SC CrimCC Joint Chamber concludes on decriminalisation of misappropriation of property by theft

The Law of Ukraine of 18 July 2024 No. 3886-IX ‘On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences and Some Other Laws of Ukraine on Strengthening Liability for Petty Theft of Other People's Property and Regulation of Some Other Issues of Law Enforcement’, which amended Art. 51 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences, is a law on criminal liability that cancels criminal unlawfulness within the meaning of Art. 5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for those acts that were considered a criminal offence before the entry into force of this Law, but after it entered into force fall under the signs of an administrative offence under Art. 51 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences.

The amendments introduced by Law No. 3886‑IX have retroactive effect.

When determining whether the value of the stolen goods exceeds the amount specified in Article 51 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences, the amount of the tax-free minimum income established at the time of the offence should be taken into account, taking into account the provisions of clause 5 of subsection 1 of section XX and sub-clause 169.1.1 of clause 169.1 of article 169 of section IV of the Tax Code of Ukraine.

Issues arising in criminal proceedings in connection with the entry into force of Law No. 3886‑IX shall be resolved by the courts in accordance with the rules provided for cases when the law establishing the criminal unlawfulness of an act has ceased to be in force.

This conclusion was reached by the Joint Chamber of the Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court in case No. 278/1566/21.

In the circumstances of the criminal proceedings, the convict committed several episodes of secret theft of another's property, in particular on 16 April 2021 in the amount of UAH 406.58, on 31 May 2021 in the amount of UAH 424.33, on 16 June 2021 in the amount of UAH 7,090.33 and on 7 November 2022 in the amount of UAH 6,871.67.

The local court, with which the court of appeal agreed, found the person guilty and sentenced him for committing criminal offences under part 2 of Article 185, part 3 of Article 185, part 4 of Article 185 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Changing the verdict of the court of first instance and the ruling of the court of appeal, the Joint Chamber closed the criminal proceedings under part 2 of Article 185 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the basis of paragraphs 1-2 of part 2 of Article 284 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, as the law establishing the criminal unlawfulness of the act had ceased to be in force; reclassified the actions of the convicted person under the episode of 16 April 2021 from part 3 of Article 185 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine to part 1 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The full text of the resolution of the Joint Chamber of the Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court of 7 October 2024 in case No. 278/1566/21 (proceedings No. 51- 555кмо24) will be available in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions - https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/.