TRANSFORMATION OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PUBLIC SERVANTS OF UKRAINE UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF THE LEGAL REGIME OF MARTIAL LAW

Abstract

This article is devoted to the analysis of normative changes and transformations of the institution of responsibility of public servants under the conditions of the special legal regime of martial law. It was determined that the responsibility of public servants in the conditions of Ukraine’s struggle for its own independence and unitarity acquires a particularly significant role and social value and is a restraining factor in the balance between power and the rights, freedoms, and interests of private individuals within the internal system and legal order. It was analyzed that the most changes were made to the legislation regulating the procedure and legal basis for bringing public officials to criminal responsibility. Particular attention is focused on the newly introduced regulations on the prohibition of collaborative activities and collaborationism as a phenomenon in the conditions of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. It was found that the Criminal Code of Ukraine was also supplemented with a number of other provisions that establish the criminal responsibility of public officials for, in particular, aiding the aggressor state, illegal use for profit of humanitarian aid, charitable donations or free assistance, as well as in the case of enforced disappearance of persons. Special attention is paid to the procedure for public servants to travel abroad under the conditions of the legal regime of martial law. The provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Prevention of Corruption”, to which amendments were made regarding the receipt of gifts and the procedure for declaring income, were analyzed separately. Also considered is the increase in the role of political responsibility of public officials, as a special type of legal responsibility that directly affects the ideological component of the country’s social and political life in conditions of confrontation with the enemy. In particular, the role of legislative restrictions on the activities of pro-Russian political parties was noted. Conclusions were made about the positive intensification of law-making activity, the positive dynamics of changes in the institution of legal responsibility of public servants, their compliance with the needs of martial law and the impact on the formation of public trust in government institutions, which is especially important in today’s difficult conditions of the struggle for independence and unitary Ukraine.