Criminal liability for disclosure of the secret of adoption in Ukraine: problems of theory and practice

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the criminal law provision establishing criminal liability for disclosure of adoption (fostering) secrets in Ukraine, which ensures the constitutional right to privacy and family life and the implementation of the principle of protecting the rights and interests of the child. Based on a legislative analysis, it is argued that the secrecy of adoption (fostering) is a type of confidential information that is protected by state measures and is subject to legal protection, and therefore belongs to an interdisciplinary institution that contains provisions of family, information and criminal law. The composition of the criminal offence provided for in Article 168 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine has been analysed and defined as a criminal law guarantee of the protection of private and family life. Particular attention is paid to the object of the criminal offence – the secrecy of adoption (fostering), namely the content and limits of the secrecy of adoption. It is argued that the main feature of the objective side of the criminal offence is a certain circumstance, as a mandatory criterion for criminal liability – disclosure contrary to the will of the adopter (adoptive parent). During the study of the problem of criminal liability, problematic aspects of establishing the fact of disclosure and the occurrence of socially dangerous consequences are considered, as well as the issue of distinguishing the composition of a criminal offence under Article 168 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine from a violation of privacy (Article 182 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The article examines the qualifying characteristics of disclosure of adoption secrets (adoption) committed by officials, employees of medical institutions, and pays particular attention to jurors who became aware of the relevant information in connection with the performance of their professional or official duties. The author emphasises the current risks associated with the digitalisation of society and the dissemination of information constituting adoption secrets through social networks and electronic means of communication, which significantly increases the level of public danger of the offence. Based on an analysis of criminal legislation and judicial practice, conclusions and proposals have been formulated to improve the criminal law mechanism for protecting the secrecy of adoption and to ensure measures that will perform a preventive function and minimise the risks of illegal dissemination of confidential information.