The issue of combating corruption crimes has been relevant for several centuries. Human weaknesses do not depend on the era or the place of residence of people. Corrupt acts include such acts as abuse and abuse of power. What is the composition of such crimes? Who is the subject and what is the object of such acts?
What is corruption?
This is a phenomenon that has existed at all times. Unfortunately, it is a component of any society. In Russia, a surge of corruption crimes was observed in the nineties of the last century. The situation has improved over time, but it is completely impossible to eradicate the problem.
The word "corruption" means "bribery" in Latin. In the modern sense, this is a violation of the code of conduct for officials. It can be expressed both in abuse and in excess of official authority. Corruption is a phenomenon characterized by corruption of public servants. In addition to the crimes discussed below, corruption includes giving or receiving a bribe, forgery, bribery, and registration of an illegal transaction.
Art. 25 of the Criminal Code (part 1)
What is said in the legislative act? Abuse of official authority (Article 285 of the Criminal Code) is a criminal offense, which, depending on severity, has several degrees of responsibility.
A person who uses the opportunities that his official position provides him will certainly be punished. Unless, of course, his guilt is proven. Moreover, the punishment can take various forms: a fine, a ban on holding a managerial position in a state structure for a certain period, and imprisonment.
According to Art. 285, the perpetrator may be fined up to 80 thousand rubles, or an amount equal to his income for the period up to six months. A convicted person under this criminal article often loses the right to hold a certain position for a term of up to five years. He may also be punished by forced labor or arrest. Imprisonment for the crime referred to in Art. 285, from six months to four years.
Part 2, Art. 285 of the Criminal Code
The second part of the article refers to the same crime - that is, to abuse of authority. However, here, the subject can only be a person holding a public position of the Russian Federation. What does it mean? This means a position established by constitutional law to exercise the powers of a state body.
The punishment for the crime in question at 2 h. 285 of the Criminal Code, more severe. Namely:
- a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles;
- forced labor for up to 5 years;
- imprisonment for up to 7 years;
- deprivation of the right to hold a certain position for up to 3 years.
Grave Crime
When a person uses his official position for personal purposes, he may not directly harm others. But such an act always has negative consequences. And above all, it undermines the credibility of the state structure that it represents. This is described in more detail below.
In h. 3 Article. 285 of the Criminal Code refers to abuse of power as a crime with serious consequences. In this case, the guilty person can be imprisoned for up to ten years.
Register of corrupt officials
As already mentioned, it is completely impossible to eradicate crime among persons holding senior positions in the state structure. However, the fight against corruption is still underway.So, in 2017, a bill was passed on the creation of a special registry, in which I will indicate the data of officials who had once been involved in abuse of authority, giving bribes, forgery, and other official crimes. True, the project is still being finalized.
Object of crime
It is not easy for a person who is not related to jurisprudence to understand the abundance of terms present in the texts of the Criminal Code, including Art. 285 of the Criminal Code. The comments in the article then come to the rescue. What is said in them?
First of all, the comments explain the meaning of the term “abuse of power”. According to Art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a person who has committed unlawful acts that have a direct relationship with his duties may be held liable. That is, if a high-ranking official committed a crime without resorting to the opportunities that he has thanks to his position, the above article cannot be charged with him.
Art. 285 h. 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is applicable to persons in the public service. That is, the head of a private organization cannot be involved under this criminal article. However, for example, if the director of the LLC has committed a number of violations that entailed negative consequences for other citizens or organizations, he may be brought under Art. 201.
Corpus delicti
Abuse of official authority (Article 285 of the Criminal Code) is an action aimed at achieving personal goals. The motive for such a crime is self-interest. A person holding a certain position in state bodies will not be attracted under Art. 285 h. Of the Criminal Code, if he was guided by more noble thoughts or committed a crime of negligence. Even if he caused significant material or moral damage to other citizens or organizations. The punishment for such acts is already provided for in other criminal articles.
However, selfish interest is expressed in different ways. Protectionism, careerism, nepotism - all these are phenomena indirectly or directly related to official crimes. An official hiring a close relative, knowingly aware of his incompetence, is abusing his authority. Protégés often become a cover for the property and business of an official. In the press often appears information about such cases. But, as a rule, such notes refer to middle-level officials. High-profile cases of crimes in the highest echelons of power are rarely covered in the press.
Subject of crime
Abusing his powers, a public servant performs actions directed primarily against state power. The object of the crime is the interests of the civil service and the local government service. As a result of these acts, constitutional rights and the rights of individual citizens are violated. But still, the main object is the full functioning of the authorities.
