HARM TO LIFE AND HEALTH AS A RESULT OF ACTS OF ILLEGAL ADOPTION: CRIMINAL LEGAL AND MEDICO-PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Abstract

The aim: To study the harm that can be a result of acts of illegal adoption and find out the effects on child life and health. Materials and methods: The following methods were used: system-structural, regulatory, dialectical and statistical processing, The article provides data of the Court Administration of Ukraine of 2001-2007 on the conviction of 5 individuals involved in illegal adoption. Also data of the Unified Register of Court Decisions of Ukraine as of the 4th of September 2022 have been processed which served as the basis of illegal adoption criminal proceedings with only 3 guilty verdicts out of total number which came into force. In addition, the article provides examples that have been published in the Internet, media of Poland, the Netherlands, US and Ukraine. Conclusions: It has been proved that acts of illegal adoption constitute criminal offence which not only infringes upon orphaned children settling procedures established by law, but also can be used for the “pseudo adoption” purposes, which can result in the following acts of violence against minors: physical, mental, sexual, psychological abuse, etc. The article considers their effect on life and health.