INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC CRIMINAL AND LEGAL POLICY OF UKRAINE IN A SPECIAL PERIOD

Abstract

The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the relationship between the foreign and domestic criminal law policy of Ukraine in a special period (2014–2025), characterized by hybrid aggression and a full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. The dialectical nature of this interaction is revealed: external international legal standards form a framework for internal transformations, while military challenges stimulate the strengthening of international cooperation and the implementation of obligations. The current problems of criminal law policy in wartime are analyzed, conditionally divided into three groups: traditionally priority («eternal») areas, the relevance of which has increased (counteraction to corruption, terrorism, organized crime); new problems that have become acute during the war (counteraction to war crimes, crimes of aggression, crimes against the foundations of national security, expansion of circumstances that exclude criminal illegality, in particular combat immunity); predicted risks of the post-war period (growth of violent crime, suicides among veterans, offenses related to the use of weapons). Particular attention is paid to negative trends in the formation of criminal and legal policy under martial law (criminal and legal populism, low quality of norms, violation of basic principles of law, inability to eliminate gaps) and their negative impact on international legal trust, the effectiveness of the implementation of standards and cooperation with international institutions. Practical illustrations of interaction are the criminalization of collaborative activities (Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, Law № 2108-IX of March 3, 2022) and the full implementation of the Rome Statute of the ICC by Law № 4012-IX of October 9, 2024, which introduced universal jurisdiction, command responsibility, non-application of statutes of limitations to the most serious crimes of an international nature, and new elements of crimes against humanity (Article 442-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The transition of criminal law policy from fragmentary consideration of international standards to their systematic incorporation into the national legal system, which forms a multi-level integrated model of criminal justice, is shown.