NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE TYPES OF ONE OF THE ELEMENTS OF A CRIMINAL OFFENSE

Abstrakt

At the current stage of development, Ukraine is in an extremely difficult political, social, and economic situation. In addition to a number of systemic problems inherent in the transitional period, a full-scale military conflict has been ongoing for more than three years, accompanied by deep tragedies and losses. This situation highlights the need for constant analysis and improvement of the functioning of the state's legal system, including the legal system as a whole and its individual branches. Particular attention in this context should be paid to criminal law as a fundamental and, at the same time, independent branch of national law, which has its own subject of legal regulation, method, functions, tasks, and goals. Within the structure of criminal law, the theory of a criminal offense occupies an important place, primarily from doctrinal positions, as it studies the content, structure, and features of criminally unlawful acts. This theory plays a key role in forming the scientific basis for law enforcement activities. According to Part 1 of Article 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the basis of criminal liability is the commission of a socially dangerous act that contains the elements of a criminal offense provided for by this Code. In the theory of criminal law, the elements of a criminal offense consist of four interrelated components and represent a systemic set of necessary and sufficient legal features that define a specific socially dangerous act as criminally punishable. One of these elements is the object of a criminal offense, which reflects a certain measure of social values protected by criminal law. Causing harm to these values serves as an important criterion for the criminalization of acts. The issue of classifying the objects of a criminal offense requires special attention, as their clear definition ensures a deeper understanding of the nature of the offense and allows for more accurate legal qualification of acts. The article conducts a theoretical study of the individual as an object of criminal-legal protection. The individual is considered a social phenomenon that combines two key characteristics: the highest social value in the system of constitutional priorities and a set of social benefits that serve as conditions for individual self-realization and full participation in social life. This approach allows for interpreting the individual as a complex object of criminal-legal protection, which implies a rethinking of their legal status. It is proposed to distinguish between direct, indirect, and mediated objects of criminal-legal protection, which creates a basis for increasing the effectiveness of criminal-legal regulation and adequately protecting new social values and benefits that are becoming relevant in the current conditions of Ukrainian society's development and ensuring their proper criminal-legal protection in the near future.