Legal Responsibility for Illicit Trade in Pharmaceuticals under Conditions of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Responsabilidad Jurídica por Comercio Ilícito de Productos Farmacéuticos en Condiciones de la Pandemia del Covid-19

Keywords: counterfeit pharmaceuticals, medical care, illegal markets, legal liability, organized crime

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the optimal types and measures of legal liability for crimes in the field of illicit trade in pharmaceuticals in the conditions of the СОVID-19 pandemic. The research used methods of systematic approach, descriptive analysis, synthesis and prognosis, systematic and formal legal and comparative selection. It has been established that illicit trade in pharmaceuticals is carried out by organized criminal groups and is related to corruption and cybercrime. Also, the article has revealed typical legal flaws, which complicate international cooperation in this field and lead to non-compliance with international standards of criminalization and imposition of sanctions for illegal circulation of counterfeit medicines. All this leads to the conclusion that the illicit trade in pharmaceuticals manifests itself in a series of offenses for which administrative or criminal liability must be foreseen. Equally promising is the development of a model for law enforcement activity that includes criminalization of trade in low-quality, unregistered and counterfeit pharmaceuticals, according to international standards; proportional punishments for natural persons and influence measures for legal persons and compensation for their victims.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Mariia Shcherbina, Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

Postgraduate student, Criminal, Civil and International Law Department, Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University, 69063, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

Mykhailo Akimov, National Academy of Internal Affairs, Kyiv, Ukraine.

PhD in Legal Sciences, Associate Professor, Criminal Law Department, National Academy of Internal Affairs, 03035, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Iryna Ozerna, Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs, Kropyvnytsky, Ukraine.

PhD in Law, Assocciate Professor, Department of State and Law Sciences and Public Management, Faculty 4. Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs, 25015, Kropyvnytsky, Ukraine.

Ilgar Huseynov, Scientific Institute of Public Law, Kyiv, Ukraine.

PhD in Law, Research Officer, Scientific Institute of Public Law, 03035, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Halyna Rossikhina, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Doctor of Law Sciences, Professor of the Department of State and Law Disciplines, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, 61000, Kharkiv, Ukraine.

References

BORYSOV, Volodymyr. 2021. Socio-legal and criminological consequences of the spread of pandemics and ways to eliminate them in Ukraine: Report on research work. National Research Foundation of Ukraine. Kharkiv, Ukraine.

BUTTON, Mark. 2020. “The ‘new’ private security industry, the private policing of cyberspace and the regulatory questions” In: Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice. Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 39-55.

CENTRE FOR APPLIED RESEARCH; KONRAD-ADENAUER- STIFTUNG E. V. FOUNDATION OFFICE UKRAINE. 2020. The impact of COVID-19 and quarantine restrictions on the economy of Ukraine: a cabinet study. Available online. In: https://www.kas.de/ documents/270026/8703904/%D0%92%D0%BF%D0%BB%D0% B8%D0%B2+COVID-19+%D1%82%D0%B0+%D0%BA%D0%B0% D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BD% D0%B8%D1%85+%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%B6% D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8C+%D0%BD%D0%B0+%D0%B5%D0%BA% D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%96%D0%BA%D1%83+% D0%A3%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D0%B8.+% D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%B1%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%82% D0%BD%D0%B5+%D0%B4%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BB%D1%96% D0%B4%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8F+%D0%A6% D0%9F%D0%94.+%D0%9B%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%BD% D1%8C+2020.pdf/b7398098-a602-524d-7f88-6189058f69d3?version=1.0&t=1597301028775. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

CSONKA, Peter; SALAZAR, Lorenzo. 2021. “Corruption and Bribery in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Responses at the International and EU Levels” In: EUCRIM. Vol. 2, pp. 111-114. Available online. In: https://eucrim.eu/articles/corruption-and-bribery-in-the-wake-of- the-covid-19 pandemic/#collapseTocDOI:https://doi.org/10.30709/ eucrim-2021-015. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

