Corruption in legal activities and ways to fight it
Authors: Leshanich L. , Cipkal A. 
Published: September 2023

Corruption is one of the phenomena that can cause crises in various areas of social and societal development of every country, primarily in politics, economics, public administration, and it is one of the key prerequisites for the existence of organized crime.Since Ukraine declared its independence, the concept of corruption has become widespread in the national legal literature, speeches of politicians and state leaders. The analysis of legislation, scientific and reference literature allows us to claim that the concept of «corruption» was formed in ancient times and was generally understood as bribery.The article offers a study of modern methods of combating this phenomenon in legal practice. In the course of the research, the author identified alternative solutions to problematic issues and ways to improve the current state of jurisprudence so that it could be in line with European standards. The author also conducted a comparative analysis of how this issue has been addressed in other countries and the possibility of applying such experience in Ukraine.In particular, the author studied the process of an evolutionary breakthrough in the fight against corruption after the fall of the Soviet system both in Ukraine and in the neighboring post-Soviet countries. It is worth noting that most of the attention is focused on Romania and Slovakia, which have shown very positive results.The article analyzes the effectiveness of all anti-corruption bodies established to fight corruption, as well as the public’s attitude to their activities. The author highlights statistics regarding public confidence in the authorities and finds out what they consider to be the most corrupt in the country.The article discusses the existing problematic issues regarding anti-corruption measures, as there is a widespread practice of ignoring the law, which can lead to avoiding responsibility and the actual absence of real responsibility for corrupt practices. The effective fight against corruption in Ukraine requires proper legislative support, the creation of an effective system of state bodies, and ensuring their proper formation.In order to implement the best international practices in Ukraine to build a system of integrity in the private sector, the Law of Ukraine «On Prevention of Corruption» includes a special block of anti-corruption mechanisms aimed at preventing corruption in the activities of both state-owned and private entities.In view of the aforesaid, a corrupt act usually has a selfish purpose and a desire to receive illegal remuneration, to satisfy one’s own interest. Therefore, it can be determined that corruption is an act committed by an official or employee by abusing their position and/or authority for the benefit of an individual at their (or another person’s) request, with the purpose of obtaining remuneration and satisfying the person’s own interest.Anti-corruption activities are carried out within the framework of various legal relations. This circumstance necessitates the development of various means of preventing corruption that will help block this phenomenon in any social relations (in particular, in education).