Public and private interests in criminal law: the question of finding a balance

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Public and private interests in criminal law: the question of finding a balance

Journal Title: ПИТАННЯ БОРОТЬБИ ЗІ ЗЛОЧИННІСТЮ - Year 2017, Vol 1, Issue 33

Abstract

The scientific article is devoted to the study of the balance of public and private interests in criminal law. It is noted that in the legal literature various terms («poise», «balance», «compromise», «harmonization») are used to describe the forms of combining public and private interests in legal regulation, which are often used as synonyms. It is proved that the term «balance» is the most optimal for the needs of criminal law, as it fills the content of the ratio of public and private interests and reflects the specifics of the object of criminal and legal protection, which is the most important public relations to ensure national security, public safety, the environment, public health, security of the peace and safety of mankind, etc. On the basis of the analysis, it is concluded that the balance of interests in criminal law does not mean a state of equilibrium between public and private interests, but suggests an optimal combination that allows the possibility of establishing a priority in protecting the most vulnerable social interests (whether private or public). The article emphasizes that the establishment of a balance of public and private interests in criminal law requires compliance with a number of basic constitutional principles, such as equality, proportionality, inadmissibility of excessive and disproportionate restriction of human rights and freedoms, social justice, taking into account the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. At the same time, the issue of the balance of public and private interests is examined at two levels – lawmaking and law enforcement. It is noted that, ideally, the balance of interests should be established at the level of lawmaking and provide for such a way for the legislator to formulate criminal law norms in which they reflect the optimal combination of public and private interests and the proportionality of the importance of interests and efforts spent on securing them. As for the law enforcement level, its purpose is not only to maintain the balance of public and private interests established at the legislative level, but also to restore it in the event that for certain reasons it was not possible to ensure a balance of interests at the legislative level. On the example of some criminal and legal norms imbalance of public and private interests are demonstrated, and the possibilities of its restoration at the level of law enforcement are analyzed.

Authors and Affiliations

Н. В. Нетеса, N. V. Netesa

Keywords

public interest. private interest. equilibrium. conflict of interests. balance of interests. compromise.

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EP ID EP530350
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