Scientific Journal of the National Academy of Internal Affairs

The paper studies sources of legal regulation of criminal offenses in developed countries of the European Union. The existing instruments of Criminal Law in France, the Federal Republic of Germany and Great Britain are analysed, as well as types of criminal actions. Attention is paid to the formation of legal structures of the criteria for the differentiation of criminal acts. The basic classification of criminal offenses is suggested.Common signs of legal regulation of the institution of a criminal offense in the Criminal Law Doctrine of foreign countries are: historical (the origin of criminal offenses) the lack of complete systematization of offenses within a single regulation; the presence of common aggravating circumstances «punishment» depending on the country’s system of punishment. The modern legal system of Ukraine was founded on the principles of legal certainty and characteristic Roman-Germanic legal system type. This leads to the similarity of the basic principles of the approach to the regulation of the state, creating an identity with the Continental family. Therefore, we can conclude that the rules, which govern criminal offense in France and Germany, are closer to the legal system of Ukraine, and the way for the introduction of criminal offense in our country could be in this direction.