Marginalism or Humanism – Modern Approaches to Ensuring the Rights of Those Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in Ukraine: The Theoretical and Legal Aspect of the Issue

Abstract

This scientific article clarifies the socio-normative nature of the legal status of those sentenced to life imprisonment, and also determines the influence of existing marginal groups (politicians, subjects of legislative initiative, scientists, practitioners, etc.) on the process of execution – serving this type of criminal punishment. In particular, it was established that life imprisonment is applied by the court only in exceptional cases, when the purpose of punishment established in the Criminal Code of Ukraine cannot be achieved by other means of criminal law influence defined in the law. Based on this, a special status of those sentenced to life imprisonment has been established at the legislative level, which provides for such legal restrictions that are not characteristic of other types of punishments associated with the isolation of persons guilty of crimes. On the basis of the study of the content of national legal acts, the corresponding norms of international law, practice and theoretical studies, it was established that today the legal status of persons sentenced to life imprisonment, as well as the process of execution – serving this criminal punishment in full meets the requirements of civilization, the best foreign approaches and in general the socio-legal nature of the specified subjects of criminal-executive legal relations. It has also been proven that any attempts by politicians and other subjects of the formation and implementation of the criminal law policy of Ukraine, including people’s deputies and scientists, should be regarded as the marginalization of the execution process – the serving of a sentence in the form of life imprisonment and the creation of another source that encroach on the national security of Ukraine. Key words: marginalization; humanism; execution process – serving sentences; Legal Status; sentenced to life imprisonment; purpose of punishment; legal restrictions.