Invalidity of punishment in the mechanism for counteracting corruption

Abstract

On its way of building a law state, Ukraine continues to thoroughly reform all spheres of society. However, corruption impedes the proper functioning and further development of society, undermines the foundations of statehood. Therefore, it is important that activities in the field of socially oriented transformations to be accompanied by a science-based study of the causes of prevalence and modification of corrupt manifestations, as well as proposals for improving the effectiveness of the mechanism of counteracting this phenomenon.

Not without pressure from civil society and international partners, the Ukrainian authorities have carried out anti-corruption reform. New anti-corruption legislation has been adopted. New specialized anti-corruption bodies have been created to implement the approved regulatory requirements. However, despite of the significant changes in the country, Ukraine has received a negative assessment in the fight against corruption and is ranked 120 in the world rankings and the last in Europe.

Though, the work against corruption is certainly conducted, there are no tangible positive changes, and all this makes one think about the reasons for such an ineffective fight against corruption and why corrupt officials remain unpunished.

Among the effective tools for fighting and preventing corruption, the principle of inevitability of punishment for corruption offenses holds a special place. However, the incompleteness of judicial reform in Ukraine has led to the imbalance of the justice system. The inability of the judicial branch to hear criminal proceedings on corruption offenses within a reasonable time and to impose fair sentences on those found guilty by a court decision, demonstrates that the principle of the inevitability of punishment is under threat