Peculiarities of the legislative model of the criminal law prohibition of smuggling

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the legislative model of criminal prohibition of smuggling. It is stated that the emergence of new and modernization of existing methods of smuggling is due to the correlation of the State’s customs policy in connection with the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation and the introduction of the legal regime of martial law. The purpose of this article is to provide a systematic analysis of the amendments and additions made to Section VII of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in terms of criminalization of smuggling, to determine their effectiveness and expediency, and to formulate scientifically sound recommendations for improving criminal law regulation of social relations related to smuggling. The author establishes that the main factors which influenced the process of recriminalization of commodity smuggling are: an increase in the number of manifestations of smuggling of goods and their unreliable declaration; a decrease in revenues to the State Budget of Ukraine; stimulation of unfair competition; entry of products of inadequate quality into the domestic market; an increase in the shadow economy in the public sector; criminalization of smuggling of goods in certain EU countries; ineffective application of administrative liability measures. The author analyzes the need to strengthen criminal liability for commodity smuggling at the level of the European Union as a whole. The author elucidates the approaches available in the criminal law doctrine to solving the problems associated with the introduction of criminal liability for commodity smuggling. It is substantiated that in case of any change in the system of current criminal legislation, it is necessary to justify this type of rulemaking, i.e. to assess the admissibility and appropriateness of a criminal law novelty. The author emphasizes that it is inexpedient to distinguish criminal law provisions on smuggling by the type of subject matter. The author concludes that the model of criminal legal prohibition of smuggling chosen by the legislator determines the differentiation of criminal liability, and at the same time is a manifestation of the shortcomings of legislative technique, since it gives rise to the emergence of legislative models of smuggling with different objects of criminal legal protection.