Instituto de Estudios Políticos y Derecho Público "Dr. Humberto J. La Roche"
de la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas de la Universidad del Zulia
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Esta publicación cientíca en formato digital es continuidad de la revista impresa
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Vol.39 N° 69
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Diciembre
2021
Recibido el 15/02/2021 Aceptado el 14/06/2021
ISSN 0798- 1406 ~ De pó si to le gal pp 198502ZU132
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Vol. 39, Nº 69 (Julio - Diciembre) 2021, 60-73
IEPDP-Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas - LUZ
Conceptual problems of investigation
and prevention of enforced disappearance
of persons in the conditions of armed
aggression
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.3969.03
Mirkovets Dmytro *
Atamanchuk Volodymyr **
Marko Sergii ***
Dubivka Irina ****
Matsola Antonina *****
Abstract
The article highlights the results of a study of the situation with
ocial investigations into criminal oenses related to the enforced
disappearance of persons in the context of armed aggression
in eastern and southern Ukraine. The example of individual
criminal proceedings presents some systemic problems that arise during
the investigation of the facts of disappearance and suggests possible ways
to solve them. There are several «blocks» of problems that lie in the eld
of criminal law, criminology, and criminal procedure. The points of view of
scientists and practitioners on this problem are highlighted. It is concluded
that Ukraine, in today’s conditions, needs to take measures aimed at
improving the legal mechanisms of observance and protection of the right
of persons staying in its territory to freedom from enforced disappearance,
as well as intensifying law enforcement agencies to prompt, complete and
impartial investigation of such facts, their proper qualication, search
for victims, identication of those responsible for their disappearance,
* Candidate of Science in law, Deputy Chiefs of the Main Investigation Department, State Bureau
of Investigation, Kyiv, Ukraine, ORСID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2539-2824. Email:
a55555555@ukr.net
** Candidate of Science in law, Associate Professor, Department of Forensic Support and Examination of
Educational and Scientic Institute № 2, National Academy of Internal Aairs, Kyiv, Ukraine, ORСID
ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1464-7871. Email: atamanchykvlad@ukr.net
*** Candidate of Science in law, Associate Professor of the Department of Criminal Procedure and
Criminology of the Faculty № 1 of the Institute for Training Specialists for National Police, Lviv State
University of Internal Aairs, Lviv, Ukraine, ORСID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9778-0570.
Email: marko.sergii@gmail.com
**** Candidate of Science in law, Senior investigator in especially important cases of the 1 st department
of the pre-trial investigation department of the National Police of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, ORСID ID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7189-3630. Email: irinadubivka@ukr.net
***** Candidate of Science in law, Associate Professor of the Department of Criminal Law and Procedure,
State higher educational institution «Uzhhorod National University», Uzhhorod, Ukraine, ORСID ID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8678-7697. Email: ma0507@ukr.net
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ensuring that victims receive timely and adequate compensation. The
methodological basis for writing the article was a dialectical-materialist
method, as well as the set of general scientic and special methods and
techniques of scientic knowledge.
Keywords: enforced disappearance; criminal liability; criminal
proceedings; qualication; investigation.
Problemas conceptuales de investigación y prevención
de la desaparición forzada de personas en condiciones de
agresión armada
Resumen
El artículo destaca los resultados de un estudio de situación con
investigaciones ociales sobre crímenes relacionados con la desaparición
forzada de personas en el contexto de agresión armada en el este y sur de
Ucrania. El ejemplo de algunos procesos penales presenta algunos problemas
sistémicos que surgen durante la investigación de desapariciones y sugiere
posibles formas de solucionarlos. Hay varios «bloques» de problemas en
el campo del derecho penal, la criminología y el procedimiento penal. Se
destacan las opiniones de cientícos y profesionales sobre este problema.
Se concluye que, en las condiciones actuales, Ucrania debe tomar
medidas destinadas a mejorar los mecanismos legales de observancia y
protección del derecho de las personas que permanecen en su territorio a
no desaparecer, así como activar las instituciones responsables de hacer
cumplir la ley para investigar de manera imparcial tales hechos, calicación
adecuada, búsqueda de víctimas, identicación de los responsables de
su desaparición, asegurando una reparación oportuna y adecuada a las
víctimas. La base metodológica para la redacción del artículo fue un
método dialéctico-materialista, así como el conjunto de métodos y técnicas
cientícos generales y especiales del conocimiento cientíco.
