Deprivation of state awards of Ukraine: legislative collisions and law enforcement issues

The relevance of this study is determined by the need to improve the legal mechanism for the deprivation of state awards of Ukraine in the context of armed aggression and the intensification of the state’s sanctions policy. The national award system performs not only the symbolic function of recognizing personal achievements but also serves as an instrument for affirming national values, maintaining public trust in the authorities, and ensuring moral and legal standards. For a long time, the legal regulation of the deprivation of state awards remained fragmented and internally inconsistent, which led to collisions between the Constitution of Ukraine, special laws, and the criminal, criminal procedural, and criminal enforcement legislation of Ukraine. The adoption of Law № 4074-IX of 20 November 2024 was an important step towards resolving these problems; however, a number of issues remain unregulated. The purpose of this article is to conduct a comprehensive scholarly study of the conflicts and gaps in the legal regulation of the institution of deprivation of state awards of Ukraine, in particular to assess the novelties introduced by Law No. 4074-IX in the context of their compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine and related branches of Ukrainian legislation, as well as to identify key issues in their application and, on this basis, to develop proposals aimed at ensuring the effective functioning of this institution. The research methods include a set of general scientific and special legal methods (dialectical, system-structural, formal-legal, comparative-legal, teleological, analysis and synthesis), which made it possible to identify problematic aspects of the current regulation and to determine the directions of its reform. The findings reveal key shortcomings in the legislative regulation of the deprivation of state awards. Proposals are formulated for harmonizing national legislation, ensuring legal certainty, and increasing the effectiveness of this legal institution. The practical value of the study lies in the possibility of using its results to improve legislative norms, develop a unified law enforcement approach, and ensure a balance between public interests, the principles of justice, and the rule of law.

deprivation, state awards, punishment, sanction, powers, award policy