DAVYMUKА, Oleksandra; DIENKOV, Dmytro; KARAKUTS, Andriy; SCHEDRIN, Yuriy. 2020. Consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic and quarantine measures for the leading sectors of Ukraine’s economy. Research based on the results of in-depth interviews with owners and top managers of Ukrainian companies. Publisher O. A. Miroshnychenko, Kyiv–Kharkiv. Available online. In: https://www.kas. de/documents/270026/8703904/ENG+2020+covid-19_economics_ ukraine.pdf/c67aec2c-07b3-23df-78f5-ae605e21cdb5?version=1.0&t=1609238321655. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

ELLIOTT, Robert; SCHUMACHER, Ingmar; WITHAGEN, Cees. 2020. “Suggestions for a Covid-19 Post-Pandemic Research Agenda in Environmental Economics” In: Environmental and Resource Economics. Vol. 76, No. 4, pp. 1187-1213.

EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE COOPERATION. 2021. The Impact of COVID-19 on Judicial Cooperation on Criminal Matters. Analysis of Eurojust’s Casework. Available online. https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/publication/impact-covid-19-judicial- cooperation-criminal-matters. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

EUROPOL. 2020a. Beyond the Pandemic – How Covid-19 Will Shape the Serious and Organised Crime Landscape in the EU. Available online. In: https://www.europol.europa.eu/cms/sites/default/files/documents/ report_beyond_the_pandemic.pdf. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

EUROPOL. 2020b. Pandemic profiteering: how criminals exploit the COVID-19 crisis. Available online. In: https://www.europol.europa. eu/publications-events/publications/pandemic-profiteering-how- criminals-exploit-covid-19-crisis. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

EUROPOL. 2020c. Viral marketing – Counterfeits, substandard goods and intellectual property crime in the COVID-19 pandemic. Available online. In: https://www.europol.europa.eu/cms/sites/default/files/ documents/report_covid_19_-_viral_marketing_counterfeits.pdf. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

FIORELLA, Giancarlo; GODART, Charlotte; WATERS, Nick. 2021. “Digital Integrity: Exploring Digital Evidence Vulnerabilities and Mitigation Strategies for Open Source Researchers” In: Journal of International Criminal Justice. Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 147–161.

FRECKELTON, Ian. 2020. “COVID-19: Fear, quackery, false representations and the law” In: International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. Vol. 72, pp. 101611.

GARCÍA, Patricia. 2019. “Corruption in global health: The open secret” In: Lancet. Vol. 394, No. 10214, pp. 2119–2124.

GORAZD, Meško. 2021. “Police, Policing and covid-19 Pandemic” In: European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice. Vol. 29, No. 3-4, pp. 183-188.

GRUSZCZYNSKI, Lukasz. 2020. “The COVID-19 Pandemic and International Trade: Temporary Turbulence or Paradigm Shift?” In: European Journal of Risk Regulation. Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 337-342.

HAJI, Mona; KERBACHE, Laoucine; SHERIFF, K. M. Mahaboob; AL-ANSARI, Tareq. 2021. “Critical Success Factors and Traceability Technologies for Establishing a Safe Pharmaceutical Supply Chain” In: Methods and Protocols. Vol. 4, No. 4, p. 85.

INTERPOL. 2020. COVID-19: the Global Threat of Fake Medicines. Interpol General Secretariat, Lyon, France. Available online. In: file:///C:/Users/ Monsters/Downloads/20COM0356%20-%20IGGH_COVID-19%20 threats%20to%20medicines_2020-05_EN.pdf. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

INTERPOL. 2022. Pharmaceutical Crime Operations. Available online. In: https://www.interpol.int/Crimes/Illicit-goods/Pharmaceutical-crime- operations. Consultation date: 11/04/2022.

