Harmonisation of criminal provisions of Ukrainian legislation with UN Firearms Protocol and UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime

Abstract

Ukraine is a state in which there is no law regulating the manufacture, acquisition and possession of firearms; there is also no central state register of firearms held by the civilian population. This makes it difficult to even distinguish between legal and illegal circulation of firearms and hinders the implementation of measures to control and block illegal arms flows. All issues related to the circulation of civilian weapons are resolved by the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Participation of Civilians in the Defense of Ukraine”, the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Participation of Civilians in the Defense of Ukraine” regarding the improvement of the procedure for obtaining, declaring and handling firearms” exclusively by subordinate regulatory acts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and other ministries and departments. Currently, there is no special law that would regulate the circulation of weapons in Ukraine. In the absence of proper legislative regulation, law enforcement agencies perform a key function in combating the illicit trafficking of weapons, identifying, documenting and investigating relevant criminal offenses, as well as organizing preventive measures to prevent their commission. The analysis of the compliance of the legal definitions given in international documents with those contained in the national legislation of Ukraine indicates the need for their systematic harmonization with the provisions of the UN Protocol on Firearms. This also applies to the terminology used in the draft laws of Ukraine. Currently, Ukraine does not have a national strategy for the control and reduction of small arms and light weapons, as well as ammunition, as well as an appropriate coordinating body. The current legislation does not define a clear list of data on firearms, their components, parts and ammunition that are subject to accounting, and does not contain a requirement to include in the records the serial number of the most important component on the frame or receiver of each firearm.