The Genesis of Counteracting Mercenary Crimes Committed by Military Officials During Martial Law

Abstract

Abstract. The article states that the development of the mechanism for countering mercenary war crimes occurs in stages, in each of which there is a certain interdependence between the level of threat to the state, the presence and intensity of hostilities and the thoroughness of regulation of the specified state institutions: the concept of a war crime is distinguished; the distinction of a mercenary war crime committed by a military official, the subject of which was precisely funds intended for military needs (i.e. funds intended for military needs were singled out as the subject of a war crime, separately from others); the manifestation of the first separate military-criminal legal acts with the beginning of the introduction of standing troops in the state (with the introduction of standing troops and, accordingly, the appearance of military property and weapons, which did not belong directly to the military, but to the state, and it was transferred to the person as if in "management" ‒ there is a need to regulate actions with this property and, accordingly, establish punishment for illegal actions with it); Corporal punishment is provided for military personnel who steal weapons; certain types of crimes against military property, crimes related to abuse of office, crimes committed by superiors against their subordinates are provided for; the norms of military law are systematized, criminal offenses committed by military personnel are grouped, and punishments are graded depending on the degree of guilt; punishment for embezzlement (and other illegal actions) of military property was extended not only to military personnel, but also to civilians who embezzled or purchased state property stolen by the military, including for participating in any way in the embezzlement of money by the military; the range of subjects of war crimes is expanding. The conclusion is made about the presence of a trend - the more expensive it became for the state to wage war (and prepare for hostilities), the more valuable military property - the more its circulation and control were improved and regulated, and the types of responsibility for the appropriation of military property (uniforms, money, products) by abuse of official position were graduated.

Keywords: mercenary war crimes; military officials; genesis of counteraction; regulatory regulation.