PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT AMONG THE STAFF OF THE STATE CRIMINAL-EXECUTIVE SERVICE OF UKRAINE AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE-LEGAL FOUNDATIONS FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF PROFESSIONAL SUPERVISION

Abstract

The article examines the problem of professional burnout among the staff of the State Criminal- Executive Service of Ukraine during martial law and amid ongoing penitentiary reform. The relevance of the study stems from the need to ensure the proper functioning of penitentiary institutions and authorities, preserve human resources, and maintain the institutional capacity of the penitentiary system. The article substantiates the view that professional burnout should be considered not only an individual psychological problem but also a systemic factor that adversely affects the effectiveness of state policy in the execution of criminal sentences. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the administrative and legal foundations for introducing the institution of professional supervision as a mechanism for preventing professional burnout among the staff of the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine and maintaining the institutional capacity of the penitentiary system. The methodological framework of the study includes systemic, formal-legal, comparative-legal, and doctrinal methods. The empirical basis of the research consists of reports of the CPT, OHCHR, and UNODC, as well as materials from international studies and practices concerning the functioning of European penitentiary systems. The study identifies a relationship between staff burnout and the weakening of the penitentiary system’s institutional capacity. A conceptual model of the potential consequences of professional burnout for the functioning of penitentiary institutions and authorities is developed. Based on an analysis of foreign experience and national legislation, the author proposes an original model of the institution of professional supervision founded on three key principles: the independence of supervisors from the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine, confidentiality of supervisory interactions, and separate budgetary funding. The study substantiates the need for statutory recognition of the right of personnel of the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine to receive professional supervision and proposes amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine” and the Criminal-Executive Code of Ukraine. The article concludes that professional supervision may be regarded as an administrative and legal instrument for implementing state policy in the field of execution of criminal sentences, aimed at strengthening staff resilience, preventing workforce destabilization, and supporting the institutional capacity of the penitentiary system. A promising direction for future research is the development of organizational and legal mechanisms to implement professional supervision in the activities of the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine