Transnational organized war crime as a form of criminal offenses committed in complicity

This scientific article identifies the socio-legal nature of criminal offenses committed by transnational organized war crime groups and substantiates the necessity of studying these entities as a specific type of group criminality and complicity. It is established that, by formal characteristics, these criminal associations perform acts analogous to those defined as socially dangerous and punishable under Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine; consequently, they should be classified as a form of complicity in committing a criminal offense, as stipulated in Articles 27–28 of the said Code. The study further concludes that the following criteria should form the basis of this theoretical and practical approach: the high degree of social danger of offenses committed by transnational organized war crime groups, the subject matter of which (funds, valuables, vehicles, etc.) is identical to that of general criminal organizations; particularly grave socially dangerous consequences resulting from both military crimes and other general criminal offenses (against property rights, economic activity, environmental safety, etc.); and identical or diverse methods of committing socially dangerous acts based on physical or psychological violence. Based on the research results, the author substantiates the theoretical and practical value of the proposals and conclusions formulated in this work. Furthermore, it establishes a scientific foundation for the intensification of doctrinal research on this issue, given its urgency for Ukraine under martial law, as well as the dual nature of threats posed by transnational organized war crime, including offenses against military service and war crimes, as well as general crimes such as theft, robbery, assault, and racketeering.