Directions for reforming the State Customs Service of Ukraine as a law enforcement body: institutional and regulatory issues

The article provides a comprehensive legal and scholarly analysis of the directions for reforming the State Customs Service of Ukraine in the context of transforming its institutional role as a law enforcement body and as a component of the system for ensuring the state’s economic and customs security. It is demonstrated that under conditions of martial law, the growth of transnational threats, the intensification of smuggling schemes, and the increasing complexity of cross-border trade flows, the actual functional mandate of the State Customs Service of Ukraine significantly extends beyond the traditional fiscal-administrative model, yet does not receive adequate regulatory consolidation. It is established that the current regulatory framework governing the activities of the State Customs Service of Ukraine is fragmented, characterized by the predominance of subordinate legislation and the absence of a coherent legislative concept for its development, including its development as a law enforcement body. This situation results in a structural mismatch between the actual tasks performed by customs authorities in combating smuggling and economic crime and their formally defined place within the system of public authorities, and also constrains the development of the law enforcement, analytical, and preventive components of customs activities. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of European integration factors influencing the reform of the customs service, the provisions of strategic documents of the European Union, as well as national policy and programmatic acts that determine the directions of transformation of the State Customs Service of Ukraine in the context of reforming the system of law enforcement bodies. Taking into account the principles of functional specialization and coherence of criminal justice, proposals to vest the State Customs Service of Ukraine with powers to conduct pre-trial investigations of smuggling offenses are critically assessed. A conceptually alternative approach to the further institutional development of the State Customs Service of Ukraine is substantiated. This approach предусматриes legislative recognition of its affiliation with the security and defense sector, strengthening the role of statutory law in defining the legal status and powers of customs authorities, as well as granting them the status of a subject of operative-search activity without substituting the functions of pre-trial investigation bodies.