Constitutional Framework of Criminal Liability for Abuse of Rights and Freedoms

Introduction: the prerequisite for socially dangerous acts to be criminalized is their illegality; one of the forms of such acts is abuse of rights, when the behavior of the subject causing harm to the rights and interests of other persons has an external form of exercising his/her right. Criminal liability for abuse of rights has specific features that significantly distinguish it from other criminalization processes. Purpose: to analyze the theoretical foundations for constructing the grounds of criminal liability for abuse of rights, with the analysis being performed through the prism of criminal law and constitutional provisions. Methods: system analysis, formal and dialectical logic, modeling, method of interpretation of legal norms, method of constitutional examination, comparative legal method. Results: abuse of rights covers both situations of using rights to the detriment and those where the person goes beyond the limits of the right granted to him/her. It is necessary to distinguish between two types of abuse of rights. 1) Abuse of rights by government officials. In criminal law, it generates two problem situations: a) an assessment of the actions of civil servants who consistently implement such a policy of the state that is not legal by its nature and is aimed at depriving citizens of their rights and freedoms or restricting those; b) an assessment of the actions of government officials who abuse their official powers in conditions when such actions contradict the legal policy of the state. 2) Abuse of rights by individuals. In criminal legal assessment of this behavior, one should distinguish: a) abuse of a right as a method of crime and b) abuse of a right as the content of behavior. Conclusions: no abuse of rights can entail criminal liability if it is not associated with the infliction or a real threat of infliction of substantial harm to the rights of citizens. It is essential to optimize the system of liability for abuse of rights and particularly to solve the problem of responsibility of officials implementing non-legal policy of the state and also responsibility of private individuals for abuse of rights in cooperation with government agencies.