CRIME AS THE MAIN NEGATIVE FACTOR IN BUILDING THE RULE OF LAW: TO DEFINE THE CONCEPT, ESSENCE AND SIGNS

Abstract

The article analyzes the concept, essence and features of crime as a destructive factor in the development of the rule of law in Ukraine. It is established that the concept of the rule of law covers the obligation of the state to guarantee the rights and freedoms of man and citizen determined by law, guided by the principle of the rule of law exclusively in the interests of citizens. It is further argued that the concept of the rule of law also covers the obligation of the state (in the form of its institutions) to ensure and create appropriate conditions for the equal use of all rights and freedoms by all citizens and individuals. It is argued that the determinants of crime, which simultaneously act as its features, have a destructive effect directly on the foundations of statehood, which negatively affects the functioning of all state institutions and their ability to further develop in the fight against external destructive factors. The author presents an approach to the definition of signs of crime, which consists in the fact that among the most accurate and detailed signs of crime in the legal literature are such as: «illegality», «systematic», «mass». It is found out, on the basis of the analyzed positions of scientists, that the interconnectedness of the destructive influence of crime as a social manifestation with the process of building the rule of law in Ukraine is due to the fact that the main object of criminal encroachment is the basic characteristic of the rule of law (requires on the one hand proper support, and on the other-counteraction to destructive factors). The positions presented in the article emphasize that modern crime, taking into account the peculiarities of its structure, growth and elements of the system, as well as other current characteristics, poses a major threat to the stable and consistent development of democracy in Ukraine, which is a guarantee and one on the necessary conditions for the establishment of the rule of law in Ukraine. Emphasis is also placed on the fact that the prospect of further scientific study of this topic is to determine measures to optimize the mechanism for responding to crime in the context of ensuring the rule of law in Ukraine.