Legislative collisions in defining «bodies of law and order» and «law enforcement bodies» in the context of prosecutor’s supervision: ways of terminology unification

The article is devoted to the urgent problem of legal uncertainty in Ukraine’s criminal justice system, which arose because of the 2016 constitutional amendments. The aim of the publication is to provide a comprehensive analysis of legislative collisions regarding the correlation between the concepts of «body of law and order» and «law enforcement body», and to develop proposals for terminology unification to ensure the effectiveness of prosecutorial supervision and coordination. The methodological basis of the study consists of formal-dogmatic, systemic-structural, and comparative-legal methods used to analyze the Constitution of Ukraine, the Criminal Procedure Code, special laws, and draft laws. Research results. The article proves that the lack of a legal definition of the term «body of law and order», enshrined in Article. 131-1 of the Constitution creates systemic obstacles in law enforcement. The shortcomings of the draft Law of Ukraine «On Bodies of Law and Order» are analyzed; specifically, it creates a logical contradiction where the scope of the concept «law enforcement bodies» is broader than the generic concept. Critical gaps in legislation regarding the status of the State Customs Service of Ukraine and the National Guard of Ukraine have been identified: despite performing law enforcement functions, they are absent from the list of law enforcement bodies in the specialized Law «On State Protection of Court and Law Enforcement Employees», which makes it impossible to extend the prosecutor’s coordination powers to them (in accordance with Art. 25 of the Law «On the Prosecutor’s Office»). The problem of the State Bureau of Investigation’s investigative jurisdiction over crimes committed by prosecutors, who are constitutionally removed from the law enforcement system, is also highlighted. Scientific novelty. The author proposes a three-level hierarchical system of concepts with the author’s definitions: 1) «bodies carrying out operational and investigative activities, inquiry and pre-trial investigation»; 2) «law enforcement bodies»; 3) «bodies of law and order». Practical significance. The necessity of amending Art. 2 of the Law of Ukraine «On State Protection of Court and Law Enforcement Employees» by including the State Bureau of Investigation, the National Guard, and the Customs Service in the list, as well as amendments to Part 4 of Art. Article 216 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, to eliminate jurisdiction collisions, is substantiated. Keywords: body of law and order, law enforcement body, operational and investigative activities, prosecutor’s supervision, coordination of activities, inquiry, pre-trial investigation, investigative jurisdiction, legislative collision.