Hooliganism: what it is and what punishment is provided for by law

In the law, “hooliganism” means two different things. Hooliganism under Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (hereinafter — the CC) is a criminal offence. Petty hooliganism under Article 173 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences (hereinafter — the CAO) is an administrative offence, for which a fine, community service or corrective labour, or arrest for up to 15 days may be imposed.

What hooliganism is under Article 296 of the CC

Part 1 of Article 296 of the CC defines hooliganism as “a gross violation of public order motivated by blatant disrespect for society, accompanied by particular insolence or exceptional cynicism”. So three elements are required at the same time:

• gross violation of public order, not just any violation;
• a motive — blatant disrespect for society;
• particular insolence or exceptional cynicism accompanying the acts.

A court may recognise violence involving beatings or bodily injuries, or the destruction or damage of property, as a manifestation of particular insolence (clause 5 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Ukraine of 22.12.2006 No. 10, hereinafter — Resolution No. 10). But such acts become hooliganism under Article 296 only together with the other two elements of Part 1 — a gross violation of public order and a motive of blatant disrespect for society. How these elements are assessed is explained in a separate article on the elements of hooliganism.

Punishment for hooliganism: Article 296(1)–(4) of the CC

Both the punishment and the category of the criminal offence under Article 12 of the CC depend on the part of the article.

• Part 1 — hooliganism without the elements of Parts 2–4: a fine of 1,000 to 2,000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (hereinafter — NTMI), or probation supervision for up to five years, or restriction of liberty for the same period. Imprisonment is not provided for, so this is a criminal misdemeanour: that is what the law calls an act for which the principal punishment provided is a fine of not more than 3,000 NTMI or another punishment not connected with imprisonment.
• Part 2 — the same acts committed by a group of persons: restriction of liberty for up to five years or imprisonment for up to four years. This is a minor crime — imprisonment of not more than five years.
• Part 3 — hooliganism by a person previously convicted of hooliganism, or connected with resistance to a representative of the authorities or of the public who is protecting public order, or to other citizens who were stopping the hooligan acts: imprisonment for two to five years. Also a minor crime.
• Part 4 — with the use of a firearm or an edged weapon or another object specially adapted or prepared in advance for inflicting bodily injuries: imprisonment for three to seven years. This is a serious crime — imprisonment of not more than ten years.

For the application of provisions that refer to NTMI, the amount of UAH 17 is used; the exception is the classification of offences (clause 5 of subsection 1 of Section XX of the Tax Code of Ukraine). So the fine under Article 296(1) is from UAH 17,000 to UAH 34,000. We explain how the category is determined and why it is needed in the article on the classification of crimes by degree of gravity.

The general age of criminal liability is 16, but liability for hooliganism arises from 14: Article 296 is named directly in the list in Part 2 of Article 22 of the CC.

Petty hooliganism: Article 173 of the CAO

Under Article 173 of the CAO, petty hooliganism is “obscene language in public places, offensive harassment of citizens and other similar acts that violate public order and the peace of citizens”. The law singles out breach of quiet in populated areas and public places separately: this is Article 182 of the CAO (a warning or a fine of 5 to 15 NTMI), not petty hooliganism.

Fine and other penalties for petty hooliganism

Article 173 of the CAO provides for one of four penalties:

• a fine of 3 to 7 NTMI, that is, UAH 51 to 119;
• community service for 40 to 60 hours;
• corrective labour for one to two months with 20% of earnings withheld;
• administrative arrest for up to 15 days.

Arrest is applied only in exceptional cases and cannot be imposed on pregnant women, women who have children under 12 years of age, persons under 18 and persons with disabilities of the first and second groups (Article 32 of the CAO).

Administrative liability arises from the age of 16 (Article 12 of the CAO). If petty hooliganism was committed by a teenager aged 14 to 16, a fine of 50 to 100 NTMI is imposed on the parents or the persons who replace them (Article 184(3) of the CAO).

How petty hooliganism differs from criminal hooliganism

The line is drawn by the CAO itself: administrative liability arises if the violations “by their nature do not entail criminal liability in accordance with the law” (Part 2 of Article 9 of the CAO). So if the acts contain all the elements of Article 296 of the CC, this is no longer petty hooliganism. The main differences:

• Elements. The definition in Article 173 of the CAO has no particular insolence or exceptional cynicism, and it is precisely there that the line runs: an intentional gross violation of public order motivated by blatant disrespect for society that was not accompanied by particular insolence or exceptional cynicism is classified as petty hooliganism (clause 3 of Resolution No. 10). But for acts with the elements of a criminal offence — for example, beatings — a penalty under Article 173 is not applied (clause 15 of Resolution No. 10).
• Punishment. Under Article 173 — from a fine of UAH 51 to 15 days of arrest; under Article 296 — from a fine of UAH 17,000 to seven years of imprisonment.
• Age. Liability for petty hooliganism arises from 16, for the criminal one — from 14.
• Consequences. An administrative penalty does not create a criminal record; a criminal record arises only from a judgment of conviction.

Criminal record after hooliganism and when it is expunged

A person has a criminal record from the day a judgment of conviction enters into legal force until the criminal record is expunged or removed. If, however, the court convicted the person without imposing a punishment or released the person from punishment, the person is considered not to have a criminal record (Parts 1 and 3 of Article 88 of the CC). So criminal proceedings for hooliganism do not always end with a criminal record. Release from serving a sentence on probation (Article 75 of the CC) is different: while the probation period lasts, the person has a criminal record; details are in the article on conditional criminal record.

When a criminal record is expunged depends on the judgment and the category of the offence (Article 89 of the CC):

• if the court released the person from serving the sentence on probation — after the probation period ends, provided that no new criminal offence has been committed during that time and the release has not been revoked (clause 1 of Article 89);
• under Article 296(1), that is, for a criminal misdemeanour — after the punishment has been served (clause 2-1);
• for a crime for which restriction of liberty was imposed — two years after the day the punishment was served, provided that no new criminal offence was committed during that time;
• for imprisonment for a minor crime (Parts 2 and 3) — likewise after three years;
• for imprisonment for a serious crime (Part 4) — after six years.

For those who committed a criminal offence before the age of 18, these rules apply subject to Article 108 of the CC. For more, see the articles on a criminal record and its consequences and on expungement and removal of a criminal record.

After an administrative penalty, a person is considered not to have been subjected to it if, within a year from the day its execution ended, the person has not committed a new administrative offence (Article 39 of the CAO).

The rights of a person suspected of hooliganism and what affects the classification are covered in the article on being held liable for hooliganism. What an attorney in a criminal case helps with is described on the page of our service.

The provisions are cited as currently in force as of 13 October 2026.