Restitution and compensatory measures in criminal law

This article argues for the need to enshrine restorative and compensatory measures in the criminal law of Ukraine. The authors analyze international normative acts, in particular the UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, 1985; the European Convention on the Compensation of Victims of Violent Crimes, 1983; Recommendation R (85) 11 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to Member States on the position of the victim in criminal law and criminal procedure, 1985; Recommendation Rec (2006) 8 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to Member States on assistance to victims of crime, 2006, which establishes certain obligations of States to enshrine restitution and compensation in national laws. The article identifies the insufficiency of legislative consolidation of restitution (compensation) for damage caused by a criminal offense in the criminal procedure and civil legislation of Ukraine. The article analyzes the historical legal acts in force in our country which provided for measures aimed at ensuring the interests of victims of criminal offenses, and proves that with the accession to the Russian Empire, the positive achievements in criminal law related to the attempts to enshrine restitution and compensation measures at the legislative level were lost. At the same time, the author uses the example of the criminal law of Poland to prove that the States which had a common history with ours and the same origins of legislation formation continued the traditions of rule-making in a given criminal law area, and therefore the system of criminal law measures in Poland includes measures of a compensatory nature. The article focuses on the analysis of the provisions of the draft Criminal Code of Ukraine regulating restitution and compensation, identifies certain shortcomings and suggests some ways to address them.