“Pravova derzhava”. Issue 37 (2026), pages 872–881.

DOI: 10.33663/0869-2491-2026-37-872-881

Stetsiuk Serhii
Legal nature of incentive provisions in part 5 of article 401 of the Criminal code of Ukraine and paragraph 72 of the transitional provisions of the Law of Ukraine «On military duty and milit

ISSN online: 2617-9776 print: 0869-2491

The article highlights the issue of the legal nature of incentive provisions in cases where a military serviceman commits desertion and unauthorized absence from a military unit or place of service, as provided for in Part 3 of Article 401 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and in paragraph 72 of the Final Provisions of the Law of Ukraine «On Military Duty and Military Service», and defines the consequences of applying these norms. It establishes the possibility of exempting a military serviceman who has fulfilled the requirements specified in the aforementioned law from criminal liability if his behavior in this case contains the elements of positive post-criminal behavior provided for in Part 5 of Article 401 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. A gap has been identified, which consists in the absence of a specific type of criminal law response to cases where a military serviceman has fulfilled all the requirements set forth in this paragraph, but whose positive post-criminal behavior does not meet all the necessary conditions provided for in Part 5 of Article 401 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and therefore he cannot be exempted from criminal liability, and criminal proceedings against him cannot be closed. It is proposed to eliminate this gap by adding a new ground for the court to close criminal proceedings (Part 2 of Article 284 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine). In such a case, the court proceedings should be suspended on the basis of Part 1 of Article 335 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine, according to which, if the defendant was called up for military service during mobilization for a special period, the court shall suspend the proceedings against such defendant until his discharge from military service and shall continue the proceedings against other defendants, if the proceedings involve several persons. The following wording of paragraph 111 of part 2 of Article 284 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine is proposed: «111) in connection with the voluntary return of a military serviceman to military service on the basis of paragraph 72 of the Transitional Provisions of the Law of Ukraine «On Military Duty and Military Service».

Keywords: incentive provision, exemption from criminal liability, unauthorized absence from military unit or place of service, desertion, military personnel, military service, closure of criminal proceedings, positive post-criminal behavior of a person, criminal law response, commander (superior).

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Дата першого надходження рукопису до видання: 11.11.2025
Дата прийнятого до друку рукопису після рецензування: 03.03.2026
Дата публікації: 24.03.2026