CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR VIOLATION OF CITIZENS’ EQUALITY DEPENDING ON THEIR RACE, NATIONALITY, REGIONAL BELONGING, RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, DISABILITY, AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

The article highlights the issue of criminal liability for violation of the equality of citizens depending on their racial, national, or regional belonging, religious beliefs, disability, and other grounds. In the focus of the study is the content of the amendments to Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine made in 2009–2022. The main social danger of violating the equality of citizens, discriminatory actions, and insulting other people’s feelings, depending on their nationality, race, regional affiliation, religion, or other characteristics, is that these actions can become a norm of behavior. In the future, this can lead to the commission of criminal offenses against peace, security of humankind and international legal order, personal life, public safety, and crimes against the foundations of national security of the state. The article considers some features of the legal provisions provided by Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, identifies shortcomings of the criminal law and suggests ways for its improvement. The author argues that the victim can be not only a citizen of Ukraine but also a foreigner or a stateless person. The emphasis is laid on the expediency of changing the title and disposition of the article, using the term “people and citizens”. The materials of court practice were used to clarify the content of forms of actions considering them as an indication of the objective aspect of the composition of a criminal offense. It is proposed to introduce changes to the dispositions of Parts 1, 2, and 3 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, replacing the word “acts” with the word “doings” since this criminal offense can be committed not only by action but also by inaction. The research findings substantiate the need to strengthen criminal liability for qualified types of violation of the equality of citizens depending on their racial, national or regional affiliation, religious beliefs, disability, and other characteristics. One of the key reasons for such a step is that the increase in the number of these specified crimes and the increase in their specific weight in the structure of criminality contributes to the commission of more socially dangerous acts, such as genocide, planning, preparation, initiating, and waging of aggressive war, violation of the laws and customs of war, and other criminal offenses against the peace and security of mankind and international legal order, in general.