Theoretical and legal foundations of criminal law protection of critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the theoretical and legal foundations of criminal law protection of critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine and the formulation of relevant conclusions regarding the current state and prospects for the development of this problem.
Based on the current legislation of Ukraine, the author proves the fundamental role of critical infrastructure in the system of guaranteeing the national security of Ukraine. The Criminal Code of Ukraine plays a particularly important role in ensuring the security of critical infrastructure. At the same time, despite the key importance of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in ensuring the security of critical infrastructure, the current system of criminal legal protection of these facilities lacks unity, since the relevant norms are concentrated in different Sections of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Within the framework of the scientific study, the author emphasizes that for modern legal science, the issue of criminal law protection of critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine remains debatable. In particular, as of today there are at least three approaches to solving this problem: 1) supplementing Section I of the Special Part of the Criminal Code “Criminal Offenses against the Fundamentals of National Security of Ukraine” with the relevant norm(s) establishing liability specifically for encroachment on critical infrastructure facilities; 2) enshrining in existing criminal law the feature of “encroachment on a critical infrastructure facility” as a circumstance that aggravating criminal liability; 3) allocation of a separate Section on criminal offenses against critical infrastructure facilities in the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Based on the results of the conducted scientific research, the author supports the position on enshrining in existing criminal law the feature of «encroachment on a critical infrastructure facility» as a circumstance that aggravating criminal liability, which requires taking into account the social significance (criticality category) of such a facility.