The Department of Criminal Law and Procedure was established in March, 1996 and in October, 2008 it was renamed the Department of Criminal Law according to the decision of Academic Council of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University.
The department is a structural subdivision of the University and the Law Institute, providing educational and methodical work in a number of related disciplines in the realm of Criminal Law and carries out research in this area.
The Department of Criminal Law was headed by: V. K. Hryshchuk (1996-1997), Doctor of Law, Professor, Honored Lawyer of Ukraine, Corresponding Member of National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine; V. D. Basai (1997-2008), Doctor of Law, Professor, Honored Lawyer of Ukraine. From May 2008 up to now the department is headed by Pavlo Fris, Doctor of Law, Professor, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Higher Education of Ukraine. The department is a structural subdivision of the University and Educational-Scientific Legal Institute, which provides educational and methodical work in a number of related disciplines of the criminal-legal realm and carries out research in certain areas, the leading of which is the policy of Ukraine in the field of crime prevention.
Under scientific guidance of P. Fris, a research school was founded to study the issues of preventing crime, 13 PhD and 3 doctoral dissertations were defended. Since 2014 on the basis of the Department of Criminal Law there has been a postgraduate course in the specialty 12.00.08 – criminal law and criminology; criminal executive law. Today, both full-time and part-time postgraduate students are involved in research work, they continue working on the issues of the research school. In addition, there are doctoral studies as ‘Consequences of crime: theoretical and practical aspects’ (I. Medytskyi), ‘Criminal Procedure Policy of the European Union’ (Yu. Mykytyn), ‘Information Function of Criminal Law Policy of Ukraine: Tasks, Directions and Forms of Implementation’ (I.Kozych), ‘Aggression: Legal and Psychological Assessment’ (O.Petechel). In general, the scientific and pedagogical staff of the department is the authors of more than 1000 scientific papers in various fields. Among them there are textbooks, manuals, monographs, including:
Fris P.L. Criminal Law Policy of the Ukrainian State: Theoretical, Historical and Legal Issues: monograPh Kyiv: Atika, 2005. 332 p.;
Fris P.L. Essay on the History of Criminal Law Policy of Ukraine (2005). MonograPh Kyiv: Atika, 2005. 124 p.;
Fris P.L. Crime and Human Rights Policy: monograPh Ivano-Frankivsk‒Nadvirna: JSC “Nadvirna Printing House”, 2009. 169 p.
Fris P.L. Comparative Criminal Law of the Republic of Poland and Ukraine in the Context of the European Union. Porównawcze pravo karne Rzeczpospolitej i Ukrainy w kontekscie Unii Europejskiej. MonograPh Ivano-Frankivsk, Opolye. 2007. – Iwano-Frankivsk, Opole. 2007. 275 p. (co-authors: Basay V.D., Stadnichenko S.L.)
Fris P.L. Application of Police Norms and Institutions of Criminal and Administrative Legislation during Euro 2012. Manual. Stamp of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.Ivano-Frankivsk, 2011.868 p.
Y.V.Kerniakevych-Tanasiichuk. Criminal-executive Policy of Ukraine: monograph Ivano-Frpankivsk, 2019.
Policy in the Field of Criminal Law in Ukraine: Theoretical and Applied Issues, ed. By the Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, Doctor of Law, Professor P. L. Fris, Doctor of Law, Professor, V. B. Kharchenko, Ivano-Frankivsk – Kharkiv, 2016.
Medytskyi I. B. Influence of Social Factors on Crime in the Conditions of Formation of the Independent Ukrainian State: monograPh Ivano-Frankivsk, 2007.
Petechel O.Y. Use of Special Psychological Knowledge about Juvenile Participants in the Pre-trial Investigation: monograPh Ivano-Frankivsk, Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, 2011.
Fris P. L. Selected Works. Ivano-Frankivsk-2014.
Fris P. L. Criminal Law of Ukraine. General part: textbook. 3d edition, suppl. and rec. Odesa, Phenix, 2018. 394p.
Fris P. L. General part of the Criminal Law of Ukraine (2nd edition) – Kyiv: Attica, 2009.
Fris P. L. Crime Policy: Theoretical and Legal Issues (co-authored). 2016.
Zagurskyi O. ‘Judicial Debates in Criminal Proceedings: Legal and Psychological issues’ (2005); ‘Psychological features of judicial debates’ (2006);
Krul S. (co-authored) ‘Judicial and law enforcement agencies of Ukraine’ (2011).
The best graduate students become the members of the department. Thus, I. Kozych, I.Medytskyi, Yu. Mykytyn, O.Petechel, S. Krul, S. Kadukand. V. Shpiliarevych work as full-time teachers of the department forming its basis. I. Medytskyi was awarded the Diploma of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in the nomination ‘For young scientists’ for a series of works in the field of criminology (2009). The scientists of the department have been awarded diplomas by Ivano-Frankivsk regional state administration and Ivano-Frankivsk mayor.
