Current issues of normative regulation of combating illegal arms trafficking in Ukraine

Abstract

The publication outlines the current state of the criminogenic situation in the field of illicit trafficking in firearms, ammunition and explosives. The content of legislative initiatives to expand the scope of criminal law prohibition by establishing liability for theft, misappropriation, extortion, carrying, storage, acquisition, transfer or sale of firearms components, as well as to increase liability for illegal acquisition, transfer or sale of firearms, ammunition, explosives or explosive devices in martial law or a state of emergency is analysed. Proposals have been developed to improve regulations on the circulation of firearms, ammunition and explosives. In particular, it is stated that the current criminal legislation and normative legal acts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine need significant improvement in terms of: 1) defining the concept of “component part of a firearm” or “constructive part of a firearm” and establishing responsibility for their illegal circulation; 2) bringing to a unified interpretation and understanding of the terms “explosive devices”, “explosive substances”, “explosive materials”, delineating the normative grounds for their application and demarcation; 3) development of a unified approach to subject classification and understanding of the legal regime of hand grenades, mines, ammunition for grenade launchers; 4) establishment of the legal regime of trophy weapons, which is relevant in the conditions of martial law and the conduct of hostilities on the territory of our state; 5) determination of the following qualifying signs of committing criminal offenses in the field of illegal arms trafficking: committing a crime under the conditions of the legal regime of martial law, committing a crime by an organized criminal group, etc.

Keywords

• criminal liability
• weapons
• ammunition
• arms trafficking
• licensing system
• explosives.