The Problem and Significance of Detection, Combatting and Qualification of Corruption Criminal Offenses

Corruption under martial law emerges as a complex, multi-level socio-legal phenomenon that not only distorts the institutional foundations of public administration but also undermines the legitimacy of state authority in the eyes of society. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the theoretical and legal principles for the classification of corruption-related crimes in the context of the current criminal legislation of Ukraine, taking into account the dynamic changes influenced by the legal regime of the state of emergency. Particular attention is paid to the lack of systematic structuring of relevant norms within the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which results in fragmented law enforcement practices, com­plicates the identification of the characteristics of corruption crimes, and creates prerequisites for the misuse of qualification tools.

The article presents a range of scholarly positions on the definition of the essence of cor­ruption offenses, particularly the concepts developed by O. M. Sakhan, M. I. Melnyk,
O. M. Dzhuzha, V. Kuts, Yu. Trunova, O. Zakharchuk, and V. Tyutyuhina, which highlights the absence of a unified approach within criminal law doctrine to distinguishing the features of corruption-related criminality. At the same time, the article emphasizes the existence of a profound institutional conflict between the legislative construction of offenses and the actual functioning of anti-corruption control mechanisms, especially in terms of recording, reporting, and qualifying such acts. The study establishes that the fear of potential whistleblowers, the lack of effective legal protection guarantees, as well as the low level of public trust in government bodies significantly limit the state's ability to detect and prevent corruption offenses.

The research substantiates the appropriateness of normative specification of corruption-related crimes through the establishment of a separate section in the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which would comply with the structural and dogmatic re­quirements of criminal law and enable the implementation of a systemic approach to combating corruption. Additionally, the necessity of revising the institutional design of anti-corruption policy is emphasized, taking into account the challenges of wartime, which includes both the reform of the organizational and functional mechanism for controlling public finances and ensuring the transparency and accountability of public authorities to society under the new security conditions.