TACTICS OF INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATIVE (SEARCH) ACTIONS DURING THE INVESTIGATION OF CRIMINAL OFFENSES UNDER ARTICLE 409 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article examines the tactical features of conducting individual investigative (search) actions during the pre-trial investigation of criminal offenses under Article 409 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which involve evasion of military service by military personnel through self-mutilation, malingering, forgery of documents, or other means. The purpose of the article is to develop forensic recommendations regarding the tactics of conducting individual investigative (search) actions during the investigation of criminal offenses under Article 409 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, taking into account contemporary methods of evading military service, typical investigative situations, the peculiarities of trace formation, and evidentiary practice under martial law. The study employs dialectical, formal-legal, systemic-structural, comparative-legal, statistical, and specific sociological methods, as well as methods of analysis, synthesis, and modeling. These methods made it possible to develop the author’s model of tactical complexes of investigative (search) actions and a classification of tactical tasks depending on the method of evasion from military service under martial law. Results. It is substantiated that the effectiveness of proving in criminal proceedings of this category depends not only on the timeliness of procedural actions but also on the proper selection of tactical techniques according to the method of committing the criminal offense, the mechanism of trace formation, and the characteristics of the investigative situation. The current state of investigating criminal offenses under Article 409 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine during martial law is analyzed, and the main problems arising during the collection and evaluation of evidence are identified. These problems include the difficulty of establishing the direct intent of a servicemember to evade military service, the necessity of distinguishing an actual illness from malingering, confirming the fact of intentional self-mutilation, verifying the authenticity of medical documents, and exposing methods used to conceal traces of the criminal offense. Particular attention is paid to determining the tactical objectives of individual investigative (search) actions depending on the method of evasion from military service. Conclusions. It is proved that, during crime scene examination, interrogation, forensic medical examination of a person, search, temporary access to items and documents, investigative experiment, and the appointment of forensic examinations, investigators should take into account the specific nature of military legal relations, the peculiarities of military service, and the mechanism of evidentiary information formation. The necessity of the integrated use of specialized knowledge, digital evidence, materials of internal service investigations, and forensic examination findings as interconnected sources of evidentiary information is substantiated.