Criminal and legal protection of victims in Ukraine

Abstract

Background. Universal values determined for Ukraine irreversible path to the European community, which makes radically revise protection of rights and freedoms of the victims in the criminal justice system by the provisions declared by the Constitution of Ukraine concerning guarantees of protection of rights and freedoms. Natural, supranational, absolute law is a must for the development of legal, social and democratic state, which should be given priority in Ukraine.
The aim of the article is to study and analyze problems of protection of victims of criminal offenses in Ukraine and offer own solution concept, which is an important part of a mechanism to ensure human rights and freedoms in a rule of law state.
Materials and methods. Dialectical method of research was used during the examination of the main provisions of the rights and freedoms in the criminal justice, system analysis was used in terms of criminal law and criminal procedural protection of victims.
Results. Rule of law priority requires gradual fitting of national legislation to international law to protect the rights and freedoms of the victims in the criminal justice system. Criminal law, which is currently largely transient in nature (transitive criminal law) and is characteristic for the post-totalitarian, authoritarian regimes should provide effective criminal protection of wellbeing and interests of man as the highest social value. It is necessary to recognize the need to create and design a new model of criminal relations in the triad «offender – victim – state»based on the basis of public law changes and human rights primacy.
Conclusion. Currently there is no organizational and legal mechanism to protect victims from the consequences of criminal offenses in Ukraine. Given the realities of the new state strategy focused on European values Ukraine needs to urgently fill the legal vacuum concerning guarantees of criminal law on victim protection. This scientific article is devoted to this pressing problem. Time will tell how it can be solved, and the European Convention on Human Rights has become a reference point for legislative and rule-making activities of the state, because its standards should be a priority for Ukraine’s legal system.