Palabras clave: desaparición forzada; responsabilidad penal; proceso
penal; calicación; investigación.
Introduction
The Constitution of Ukraine provides for the protection of the rights and
freedoms of every citizen and declares that a person, his life, health, honor
and dignity, inviolability, and security are determined by the highest social
62
Mirkovets Dmytro, Atamanchuk Volodymyr, Marko Sergii, Dubivka Irina y Matsola Antonina
Conceptual problems of investigation and prevention of enforced disappearance of persons in the
conditions of armed aggression
value (Article 3) (Constitution of Ukraine, 1996). The success of this activity
largely depends on the theoretical development of combating certain
types of crime and the eective activities of law enforcement agencies in
the ght against serious and especially serious crimes of selsh violence.
Real enforcement of these rights is guaranteed by the rules of criminal law,
which establish liability for encroachment on the liberty and inviolability
of the person. These are, in particular, the criminal remedies provided for
in Article 146
1
of the Criminal Code of Ukraine «Forced Disappearance»
(Criminal Code of Ukraine, 2001). The act of enforced disappearance is one
of the most brutal human rights violations, the absolute nature of which is
enshrined in the International Convention of 2006 (Tsviki, 2017).
Enforced disappearances have become a global problem that is not
limited to any region of the world. Being in the past mostly a product
of military dictatorial regimes (Forced or involuntary disappearance
of persons, 2019), now enforced disappearances can occur in dicult
conditions of local and interstate-armed conicts. After the transition
of the armed conict in the east to the south of Ukraine to the phase of
low intensity, the number of disappearances decreased, but they remain
widespread (Forced disappearances in Ukraine and disappearances during
the military conict in the east in 2014–2018).
The lack of a unied methodology for determining missing persons, as
well as the lack of coordination between dierent government agencies,
have led to dierent data on the number of disappearances in a zone of
military conict – from several hundred to several thousand people. States
parties to the relevant treaties, in addition to the measures they provide for
the prevention of enforced disappearances, are obliged to include such acts
as criminal oenses in national law (Yeroshkin, 2019), to take all possible
and necessary measures aimed at immediate and eective investigation
of each case of the disappearance of a person, to establish the culprits, to
ensure observance and restoration of the rights of victims of such facts and
their relatives.
Criminal oenses, liability for which is provided by Art. 1461 of the
Criminal Code of Ukraine, referred to the jurisdiction of the pre-trial
investigation of the National Police of Ukraine, the proceedings are not
carried out as for crimes committed during hostilities. At the same time,
on September 3, 2015, a separate specialized Oce for the Investigation
of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind and International
Oenses was established within the Chief Military Prosecutor’s Oce
of the Prosecutor General’s Oce of Ukraine. On the fact of military
aggression on the territory of Ukraine. We can state that currently there
are a number of conceptual problems of investigating and preventing
enforced disappearances in the context of armed aggression in eastern
and southern Ukraine, which necessitates a comprehensive scientic study
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and development of scientically sound proposals to improve existing
legislation and practice. Application.
1. Methodology of the study
The methodological basis for writing the article was a dialectical-
materialist method of scientic knowledge of socio-legal phenomena, as
well as the set of general scientic and special methods and techniques of
scientic knowledge that are currently used in legal literature, which made
it possible to study raised problems in the unity of their social content and
legal form. In particular, the authors used the following methods to achieve
this goal and to provide science-based conclusions. One of the main methods
for writing this scientic work was of analysis and synthesis, which allowed
identifying the main criminal procedural and criminological problems of
the enforced disappearance of persons in the context of armed conict in
some territories of Ukraine, to develop proposals and recommendations of
organizational, tactical and legislative nature. Based on the synthesis, are
formulated conclusions and proposals on the research topic.
The logical-semantic method made it possible to form, deepen and
concretize the categorical apparatus of research, in particular, to establish
the relationship between the concepts of «enforced disappearance»,
«imprisonment», «representative of the state» and «representatives of a
foreign state» and more. The system-structural method used to identify
typical shortcomings of qualications, to conduct certain procedural
actions in the investigation of crimes under Art. 149
1
of the Criminal Code of
Ukraine. To study the problems of investigation and prevention of enforced
disappearances, legal support for the eectiveness of such activities, a
comparative legal method was used, which analyzed the current criminal,
criminal procedure legislation.
