Fight Against Corrupt Practices of High-Ranking Officials: Proportionality and Transparency

The success of the fight against corrupt practices (especially high-ranking officials) depends on the transparency and proportionality of the criminal liability of those guilty in this area, on ensuring the inevitability of criminal liability and on respect for the principles of criminal law. The fight against any crime will not be successful if, for the sake of such a fight, the legislator and/or the law enforcement officer constantly deviate from generally accepted principles of law and criminal law, in particular legality, the presumption of innocence and the primacy of expediency. In order to truly prevent corruption, there is a need for sustained political will. This paper analyzes the judicial practice regarding corruption criminal offenses in Ukraine, looking at statistical data as well as conducting a review of news regarding corruption scandals and the state's response (at the legislative and law enforcement levels). Through theoretical analysis, it is argued that corruption should be perceived as a negative phenomenon (without exception) by both the population and the authorities, with an appropriate response to each fact of relevant actions on an ongoing basis and not only during corruption scandals (in particular in the field of military procurement, evasion of mobilisation, etc.). Corrupt practices should not be profitable for an official, and responsibility for them should be unavoidable, regardless of status and the amount of money involved.