PROCEDURAL ACTIONS DURING CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS ON AN AIR, SEA, OR RIVER VESSEL THAT IS OUTSIDE UKRAINE BEARING THE FLAG OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article is dedicated to analyzing problematic issues regarding the implementation of procedural powers during criminal proceedings on an air, sea, or river vessel located outside Ukraine.It emphasizes that during such procedural actions, it is necessary to maintain a proper balance of existing principles of criminal proceedings (rule of law, legality, ensuring the right to defense) and to ensure the fulfillment of its objectives, so that everyone who commits a criminal offense is held accountable in proportion to their guilt, and at the same time, that each participant in criminal proceedings is subjected to proper legal procedures.It is substantiated that conducting criminal proceedings on vessels outside Ukraine is a complex and specific process that requires consideration of international law, national legislation, and the peculiarities of jurisdictional activities. The article proposes legislative changes, including clarifying the term «other official» and expanding the list of circumstances under which their appointment is necessary.It also presents an opinion on the advisability of enshrining in the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine the obligation for the captain of a Ukrainian vessel or another authorized person to record primary data in the relevant vessel log regarding the offense, including the date, time, circumstances of the event, article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, data about the person who may have committed the offense (if available), and the victim (if available).The article analyzes and offers proposals for the application of certain procedural/investigative actions on a vessel located outside Ukraine.It examines and compares with Ukrainian legislation the provisions of laws and procedural norms applied in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in case of investigating crimes committed on a vessel outside the respective country but under its flag.As a result of studying the experiences of European countries, it is proposed to adopt the established practice in the United Kingdom, in particular, the obligation to maintain a shipboard log in which data about offenses, recording of events that took place on the vessel, are entered.