Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

The development of a qualitatively new state policy in the field of criminal justice is impossible without the development of scientific views on the norms of criminal law and procedure, norms regulating the judicial system, as well as criminological means of combating crime. It is the scientific study of these issues, as well as the development of proposals for improving the system of combating crime and ensuring law and order, that is the main task of the Department of Criminal Law, Criminology and Judicial System of the V. M. Koretsky Institute of State and Law of the NAS of Ukraine.

Research into the problems of combating crime in the Sector of State and Law of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR began in 1958. Since 1961, six scientific and industry groups have been created within the structure of the Sector on a non-profit basis, among them - the group of criminal law and process. However, life required new steps to transform the Sector into a full-fledged academic institute with in-depth specialization and the creation of departments.

Based on this, the Presidium of the NAS of Ukraine, by its resolution of December 30, 1965, created four research departments within the Sector. One of them was the department for investigating the causes and developing measures to prevent crime. It was headed by a former employee of the Prosecutor's Office of the Ukrainian SSR, I. P. Lanovenko (since 1962 — candidate, since 1972 — doctor of law). From now on, all criminal law, criminal procedure and criminological research within the Sector (since 1969 — Institute of State and Law of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR) was conducted in one department.

After the creation of the Department, the activity of scientific research work increased significantly. This was reflected in a number of scientific works published in the second half of the 1960s — late 1970s, in particular in the following collective monographs:

– «Materials of specific sociological studies of juvenile delinquency in the cities of Chernivtsi and Donetsk» (1967, I. P. Lanovenko, M. P. Cherednychenko, T. S. Barylo, B. S. Bezzub, V. V. Leonenko, F. A. Lopushansky, V. K. Negodenko, B. A. Sadursky, O. Ya. Svetlov, A. D. Sereda, V. V. Skybytsky, A. P. Tuzov, Ya. M. Shevchenko, S. S. Yatsenko);

– «Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency» (1968, Ya. M. Shevchenko, T. S. Barylo, M. P. Cherednychenko, B. S. Bezzub, M. M. Mykheenko, V. V. Leonenko, I. P. Lanovenko, V. F. Shaposhnikov, editors-in-chief — M. M. Mikheenko and I. P. Lanovenko);

– «Fighting Offenses and Crime» (1969, I. P. Lanovenko, F. A. Lopushansky, Ya. M. Shevchenko, T. S. Barylo, V. V. Leonenko, M. M. Mykheenko, V. K. Negodenko, O. Ya. Svetlov, V. V. Skybytsky, M. P. Cherednychenko, B. S. Bezzub, V. O. Kuznetsov, B. A. Sadursky, A. D. Sereda, A. P. Tuzov, S. S. Yatsenko, B. I. Vikhristenko, editor-in-chief — I. P. Lanovenko);

– «Criminal and Legal Fight against Hooliganism» (1971, V. O. Kuznetsov, I. P. Lanovenko, F. A. Lopushansky, V. V. Leonenko, editor-in-chief
– F. A. Lopushansky);

 – «Application of Criminal Measures to Juvenile Offenders» (1974, V. V. Skybytsky, A. P. Tuzov, ed. O. Ya. Svetlov);

– «Commentary on the Regulation on the Commission for Juvenile Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR» (1975, T. S. Barilo, Ya. F. Bosenko, I. P. Lanovenko, editor-in-chief — O. Ya. Svetlov);

– «Theoretical Problems of Preventing Juvenile Delinquents» (1977, a team of authors, editor-in-chief —  F.A. Lopushansky).

The Department's research staff paid considerable attention to the problems of preventing crime among youth and minors.

In 1978, the Department was headed by Alexander Yakovlevich Svetlov. The leading topic of his research is the fight against official misconduct. Thus, in 1967 he defended his candidate's thesis on the topic: «Criminal liability for abuse of power or official position». In the 1970s, two of his individual monographs were published: «Fighting official misconduct» (1970); «Responsibility for official misconduct» (1978). The increase in the number of court cases on bribery and other official offenses in the late 1980s made this type of research topic particularly relevant.

In the 1980s, the Department paid special attention to researching the problems of juvenile crime prevention. In the 1990s, despite the economic downturn and lack of funding, the Department's staff researched current problems of criminal law, criminology, and the judicial system. The need for new approaches in anti-crime policy was obvious, since, having embarked on the path of reforming the legal system, Ukraine found itself faced with the need to develop new laws, update legislation in the field of combating crime, and reform criminal justice bodies.

The main works of the Department in the 1990s: «Glasnost sudbornoi deyatel'nym ​​po uglovnym dela'am» (1993, V. V. Leonenko [editor-in-chief], G. I. Changuli, A. Y. Miller, M. I. Siryi); «Fighting environmental crimes» (1994, F. A. Lopushansky [editor-in-chief], O. Ya. Svetlov, A. Y. Miller, S. V. Trofimov, O. M. Kostenko); «Narcotics and crime» (1994, I. P. Lanovenko [editor-in-chief], O. Ya. Svetlov, O. M. Kostenko, F. A. Lopushansky, S. V. Trofimov and employees of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine); «Criminal Punishment» (1997, V. V. Skybytsky [editor-in-chief], O. Ya. Svetlov, I. P. Lanovenko, M. I. Siry, O. M. Kostenko and researchers of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the Donetsk Institute of Internal Affairs); «Fighting Economic Crimes» (1997, F. A. Lopushansky [editor-in-chief], O. Ya. Svetlov, A. M. Ryshelyuk, Yu. L. Tytarenko, V. P. Filonov, O. I. Kovalenko); Music A. A.  «Responsibility for crimes in the sphere of drug trafficking» (1998); Lanovenko I. P. «Criminal law (educational and methodological complex)» (1999); Lanovenko I. P. «Criminology (educational and methodological complex)» (1999); Kostenko A. N. «Fundamentals of criminological security» (2001, manuscript, recommended for publication by the Academic Council of the Institute); «Fighting crime in the sphere of business activity» (2001, F. A. Lopushansky [ed.], O. Ya. Svetlov, V. I. Borisov [ed.], O. G. Kalman, V. P. Korzh, I. P. Lanovenko, G. A. Matusovsky, P. V. Melnyk, A. Y. Miller, V. V. Skybytsky, A. M. Ryshelyuk).

In 1999, the Department was headed by Doctor of Law O.M. Kostenko, who, based on the academic standards inherent in his scientific school, initiated the search for a new, progressive methodology for solving urgent problems of law enforcement. Thus, in 1993, he formulated the principle of social naturalism as a methodological principle of jurisprudence and criminology. As the experience of applying this principle in scientific research has shown, it can be fruitful for solving current problems of criminology and criminal justice. 

The Head of the Department was also Doctor of Law, Professor, Honored Lawyer of Ukraine O.O. Kvasha.

Since December 2023 and to this day, the Department has been headed by Doctor of Law, Professor Z.A. Zagynei-Zabolotenko.

Department contact details:

Tel: +38 (044) 278-32-68

Postal address: 01001, Ukraine, Kyiv, Tryohsvyatitelska Str. 4, room 204.

E-mail: crimenacad@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555232221352

 +38 (044) 278-32-68