On the Issue of the Object of Criminal Offenses against Justice under the Criminal Law of Ukraine

The article formulates some initial conceptual provisions regarding the content of the generic object of criminal offenses against justice. In particular, the authors have defined the main groups of public relations which should be protected by the norms of the section on liability for criminal offenses against justice, based on the legal nature of these relations. It is substantiated that procedural activity, at whatever stage of the proceedings it is carried out, has a single task, regulated by a single procedural legislation. Therefore, it is impossible to divide the criminal law protection of these relations into the norms of different sections of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. It is argued that the activity of judicial proceedings and the activity of execution of court decisions are inextricably linked, which determines the expediency of their criminal protection by the rules of one section of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Accordingly, it seems appropriate to define the generic object of criminal offenses against justice as «public relations that ensure the procedure established by law for the administration of justice and the execution of court decisions». It is substantiated that public relations regarding the jurisdictional activity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, given the legal nature of this body, are components of the generic object of criminal offenses against justice. In particular, this conclusion is based on such a defining characteristic of this body as that it is a specific judicial body, not included into the system of courts of general jurisdiction, which combines the functions of justice, constitutional control, official interpretation of the Constitution of Ukraine, protection of constitutional rights and freedoms of the individual. The generic object of criminal offenses against justice does not cover organizational and managerial relations arising in connection with the exercise of judicial power, including the jurisdictional activities of the High Council of Justice.