A sign of a crime is the pursuit of personal goals to the detriment of the interests of the public service. This can be expressed both in the form of active actions, and in the form of inaction.
Abuse and abuse of authority
Understanding the difference between these concepts is not difficult. Abuse is actions carried out with a mercenary purpose. Example:
The employee gained access to classified information and used the data for personal purposes, while using official authority.
Excess - the use of opportunities that the official is not endowed with (with or without mercenary purpose). Example:
The employee issued an order, which he is not entitled to give by mistake or in personal interests.
Art. 286 of the Criminal Code
Above is said about abuse of authority (Article 285 of the Criminal Code). The excess of official powers and the punishment for this action can be found in detail in Art. 286. It is noteworthy that the text of these two articles is identical when it comes to forms of punishment.For abuse of authority, an official may be fined up to 80 thousand rubles. This is the mildest punishment. If a person has gone beyond the limits of his authority, thereby causing moral or physical harm to other citizens, he has every chance of imprisonment for up to ten years.
One of corruption crimes is described in detail in Art. 285 of the Criminal Code. Excess of authority refers to such acts. But excluding items but and b third part. Because they are talking about malfeasance, which is accompanied by the use of violence, weapons, special means.
The question of what are the differences between abuse and abuse of authority often arises among ordinary citizens. However, the practical and semantic difference is more significant than it might seem upon a superficial examination.
Abuse always occurs within the competence of an official. Whereas the excess is expressed by actions that go beyond these limits. To hold an official accountable under Art. 286 his personal interest (that is, selfish goals) does not matter. In the case of abuse, the desire for profit is the main motive, therefore, there is a subjective sign of a crime. In addition, in case of abuse of authority, physical harm is often inflicted. In case of abuse - only property.
Case Studies
Information on crimes under Art. 285, recently often appears in the press. A typical example of such an act is the conclusion by an official of a contract with a commercial organization, the result of which is payment for work that has not been completed or is not fully completed. In this case, the punishment shall be applied in accordance with the second part of Article 285. Because it was committed by a person holding a public position.
Often in the media you can also find news about the involvement under Part 1 of Article 285. Criminal Code of the Russian Federation of a particular employee of the general education system For example, the director of a school or gymnasium collecting money from the parents of students without drawing up an estimate. In some such cases, the accused may be charged with another article - “Self-government” (Article 330 of the Criminal Code).
Effects
Officials are abusing the powers vested in the state, and often. Such employees, regardless of position, to one degree or another decide the fate of people. Abusing their powers, they not only inflict on specific citizens, but society as a whole. With the systematic commission of such acts among the population, confidence in state bodies decreases.
Crimes among officials reached an unprecedented scale in the 90s of the last century. It was during this period that the authority of government representatives was as weak as ever. Today, confidence in government officials has increased slightly. However, Russia still occupies one of the leading positions in the list of the most corrupt states in the world.
A bit of history
“Abuse of authority” is a phrase that has a pronounced negative connotation. But it was not always so. Moreover, such an expression once did not exist. The use of his official position for personal purposes in the Moscow state was quite normal and quite common. The law in the pre-Petrine era provided for punishment only for promises - giving a bribe to a judge.
High-ranking bribe-takers were first punished in the middle of the seventeenth century. In 1648, a riot broke out, which led to fires and numerous deaths. To pacify popular unrest, the tsar had to arrange a demonstration execution of two corrupt people hated by ordinary people.
In the early 18th century, officials began to pay a fixed salary. They began to abuse their powers less. But not only because they had enough salary to satisfy personal needs.But rather because service crimes were already fraught with arrest and loss of office.
In the Soviet period, there were significantly more officials than in pre-revolutionary times. Accordingly, the opportunities for committing a variety of official crimes have become more. In the 20s, bribery was punishable by execution. However, abuse of power, despite the rigidity of law enforcement, existed almost from the first days of the new government.
In the perestroika period (80s) the number of misconduct increased. However, of course, this was not officially reported. Many Soviet citizens believed that corruption in all its manifestations was the destiny of bourgeois society.
Corruption in modern Russia
According to The Economist, a British weekly publication, corruption for Russian officials is the essence of the system. In addition, there is an opinion among European scholars that corruption in our country goes hand in hand with repression. However, according to statistics, the number of criminal violations under Art. 285 by 2010 decreased.