and the principle of inadmissibility of double jeopardy. It is proposed to solve this dilemma by changing the legislative construction of the composition of sabotage – from formal to substantive.The provisions of the draft of the new Criminal Code of Ukraine in the latest and previous editions, which is being developed by the Working Group within the Commission on Legal Reform, have been analyzed. A significant gap has been identified in the criminal law protection of Ukraine’s national security from biosabotage attacks. In particular, despite the declaration of the exceptional value of Ukraine’s national security, especially under martial law, the draft does not include the crime of “biological sabotage” as socially dangerous acts aimed at the mass destruction of living organisms in order to harm national security. In order to improve the criminal legal protection of biosafety as a com- ponent of Ukraine’s national security, it is proposed to criminalize biological sabotage as one of the forms of the crime provided for in Article 113 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, setting out the relevant part of the disposition of this norm in the following wording: “mass poisoning or infection of people, animals or plants with the aim of weakening the state”.The qualified composition of biological sabotage (Part 2 of Article 113 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) has also been formulated: “the same acts, if they caused the death of two or more persons or the mass death of animals or plants, or were committed by a person who is obliged to comply with the rules of biological safety, or under martial law or during a period of armed conflict”.It is also proposed to supplement the draft of the new Criminal Code of Ukraine with the appropriate norm, taking into account new approaches to legal form and legislative technique.