2. Analysis of recent research
The works of such scientists as Andrushko A.V. (2019), Voitovich E.M.
(2019), Guzeeva O.S. (2014), Kabanets L.V. (2019), Mazurok O.Ya. (2015),
Shulga O.V. (2016), Chornous Yu.M. (2013), and others are devoted to
the study of the issues under consideration. Without diminishing the role
of these scientists, there are still many problematic issues related to the
investigation and prevention of crimes under Art. 146
1
of the Criminal Code
of Ukraine. Currently, there are signicant gaps in the implementation of
appropriate qualications, rapid, complete, and eective investigation of
enforced disappearances in Ukraine, which highlights the need to improve
the methodology of investigation of these crimes, to develop an eective
mechanism for their prevention.
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Mirkovets Dmytro, Atamanchuk Volodymyr, Marko Sergii, Dubivka Irina y Matsola Antonina
Conceptual problems of investigation and prevention of enforced disappearance of persons in the
conditions of armed aggression
The purpose of the article is a comprehensive theoretical and applied
study of certain criminal procedural and criminological problems of
the enforced disappearance of persons in an armed conict in Ukraine,
development of proposals and recommendations of organizational, tactical,
and legislative nature aimed at improving the investigation and prevention
of crimes under Art. 146
1
of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
3. Results and discussion
One of the main tasks of every modern democratic and civil state is
the protection and defense of human rights (Bondaruk et al., 2021). The
Constitution of Ukraine in Section II enshrined a fairly broad, diverse in
content list of natural and inalienable human, and civil rights. These include,
in particular, the right of every person to respect for his or her dignity (Part
1, Article 28) and the right to liberty and security of person (Part 1, Article
29). In turn, the provisions of Section III of the Special Part of the Criminal
Code of Ukraine are aimed at protecting these rights. In particular, Art.
146
1
of the Criminal Code of Ukraine denes criminal liability for enforced
disappearance (Criminal Code of Ukraine, 2001). Enforced disappearances
violate the full range of human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and enshrined in the International Covenants on Human
Rights, as well as in other major international human rights instruments,
such as the right to recognition of legal personality; the right to liberty and
security of person; the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the right to life when a
missing person is killed; the right to individuality; the right to a fair trial
and judicial guarantees; the right to an eective remedy, including redress
and compensation; the right to know the truth about the circumstances of
the disappearance. Besides, the disappearance of people usually entails
violations of various economic, social, and cultural rights, negatively
aecting their realization by the victim’s family members.
The disappearance of the main breadwinner, especially in less auent
communities, often puts the family at a standstill, in which many of the
rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, in particular the right to protection of the family and
providing her with assistance; the right to an adequate standard of living;
the right to health; right to education (Forced or involuntary disappearance
of persons, 2019).
Under conditions of physical and psychological restriction in the
exercise of their rights, a person detained in a place not established by the
investigation is vulnerable. Vulnerability is a condition in which a person is
deprived or restricted in his/her ability to resist violent or other unlawful
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CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
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acts due to physical or mental characteristics or other circumstances caused
by the relevant characteristics (Matvieieva et al., 2021).
Ukrainian and international human rights organizations have repeatedly
referred to the facts of enforced disappearances in the context of armed
conict in their reports. In particular, the Center for Civil Liberties in a
joint report with the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
(Eastern Ukraine. Civilians caught in the crossre) noted that violations of
the rights of civilians in eastern Ukraine have signs of both crimes against
humanity and, in some cases, military crimes. This means, among other
things, that the investigative units of the National Police of Ukraine, the
Security Service of Ukraine, and the Prosecutor General’s Oce of Ukraine
have to deal with a category of crimes with which they have not encountered
these events. The situation is complicated by legal contradictions caused
by the lack of consistent assessment of the events in Donbas as an armed
conict and consistent recognition of all legal consequences of this fact
(Odegov, Hrytsenko and Shcherbachenko, 2018).
