FEATURES OF OPERATIONAL AND INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES UNDER MARTIAL LAW

Abstract

    The article analyzes the transformation of the content and forms of operational-investigative activities (OIA) under the influence of the legal regime of martial law. It has been established that the armed aggression of the Russian Federation served as a catalyst that exposed the inadequacy of classical peacetime OIA methods in the face of new challenges: the intensification of sabotage and reconnaissance groups, extensive collaboration networks, and the mass exploitation of digital space to destabilize the constitutional order.
    The study identifies the evolving role of digital technologies and OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) tools within the modern national security system. It is demonstrated that under martial law, OSINT transforms from an auxiliary method into a strategic instrument of depersonalized search in the global digital space, enabling intelligence operations without direct contact with the target and without risk to personnel.
Particular attention is paid to the concepts of “depersonalization”, “intellectualization”, and “globalization” of investigative paradigms. The paper presents, for the first time, a conceptual model of “operational proportionality”, which enables a clear distinction between necessary interference with private life and excessive restriction of constitutional freedoms; it also defines the legal nature of “derogation” in the context of operational measures.
    The practice of documenting war crimes in de-occupied territories is analyzed as a case study in integrating intelligence and law enforcement functions, where the boundary between military and law enforcement objectives proved minimal. The problem of inter-agency fragmentation between the components of the Defense Forces of Ukraine is outlined, and the necessity of establishing a unified integrated real-time operational information management system is substantiated. Legislative amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Operational-Investigative Activities” are proposed, including the introduction of the term “operational-combat task” and the creation of a unified system to overcome inter-agency fragmentation. The question arises as to whether it is appropriate to adopt an Operational Investigative Code of Ukraine as a unified standard for covert operational activities.