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  5. Unlawful behavior and legal liability: concepts, types, features

Almanac of law. Issue 17 (2026), pages 642–647.

DOI: 10.33663/2524-017X-2026-17-642-647

Tetruev K. K.
Unlawful behavior and legal liability: concepts, types, features

The article is devoted to a comprehensive general-theoretical analysis of unlawful behavior as a key category of the theory of state and law, which reflects violations of normative prescriptions and simultaneously serves as an indicator of the state of legal order and legal consciousness in society. The relevance of the study is determined by the persistent prevalence of offenses under conditions of social tension, transformation of value orientations, increasing complexity of social relations, and the need to enhance the effectiveness of legal regulation mechanisms and legal liability in Ukraine. The paper substantiates an approach according to which unlawful behavior is viewed not merely as a formal violation of an individual legal norm, but as an encroachment on the legal order as a whole and on the principle of normative structuring of social relations. The content and significance of unlawful behavior as a socio-legal phenomenon are revealed, encompassing culpable acts or omissions of subjects that contradict the requirements of current legislation and result in negative legal consequences. The main features of an offense are analyzed, including unlawfulness, guilt, the presence of harm or a threat to legally protected interests, and the delictual capacity of the subject; unlawful behavior is also distinguished from immoral and asocial forms of conduct that lack legal relevance. Particular attention is paid to the classification of offenses by the degree of social danger, the characterization of crimes and misdemeanors, and the analysis of their main types within the framework of public-law and private-law relations. The article elucidates the essence of legal liability as a form of implementation of sanctions of legal norms and as a means of state response to offenses aimed at protecting the legal order, restoring violated rights, and preventing new delicts. The main features, purposes, and principles of legal liability enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine are analyzed, including the principles of legality, individualization, justice, and the inevitability of punishment. It is substantiated that effective counteraction to unlawful behavior is possible only through the combination of the proper functioning of the institution of legal liability, improvement of the law­making process, and enhancement of legal culture and trust in law. It is demonstrated that the quality of law-making decisions directly affects the level of delinquency in society and the perception of law as a social value. Emphasis is placed on the need for doctrinal coordination of law-making and law enforcement as a prerequisite for the stability of the legal order. The obtained results may be used in further theoretical research as well as in the educational process within courses on the theory of state and law.

Keywords: unlawful behavior, offense, legal liability, legal order, theory of state and law.

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Дата першого надходження рукопису до видання: 27.02.2026
Дата прийнятого до друку рукопису після рецензування: 09.04.2026
Дата публікації: 30.04.2026

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