For over two decades, widespread corporate corruption and oligarchy have plagued Ukraine’s sociopolitical framework. In light of this systemic corruption, Ukrainian lawmakers recently amended the Criminal Code of Ukraine by introducing quasi‐criminal liability for organizations. As a result, artificial legal entities in Ukraine may now be held criminally liable for economic misconduct. However, due to their novelty and lack of doctrinal explanation, these statutory reforms have not been widely accepted among the Ukrainian legal community. Nonetheless, it is the Author’s position that Ukraine’s attempt to impose quasi‐ criminal liability measures is a just and crucial step in its endeavor to eradicate widespread corruption and to join the European Union.
This Article evaluates the positive and negative characteristics of Ukraine’s new corporate quasi‐criminal liability regime. It highlights the extensive corruption that has overwhelmed Ukraine since the early 1990s and argues that stricter corporate criminal liability measures will instill confidence in the Ukrainian government’s regulation of its market economy. After exploring the development of white‐collar criminal jurisprudence in the United States, the Author analyzes Ukraine’s new corporate quasi‐criminal regime. Through this analysis the Author emphasizes that some Ukrainian scholars disagree with the idea that corporations can be held criminally liable for having a “guilty mind,” as it undermines the principle of personal liability—a doctrine deeply rooted in Ukrainian criminal law. In addition, the Author explores the Ukrainian Judiciary’s first attempts at interpreting the new corporate quasi‐criminal liability code. Since few cases involving the new statutory code have been brought before Ukrainian courts, the Author argues that comprehensive guidelines for prosecutors and judges need to be provided to ensure that they are used responsibly and effectively.