The crime of material forgery of documents in the context of illegal crosing of external borders of the european union and security of the state and citizens

Abstract

The main purpose of the article is to draw attention to the material forgery of travel documents as a practice that enables illegal crossing of the external borders of the European Union/Schengen Area and free movement within these areas. The author's intention was also to indicate the relationship of this practice with the security of citizens and the state, which results from the fact that from the legal, forensic and criminological point of view, forgery of documents, including travel documents, is associated with a number of other types of crime, such as trafficking in human beings, including in particular children, arms and drug trafficking. The issue of crimes against the credibility of documents has gained importance in modern times, in which the international mobility of society is growing at a rapid pace. A very important aspect in the context of the analyzed issues is the situation that occurred in Belarus in connection with the civil war in Syria, as well as in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which worsened at the end of 2021. The analysis of the presented statistical data of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency shows that every year there are many crossings or attempted crossings of the external borders of the European Union against the law with the use of false documents. Despite the downward trend in this area in 2015-2020 and the lower intensity of this practice, in 2021 a significant increase in the number of such cases was recorded. The above allows us to conclude that the etiology of illegal border crossing with the use of forged documents should be sought in the situation that occurred in Belarus in connection with the civil war in Syria, as well as in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which was escalating at the end of 2021.