That’s right, de jure, that is, from the point of view of legislative regulation, there is a free market of weapons in Ukraine, and any weapons. Let’s turn to definitions and norms.
Thus, Wikipedia states that a free market is a market in which government regulation and intervention have no influence.
State regulation is a set of tools by which the state sets requirements for enterprises, citizens and public associations. The main state regulation is the rules created by it. The rules of the state are the Constitution, laws and regulations. Obviously, state regulation is designed to restrict the market for a certain purpose, in particular, for its own benefit.
Thus, the law as the main instrument of state regulation always limits the market. The quality of such laws determines the extent of the state’s influence on the market: from special conditions for the purchase of weapons to a complete ban on circulation. But if there are no laws, then there is no influence?
That’s right. There are no laws in Ukraine that would regulate the arms market. But how? There is even criminal punishment for illegal handling of weapons (Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
From now on, please follow the legal terms carefully, and we advise hoplophobes to take Validol.
Regarding criminal liability
The famous Article 263 of the Criminal Code states:
“Carrying, storage, acquisition, transfer or sale of firearms, ammunition, explosives or explosive devices without a permit provided by law – shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of three to seven years.”
Here, as formalists, we have highlighted and emphasized a special phrase that indicates that criminal liability arises for carrying, storing … without the permission provided by the LAW. There is no mistake here, and the authors of the Criminal Code very wisely wrote that such permission should be provided by law, and in no case by a subordinate normative act (resolution, regulation, instruction, procedure, etc.), because the issue concerns both the legal regime of property and the rights, freedoms and obligations of citizens.
We previously drew attention to this nuance in criminal cases in which we defended volunteers and fighters of volunteer battalions detained with weapons outside the ATO zone. However, the defendants did not want to take the long and thorny path of legal defense, so they agreed to a probationary sentence. And it is their choice not to waste time on counteracting the repressive machine.
At the same time, having looked through more than 200 verdicts in the register of court decisions under Art. 263 of the Criminal Code, we have not found a real verdict with a substantiated motivational part, which would contain a direct reference to this mythical law.
Was there a law at all?
It was, and then it went away. Someone’s hands must be sweating here. But all in turn.
It all started with the famous and revolutionary at that time law of the Ukrainian SSR “On Property”.
Article 13 of this law stipulated:
“The composition, quantity and value of property that may be owned by citizens is not limited, except as provided by law.
Legislative acts of Ukraine may establish a special procedure for citizens to acquire ownership of certain types of property, as well as types of property that cannot be owned by citizens.”
In pursuance of this law, albeit with some distortion, a resolution of the Verkhovna Rada “On the right of ownership of certain types of property” of June 17, 1992 was adopted. The law on limiting the composition of property was not adopted. This resolution, in fact, started the booming market of hunting weapons in independent Ukraine. However, for some reason there was a strange taboo on short-barreled weapons.
Here, attentive lawyers will note that, they say, the Law of the Ukrainian SSR “On Property” has lost its force, therefore, the Resolution adopted on its basis is dubiously legitimate. Yes, everything is absolutely correct. On June 20, 2007, the Law of the Ukrainian SSR “On Property” became completely invalid on the basis of the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments and Invalidation of Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine in Connection with the Adoption of the Civil Code of Ukraine” of April 27, 2007.
Since then, not a single law, even remotely restricting the right of ownership of certain things, including weapons, has appeared since then.
Finished this situation art. 178 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, which strictly states that
1. “Objects of civil rights may be freely alienated or transferred from one person to another by way of succession or inheritance or otherwise, if they are not withdrawn from civil turnover, or are not restricted in turnover, or are not inalienable from a natural or legal person”;
2. “Types of objects of civil rights, which are not allowed to be in civil circulation (objects withdrawn from civil circulation), must be directly established in the law“;
3. “Types of objects of civil rights, which can belong only to certain participants of turnover or stay in civil turnover is allowed by special permission (objects of limited turnover), are established by law“.
And again, the legislator did not lose and everything was very correctly prescribed with reference to the law, and not bylaws, because our Constitution requires such things to be regulated exclusively by law (paragraphs 1, 7, Article 92 of the Constitution).
For example, drug trafficking is limited by the Law. There is still no such law regarding weapons.
From now on, feel like free people, go and do not sin with weapons. And we, lawyers and other concerned people will still demand restrictions on the right to free possession of weapons, as well as our President, and 82% of citizens, who, according to him, spoke out against the free market of weapons, by adopting the law “On civilian weapons and ammunition” as soon as possible.
R.S.: What about the short-barreled weapons that are given out as a reward? Nothing, it is simply issued illegally and not only because of the above. We will write about this in the next article.
Meanwhile, we form interesting requests for claims and write a statement to the Ministry of Justice on cancellation of state registration Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs № 622 of 21.08.1998. On approval of the Instruction on the procedure of manufacturing, acquisition, storage, accounting, transportation and use of firearms, pneumatic, cold and cooled weapons, devices of domestic production for firing cartridges equipped with rubber or similar non-lethal projectiles and ammunition, as well as ammunition for weapons, main parts of weapons and explosives.
Author: Vitaliy Kolomiets
Attorneys at law “Orekhovskyi and Kolomiets”