Implementation of probation programmes in the execution of the punishment of probation supervision

Abstract

This article examines the legal and organisational framework for implementing probation programmes during the execution of probation supervision – a new type of basic criminal punishment introduced in Ukraine by Law No. 3342-IX of 23 August 2023, effective from 28 March 2024. Under Article 59-1 of the Criminal Code, probation supervision entails restrictions on the rights and freedoms of the convicted person combined with supervisory and social-educational measures without isolation from society. The court may impose an obligation to complete a probation programme, non-compliance with which carries criminal liability. The study analyses approved probation programmes currently in operation, covering substance abuse prevention, anger management, changing pro-criminal thinking, life skills development, and domestic violence intervention. Five systemic challenges are identified: insufficient staffing of probation agencies, a limited range of approved programmes, the absence of measurable effectiveness criteria, inadequate integration of restorative justice elements including mediation, and insufficient individualisation of interventions. The article formulates five reform proposals: expanding the programme catalogue to match the full scope of offences subject to probation supervision, establishing normative effectiveness criteria, integrating mediation procedures into selected programmes drawing on the successful 2024 Restorative Justice Programme for juveniles, formalising the link between risk-needs assessment and programme selection in accordance with Rules 72-75 of the Council of Europe Probation Rules, and strengthening the human resources of probation agencies.