Transformation of constitutionalism and evolution of criminal legislation in comparative legal dimension: contradictions, trends, and prospects for development

This article is dedicated to the comparative legal analysis of contradictions, trends, and prospects for the development of the transformation processes of constitutionalism and the evolution of criminal legislation. The authors note that in the context of the modern stage of state development, there is a significant intensification of transformational processes in constitutionalism, which manifest at both national and international levels. At the same time, the contradiction between the values of constitutionalism—supremacy of law, priority of individual rights, and democratic participation—and the practice of criminal legislation is increasing. Criminal law, by its nature possessing repressive potential, becomes an instrument not only for protecting society from crime but also for expressing the political priorities of the state, which inevitably raises questions about the constitutional boundaries of criminalization and punishment. Excessive criminalization of social relations undermines the legal nature of the state and creates a threat of devaluation of constitutional principles themselves. The work employs a number of scientific methods, in particular: formal-logical; historical-legal; comparative-legal; interdisciplinary approach; statistical; sociological. The conducted research allows for the identification of the multifaceted nature of the interplay between the transformation of constitutionalism and the development of criminal legislation, where changes in one area necessarily reflect on the other, shaping new contours of legal regulation. The concept of modern constitutionalism, oriented towards a combination of the principles of supremacy of law, human rights, and balance of power, is reflected in criminal law systems, which become tools for realizing constitutional values and simultaneously indicators of those values. In this context, criminal legislation serves not only as a technical means of ensuring security but also as a platform where contradictions between state interests and constitutional guarantees manifest in their most concentrated form. This allows us to assert that the dynamics of criminal law is largely an indicator of the state of constitutionalism in a particular country and in the international legal order as a whole.