In order to improve the efficiency of educational and scientific work, the department actively maintains business and friendly relations with the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, V. Koretskyi Institute of State and Law, the Institute for the Study of Crime, leading Ukrainian higher education institutions, including departmental, as well as related departments of these educational institutions, other research schools (Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odessa, Lviv, etc.). Scholars of the department serve as reviewers of scientific publications as well as opponents in the defense of dissertations for Doctoral degrees and PhD in law.
The Department of Criminal Law carries out active international cooperation with legitimate scientific, state and non-state institutions.
The teaching staff of the department improves pedagogical skills and scientific level, regularly undergoing internships in educational and scientific institutions of Ukraine and abroad, in particular the National University ‘Ostroh Academy’, Lviv State University of Internal Affairs, V.Stashys Research Institute for the Study of Crime, Open International University of Human Development ‘Ukraine’, Collegium Civitas (Warsaw, Poland).
In cooperation with the OSCE, every year the department holds a conference on crime prevention, which is attended by leading scholars in the field of criminal law and criminology from all over Ukraine.
Since 2008, the department has been implementing a grant project with the support of the Swiss Bureau for Development and Cooperation (Bern). The project envisages the development and experimental implementation of a three-level model of juvenile delinquency prevention in Ivano-Frankivsk based on a restorative approach to resolving criminal law conflicts. In order to ensure the implementation of the project and its implementation, the mayor issued an order dated June 27, 2008 on its support in Ivano-Frankivsk. As a result, for the first time in Ukraine, elements of a restorative approach to crime prevention policy were reflected in the Regional Targeted Crime Prevention Program for 2011-2015, approved by Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council on March 24, 2011.
In the framework of cooperation with the V. Stashys Research Institute for the Study of Crime of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine on the basis of the Department of Criminal Law in October 2013 Educational and Research Laboratory on Policy Issues in the Field of Crime Prevention was established.
The laboratory conducts fundamental and applied research on issues of improving the mechanism of legal regulation of policy in the field of crime prevention, adaptation and unification of domestic legislation of Ukraine in accordance with the principles and norms of the European Community and international law.
Associate Professor Yu. I. Mykytyn underwent an internship at the Polish Mediation Center (Warsaw, 2006) developing international cooperation; within the framework of grant work in the field of restorative justice in June 2008 – at the Mediation Centers of the cities of Geneva and Zurich (Switzerland). He also became the winner of the ‘Open World’ program of the US Congress in the areas of ‘The Rule of Law’. In October 2009 he underwent an internship in the USA.
Students’ research is carried in accordance with the department research theme. There is a students’ research club supervised by Associate Professor I.V. Kozych where issues of criminal law are studied. Also there is a criminology and legal psychology research club (supervisor – Associate Professor O.Y. Petechel). In the period between 2017 and 2019, under the supervision of Prof. Fris P. L., Assoc. Prof. Kozych I.V., Assoc. Prof. Medytskyi I.B., and Assoc. Prof. Shpiliarevych V.V., the students of the Educational and Scientific Law Institute were the winners of the 2nd stage of Ukrainian Student Olympiad on criminal law (Kryvyi Rih). Besides, Master students prepared draft legislative acts, which were sent for consideration to the Supreme Council of Ukraine.
The teachers of the department use innovative methods of teaching. For example, Associate Professor Kozych I.V. teaches the academic discipline ‘Criminal Law of Ukraine. General part.’ in English.
Within the framework of international cooperation, the department organizes speeches of famous scholars from abroad to teachers and students of Law Institute. In September 2011, Jan Vidacki, a habilitated doctor and professor of criminal law at Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow Academy, gave lectures to the students of Law Institute on the issues of modern crime assessment and prospects for preventing crime. In October 2011, Professor of criminology Christoph Hugh (Zurich, Switzerland) gave lectures to the students of Law Institute.
The department is an active participant in the legislative process. The scholars of the department constantly gave proposals for current legislation improvement. Prof. Fris P.L. and Assoc. Prof. Meditsky I.B. were the co-authors of Ivano-Frankivsk City Council project ‘On a Comprehensive Crime Prevention Program in the City until 2020’, adopted on April 26, 2016 № 101-5.
The teachers are active members of the Ukrainian public organization ‘The Association of Criminal Law’ and participate in all events organized by it. In general they actively work and develop the science of criminal law and policy in the field of crime prevention; the results of their activities are significant and properly evaluated by the scientific community. The scientific achievements of the teaching staff have taken their worthy place in the criminal law science of Ukraine.