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Journal of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine

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Legal determination in criminal process: prerequisites and relevance of the research

Olena V. Taran, Stanislav V. Svyrydenko

Received 19.05.2026, Revised 21.06.2026, Accepted 30.09.2026

Abstract

The article substantiates the scientific and practical feasibility of a systematic study of legal certainty as an independent category of criminal procedural law. It is noted that legal certainty, being an integral element of the rule of law, is not limited to requirements for the quality of the law, but covers a wider range of procedural guarantees, in particular predictability, stability of regulatory regulation and law enforcement, accessibility and prohibition of arbitrary interpretation, respect for the legitimate expectations of the participants in the proceedings, ensuring the unity of judicial practice. It is emphasized that in criminal proceedings this principle acquires particular importance, since it is in this area that the price of legal uncertainty is measured by the restriction of fundamental human rights to freedom, personal integrity, dignity and reputation. It is argued that in the context of ongoing reforms in Ukraine, the legal regime of martial law and European integration processes, the relevance of the doctrinal understanding of legal certainty in criminal proceedings acquires a system-forming significance. The focus is on the fact that the positions of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine have formed an extensive system of standards that require coordinated theoretical elaboration and integration into the national doctrine of criminal procedural law. It is stated that the science of criminal procedure has not yet developed a holistic theory of legal certainty that would cover all its important dimensions and provide a methodological basis for assessing the quality of procedural regulation. It is proposed to consider legal certainty as a holistic phenomenon that has a single conceptual core and is implemented through a set of interrelated characteristics, and not as a sum of discrete requirements. The directions of further scientific research are outlined, which also form research priorities in this topic and include the conceptual formulation of the principle, the disclosure of its industry specifics, the systematization of international and constitutional standards, the development of criteria and the justification of applied models of its implementation

Keywords:

legal certainty; rule of law; criminal process; predictability; quality of law; stability of judicial practice; fair trial; guarantees of human rights

https://doi.org/10.31359/1993-0909.2026.33.3.371

Retrieved from Journal NALSU №3, 2026 year

Pages 371-385

References Suggested citation

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Suggested citation

Taran, O.V., & Svyrydenko, S.V. (2026). Legal determination in criminal process: prerequisites and relevance of the research. Journal of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, 33(3), 371-385. https://doi.org/10.31359/1993-0909.2026.33.3.371