Criminal-legal characteristics of absence without leave or place of service. Аnalysis of objective and subjective features

The article presents a study in the field of military criminal offenses. It is noted that military criminal offenses are enshrined in a separate Chapter XIX of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. They are united by the risk of loss of sufficient combat capability, which in the context of the modern Russian-Ukrainian war means the loss of the ability to maintain peace and statehood. The focus of the study is on one of such criminal acts, namely Absence without Leave or place of service (hereinafter - AWOL). The authors provide statistics on the number of cases and registered criminal offenses qualified under Art. 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. As of the first half of 2022, the number of Art. 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine amounted to almost 2,000, which is 4 times more than before the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into the territory of Ukraine. Therefore, it was noted that despite the possibility of applying state coercion in the form of criminal punishment, military personnel still commit AWOLs massively, indicating the need to strengthen mechanisms for preventing and combating these criminal offenses. During the analysis of the norms of the Criminal Code, the following mandatory features of military criminal offenses, which are inherent in AWOL in particular, were established: the act affects a special object; the presence of a special subject: military personnel, conscripts, and reservists during training; the act constitutes a military criminal offense only when it is enshrined in Chapter XIX of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. It is noted that Art. 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for simple, qualified, and especially qualified criminal compositions of AWOL. The possibility of applying administrative liability for AWOL is emphasized. Regarding the composition of the criminal offense, the generic and special object of AWOL was analyzed, it was established that the objective side is presented in two forms of action, emphasizing the presence of a special subject of AWOL, and the subjective side includes guilt in the form of intent or negligence depending on the form of action. Preconceived intent is also considered as a mandatory feature of the subjective side of AWOL.