We consider it expedient to single out in the article several «blocks» of
problems that lie in the plane of criminal law, criminology, and criminal
procedure. At one time, formulating the objective side of enforced
disappearance in both parts of Article 146
1
of the Criminal Code of Ukraine,
the legislator proceeded from the provisions of Art. Art. 2 and 6 of the
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
However, compared with international norms, Art. 146
1
of the Criminal
Code of Ukraine did not provide for instructions on the construction of
«leaving a person without the protection of the law» as a consequence
of committing illegal acts; complicity in this act; circumstances that may
mitigate (aggravate the return of the missing person alive, clarify the
circumstances of the enforced disappearance or identify the perpetrators
of the act of enforced disappearance) or aggravate (the death of the missing
person, the act of enforced disappearance of pregnant women, minors, the
disabled or others) persons) criminal liability (Enforced Disappearance:
Problematic Issues of Criminal Liability).
Lawyers pay attention to other shortcomings. In particular, this norm
contains only typical forms of imprisonment (arrest, detention, abduction),
so their list is not exhaustive, and therefore the legal construction of
«deprivation of liberty in any other form» means that similar illegal actions
may be committed that will preclude a person from exercising his or her
true will (for example, unreasonable pretext or detention). It emphasizes
the lack of logic in the formulation of sanctions, disproportions in the
denition of «representative of the state» and «representatives of a foreign
state» in the note to Art. 146
1
of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, etc. (Enforced
Disappearance: Problematic Issues of Criminal Liability).
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Mirkovets Dmytro, Atamanchuk Volodymyr, Marko Sergii, Dubivka Irina y Matsola Antonina
Conceptual problems of investigation and prevention of enforced disappearance of persons in the
conditions of armed aggression
We pay attention to other problems as well. In particular, when
describing enforced disappearances in the context of armed conict and
occupation, law enforcement ocers often do not take into account the
provisions of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which established
stricter liability for violations of the laws and customs of war, and, in
contrast to Art. 146
1
of the Criminal Code of Ukraine has no statute of
limitations. Also, current Ukrainian law allows for amnesty for those
involved in enforced disappearances. This state of aairs, paradoxically,
facilitates the prospects of kidnappers of Ukrainian citizens, especially if
such kidnappers are the same ocials. Thus, Ukraine does not guarantee
the inevitability of punishment for enforced disappearances if the relevant
representative of the Russian occupation administration appears before
a Ukrainian court in the controlled territory (Report on the human rights
situation in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea
and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, 2018).The above indicates the need
for serious regulatory improvement of Art. 146
1
of the Criminal Code of
Ukraine, which will undoubtedly contribute to the improvement of law
enforcement practice in criminal proceedings for the forcible destruction
of a person.
We consider it expedient to review organizational and practical problems
that prevent the search for victims of enforced disappearances. First, it
should be emphasized that the law enforcement agencies of the Russian
Federation ignore the facts of the investigation of these criminal oenses
committed in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and the initiated criminal
proceedings are closed. Such passivity in these matters, the unwillingness
to conduct a thorough investigation is apparently due to the involvement
of FSB ocers, members of the so-called Donbas self-defense, «Crimean
self-defense» and other organizations loyal to the Russian occupation
administration, to enforced disappearances in Crimea. Temporarily
occupied the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol
(Ukraine, 2018). At the same time, Ukraine is limited in international legal
means to bring Russia to justice for enforced disappearances in the occupied
territories. In particular, Ukraine is deprived of the opportunity to use the
mechanisms provided by the International Convention for the Protection
of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, including the right to sue the
International Court of Justice, as Russia is not a party to this convention. of
Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine, 2018).
In our opinion, the eectiveness of the search for missing persons in the
temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and bringing the perpetrators
to justice will be facilitated by a set of organizational, tactical, and legislative
measures, in particular:
• synchronization of the sanctions list by Ukraine, the USA, and
the countries of the European Union, which should include law
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enforcement ocers and organizations controlled by the Russian
Federation that are involved in enforced disappearances in the
occupied Crimea and obstruct thorough investigation (Enforced
disappearances: problems of search and responsibility, 2020).
• developing a unied approach to the classication of crimes related
to the violation of the enforced disappearance of a person.
• strengthening responsibility for enforced disappearances.
• search for missing persons following international standards.
