The Concept Of «Law Enforcement Officer» In Criminal Law Of Ukraine

Abstract

The notion of «law enforcement agencies» is one of the most uncertainties in Ukrainian jurisprudence, internally controversial in content and excessive in scope. At the same time, it is one of the most used in law and its normative uncertainty can often lead to conflicts and misunderstandings when applying certain provisions of the law. The current state of law, as well as theoretical developments on this issue, testify to the «blurriness», and perhaps the lack of clear criteria for defining the concept of «law enforcement officer», which provides the basis for substantial scientific research.

In the study of the concept of « an employee of a law enforcement agency», an attention was drawn to the fact that in criminal law any employee who holds an appropriate position in law enforcement bodies matters no more than the one who carries out law enforcement functions.

Tthe article analyzes the provisions of the Ukrainian legislation and emphasizes that the definition of «an employee of a law enforcement agency» is not reflected in any normative legal act of Ukraine.

The article investigates some problematic aspects of defining the meaning of «an employee of a law enforcement agency» and its significance for the criminal law of Ukraine. The issues of defining the content and the scope of this concept are considered. The emphasis is made on the lack of the legislative definition of an exhaustive list of law enforcement agencies, as well as clear criteria for defining those law enforcement officers who commit crimes that affect or should affect qualification. An attempt is being made to improve the current criminal law in terms of regulating the responsibility of law enforcement officers for their socially dangerous acts.