KEMP, Steven; BUIL-GIL, David; HERNÁNDEZ, Miguel; LORD, Nicholas. 2021. “When do businesses report cybercrime? Findings from a UK study” In: Criminology & Criminal Justice. Available online. In: https:// doi.org/10.1177/17488958211062359. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

MACKEY, Tim Ken; LI, Jiawei; PURUSHOTHAMAN, Vidya; NALI, Matthew; SHAH, Neal; BARDIER, Cortni; CAI, Mingxiang; LIANG, Bryan. 2020. “Big Data, Natural Language Processing, and Deep Learning to Detect and Characterize Illicit COVID-19 Product Sales: Infoveillance Study on Twitter and Instagram” In: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance. Vol. 6, No. 3.

MISZEWSKA, Jagoda; WRZOSEK, Natalia; ZIMMERMANN, Agnieszka. 2022. “Extended Prescribing Roles for Pharmacists in Poland – A Survey Study” In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 1648.

ROSS, Jeffrey Ian. 2017. “Protecting democracy: a parsimonious, dynamic and heuristic model of controlling crimes by the powerful” Criminal Justice Studies. Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 289-306.

SARGEANT, Elise; McCARTHY, Molly; WILLIAMSON, Harley; MURPHY, Kristina. 2022. “Empowering the police during COVID-19: How do normative and instrumental factors impact public willingness to support expanded police powers?” In: Criminology & Criminal Justice. Available online. In: https://doi.org/10.1177/17488958221094981. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

SHOJAEI, Amirahmad; SALARI, Pooneh. 2020. “COVID-19 and off label use of drugs: an ethical viewpoint” Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Vol. 28, pp. 789–793.

THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE. 2011. “Council of Europe Convention on the counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes involving threats to public health” In: Council of Europe Treaty Series. No. 211. Available online. In: https://rm.coe.int/168008482f. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE. 2021. Advice on the Application of the MEDICRIME Convention in the Context of Counterfeit COVID-19 Vaccines. MEDICRIME Committee, Strasbourg. Available online. In: https://rm.coe.int/advice-covid19-final-e/1680a24573. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME. 2019. Combating Falsified Medical Product-Related Crime: a Guide to Good Legislative Practices. United Nations, Vienna. Available online. In: https:// www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/publications/19-00741_ Guide_Falsified_Medical_Products_ebook.pdf. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME. 2020. COVID-19 and the drug supply chain: from production and trafficking to use: Research Brief. UNODC, Vienna. Available online. In: https://www.unodc.org/ documents/data-and-analysis/covid/Covid-19-and-drug-supply-chain- Mai2020.pdf. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME. 2021. COVID-19-related Trafficking of Medical Products as a Threat to Public Health: Research Brief. UNODC, Vienna. Available online. In: https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/covid/COVID-19_research_brief_ trafficking_medical_products.pdf. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

UNITED NATIONS. 2020. COVID-19 and Human Rights: We are all in this together. UN Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG) Policy Briefs and Papers. Available online. In: https://doi. org/10.18356/514718a2-en. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION. 2017. Global Surveillance and Monitoring System for substandard and falsified medical products: executive summary. WHO. Geneva. Available online. In: https://apps.who.int/ iris/bitstream/handle/10665/339295/WHO-EMP-RHT-SAV-2017.01- eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.

КASTING, Niko. 2021. Fraudulent medicines in the shadow of the pandemic. Thesis for Master degree in GEGPA, European Institute. Available online. In: https://www.ie-ei.eu/Ressources/FCK/image/Theses/2021/ Krasting_Thesis_GEGPA.pdf. Consultation date: 02/02/2022.
Published
2022-10-11
How to Cite
Shcherbina, M., Akimov, M., Ozerna, I., Huseynov, I., & Rossikhina, H. (2022). Legal Responsibility for Illicit Trade in Pharmaceuticals under Conditions of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Responsabilidad Jurídica por Comercio Ilícito de Productos Farmacéuticos en Condiciones de la Pandemia del Covid-19. Political Questions, 40(74), 207-223. https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.4074.11
Section
Derecho Público