• competent application by the plaintis of the case-law of the
European Court of Human Rights.
• close coordination between relatives of missing persons, Ukrainian
law enforcement agencies, human rights organizations and the
UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances.
Special attention should be paid to the study of the conceptual
provisions of the modern criminal process, as well as the peculiarities
of their practical implementation in terms of solving the problem
highlighted in the article. Determining territorial jurisdiction for pre-
trial investigation of criminal oenses committed in the occupied
territory by pre-trial investigation bodies located at a considerable
distance from the crime scene (residence of most witnesses and
victims) and having dicult transport accessibility (bad car and /
combination). This situation creates unjustied diculties in the
investigation, as the investigator is not able to personally carry
out most procedural, including investigative (search) actions.
When determining territorial jurisdiction, preference should be
given to those pre-trial investigation bodies that are located in the
administrative centers of the respective regions and the settlements
closest to them (Odegov et al., 2018, p. 28).
It should be noted that as part of the administrative-territorial reform,
the criminal bloc and pre-trial investigation bodies of the National Police
in the territories where overload was recorded were strengthened (Ihor
Klymenko presented a new model of organizing the activities of the National
Police of Ukraine, 2021). Also, the Order of the Prosecutor General’s Oce
№ 54 of 02.03.2021 «On certain issues of ensuring the start of specialized
prosecutor’s oces in the military and defense sphere (district rights) »
approved a list of specialized prosecutor’s oces in the military and defense
sphere (district rights) of the beginning of work of specialized prosecutors’
oces in the military and defense sphere (on the rights of the district),
2021). It seems that such organizational innovations should have a positive
impact on the provision of eective prosecutorial oversight, as well as on
the level of professional training of law enforcement ocers involved in the
investigation of enforced disappearances.
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Mirkovets Dmytro, Atamanchuk Volodymyr, Marko Sergii, Dubivka Irina y Matsola Antonina
Conceptual problems of investigation and prevention of enforced disappearance of persons in the
conditions of armed aggression
Another problem in the investigation of enforced disappearances,
which partly follows from the previous one, is the lack of promptness in the
actions of law enforcement ocers (prompt response to appeals of relatives
of missing persons; lack of timely and formulated investigative versions
in criminal proceedings); formal nature without taking into account
the specics of the criminal oense). Unjustied delays in conducting
certain procedural, including investigative (search) actions, primarily
with the appointment and conduct of examinations. Delays in recognizing
the relatives of the missing victims and their interrogation in this status
were revealed in the criminal proceedings № 12015230000000136 dated
06.04.2015 on the fact of the missing disappearance of E. Apselyamov
(Criminal proceeding № 12015230000000136, 2015). At the same time,
the materials of the pre-trial investigation do not contain information that
would justify such delays in the appointment and conduct of examinations.
It is necessary to pay attention to the frequent absence in the materials
of criminal proceedings of data on the state and results of the search for
victims in the established ORS «Search». See, for example, criminal
proceedings № 42015010000000124 of 04.09.2015, initiated on the
fact of illegal imprisonment of M. Arislanov (Criminal proceedings
№ 42015010000000124, 2015). The investigator’s instructions to the
ocers of the operational unit to conduct investigative (search) actions
are sometimes formal and meaningless. Employees of the relevant
operational unit also formally treated them. These shortcomings are
characteristic of the criminal proceedings № 42014000000000468
dated 04.06.2014, initiated on the facts of missing disappearance and
illegal imprisonment of activists of the public organization «Ukrainian
House» T.D. Shaimardanova, S.S. Zinedinova and L.A. Korzha (Criminal
proceedings № 42014000000000468, 2014).
A common problem for almost all criminal proceedings of the studied
category is insucient diligence during investigative (search) actions. In
many criminal proceedings initiated on the grounds of missing persons,
investigative (search) actions did not have a clearly dened purpose (were
not aimed at verifying a certain investigative version), were supercial
and inconsistent. Scholars and practitioners also draw attention to
the insucient use in the investigation of these criminal oenses of
opportunities and modern achievements of forensic techniques, forensic
methods (means and techniques) of xing the appearance of criminals (in
particular, verbal presentation of the appearance of criminals in procedural
documents) (protocols of interrogation of victims, as a rule, do not contain
the detailed description of the appearance of criminals); photo composite
portrait/photo work). It is indicated to ignore the possibility of identication
of victims (criminals) and objects by photographs, video materials (video
les), reference / forensic records, etc. (Odegov et al., 2018, p.).
