The article is dedicated to the analysis of the domestic legislation on release from serving a sentence in the form of life imprisonment. It has been found out that life imprisonment is the most severe type of punishment in many countries of the world. This fact leads to lively scientific and practical discussions around the legal regulation of certain aspects of its implementing and serving. The issue of release from serving this type of punishment is especially acute, as human rights organizations emphasize the lack of an effective mechanism for release from serving a sentence in the form of life imprisonment in Ukraine, which contradicts not only a number of international normative and legal acts but also the basic principles of a democratic society which should not deny a person in the opportunity to re-socialize. A review of international norms relating to this area of legal relations is maintained. The main models of release from serving a sentence in the form of life imprisonment on the example of foreign experience are considered. It is concluded that the current model of release from serving a sentence in the form of life imprisonment in Ukraine is inconsistent with the provisions of Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the principle of humanism, and therefore has no prospects for further development and requires significant transformation, because the institution of presidential pardon is rather exceptional and does not create a really functioning mechanism of release from serving a sentence in the form of life imprisonment, but only creates additional problems in the law enforcement process. These shortcomings of the existing model of release from serving a sentence in the form of life imprisonment in Ukraine have been highlighted, in particular, by the European Court of Human Rights. It is substantiated that the current initiatives aimed at making changes in this area at the level of normative and legal acts are an important but insufficient step to solve this problem. Therefore, the relevant amendments should be made in the Criminal and Criminal Executive Codes of Ukraine and further detailed at the sub statutory level. Making such amendments will not only allow to bring the provisions of domestic criminal and criminal-executive legislation in line with high international standards of human rights protection, but also in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, which is the Basic Law of our state. Key words: life imprisonment, release from serving a sentence, pardon, legislation, foreign experience.
Legal analysis of bills aimed at improving the mechanism of application of life imprisonment in Ukraine, namely: “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts Implementing Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights” № 4048 and “On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine on the execution of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights” № 4049 is provided in the article. It is determined that the mechanism of parole in the form of life imprisonment proposed by these bills consists of two stages: the first stage is the replacement of life imprisonment with a milder punishment under the rules of the new version of Article 82 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine; the second stage is conditional early release from serving a sentence in the form of imprisonment, which is assigned to a convict in order to replace life sentence with a milder punishment (imprisonment) under the rules of a new version of Article 81 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The legal positions of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration with the European Union, the Main Scientific and Expert Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and the expert assessment of the Council of Europe are analyzed. The generalized legal analysis of bills 4048, 4049 gave an opportunity to reveal their progressive provisions, as well as shortcomings. Progressive provisions of the bills include: convicts’ drawing up their personal plan for reintegration into society, a temporary restriction on re-applying for the replacement of life sentence with imprisonment for a definite term or a request for a parole. The shortcomings of the bills include: unjustifiably short minimum sentence that a convict must serve in order to be released from life sentence; lack of a mechanism for determining the risk assessment of those sentenced to life imprisonment; lack of legislation to provide for probation in the process of replacing life sentence with a milder sentence and parole in terms of risk assessment, reintegration plan and monitoring compliance with court obligations; lack of criteria for determining the risk of re-offending; implementation of administrative supervision by police bodies over persons released on parole; lack of clear content of the reintegration plan; providing conclusions of the administration of a penal institution on convict’s preparing for release. Key words: bill 4048, bill 4049, life sentence, parole, European standards, implementation.
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