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It is also necessary to state the lack of proper departmental control
and prosecutorial supervision in the form of procedural guidance of pre-
trial investigation in criminal proceedings on the facts of the enforced
disappearance of persons. Unfortunately, the lack of information about
the state and progress of the pre-trial investigation also often characterizes
such criminal proceedings. In the case of enforced disappearances, victims
do not fully enjoy the right granted to them to review the materials of the
pre-trial investigation.
Among other things, this is since during the transfer of materials to
another body of pre-trial investigation, victims were often not informed
about the new place of investigation. Such a shortcoming was revealed
in the criminal proceeding № 12020010000000124 of 18.08.2020,
initiated on the fact of disappearance in the area of the anti-terrorist
operation in the Donetsk region Shugaeva O.L. (Criminal proceeding
№ 12020010000000124, 2020).
The analysis of the outlined problems in the eld of application of the
provisions of the criminal procedure law encourages the development of
appropriate response measures, in particular, to strengthen departmental
control and prosecutorial oversight of compliance with the law during pre-
trial investigation in criminal proceedings on enforced disappearances.
First of all, it is about: the need to provide investigators with the reasonable
frequency of reasonable instructions to conduct specic investigative
(investigative) and other procedural actions within the time limits clearly
dened by law and/or the prosecutor, the head of the pre-trial investigation
body, to ensure proper implementation of the relevant instructions; if
necessary, initiate before the heads of the pre-trial investigation body the
issue of removal of the investigator from the pre-trial investigation and
appointment of another investigator in case of ineective investigation of
the disappearance of persons with signs of violence.
As for research institutions of the Ministry of Internal Aairs of Ukraine,
it, together with the Prosecutor General’s Oce of Ukraine, should develop
and bring to the attention of subordinate investigative units’ certain forensic
methods of investigating enforced disappearances. When developing
appropriate methods should take into account international experience
in documenting criminal oenses under Art. 146
1
of the Criminal Code
of Ukraine and other crimes committed on the border and temporarily
occupied territory of Ukraine. We should not ignore the recommendations
of other scholars to increase the eectiveness of law enforcement in the ght
against crimes related to an unlawful deprivation of liberty or kidnapping:
improving methods of collecting intelligence to identify organized structures
involved in crimes against personal liberty, nature their activities, relations
between them (including transnational); research into the methods they use
for self-defense; creation of specialized units in law enforcement agencies
70
Mirkovets Dmytro, Atamanchuk Volodymyr, Marko Sergii, Dubivka Irina y Matsola Antonina
Conceptual problems of investigation and prevention of enforced disappearance of persons in the
conditions of armed aggression
that would allow «entry» into criminal organizations (Kabanets, 2019, p.
3 4). It should be noted that these proposals are general, intersectoral in
nature.
Conclusions
In general, it should be summarized that Ukraine, like other countries
in a situation of armed conict caused by the occupation of their territories,
needs to take measures to improve the legal mechanisms of observance and
protection of the right of persons on its territory to freedom from violence.
Disappearance, as well as the intensication of law enforcement agencies
to prompt, complete and impartial investigation of such facts, their proper
qualication, search for victims, identication of those responsible for
their disappearance, ensuring that victims receive timely and adequate
compensation.
It is necessary to improve the regulations of Art. 146-1 of the Criminal
Code of Ukraine, which, no doubt, promotes the improvement of law
enforcement practice in criminal proceedings for the forcible destruction
of a person. The eectiveness of the search for missing persons in the
temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and bringing the perpetrators
to justice will be facilitated by a set of organizational, tactical, and legislative
measures, in particular: synchronization of the legislative list by Ukraine,
the United States and the European Union; search for missing persons
following international standards; developing a unied approach to the
classication of crimes related to the violation of the enforced disappearance
of a person; strengthening responsibility for enforced disappearances;
competent application by the plaintis of the case-law of the European
Court of Human Rights; close coordination between relatives of missing
persons, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, human rights organizations
and the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances.
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