An administrative offense is a concept that every person and citizen of the state can face. It often happens that people become delinquents or injured parties. In order to bring the guilty person to justice, it is necessary to have a corpus delicti, in the presence of which the authorized bodies open proceedings on the case. In the process of its formation, evidence is collected, which is subsequently used in court for proceedings in essence.
What is the evidence in administrative proceedings? What is the subject of proof? What methods are used to collect evidence in cases of administrative offenses? About it further.
The concept of administrative offense
Before you start considering issues related to evidence, you should understand what will be recognized as an administrative offense.
First of all, attention should be paid to the fact that an administrative offense is an act that can be performed in a passive form, that is, manifest itself in inaction. This action can be committed by an individual, that is, a person or a legal entity (any enterprise, institution or organization).
For administrative offenses, there are articles in the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation that characterize the composition of the committed act. As a rule, the action / inaction of a person or legal entity, in accordance with these compositions, is directed against certain social relations, in particular, those that are in the sphere of public morality, public health, order, ecology, etc.
The concept of evidence in an administrative case
In order to properly understand the essence of the matter during the production process, the investigating authorities must consider all evidence that indicates the presence of guilt (and its degree) of the suspected person. Evidence in cases of administrative offenses is all evidence that indicates the presence or, conversely, the absence of the offender on the part of an individual or legal entity. All information of this kind should have a certain value for the conduct of the case, relate directly to it, and also indicate the guilt or innocence of the person.
Sources of evidence
Legal evidence in cases of administrative offenses are those obtained from sources permitted in regulatory enactments - their full list is indicated in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
First of all, the court and the authorities in charge of the proceedings should take into account the testimony of witnesses to the offense (if any). Such evidence is one of the main sources of evidence in cases of administrative offenses. In addition, the testimony of the person himself in respect of whom the proceedings are being conducted is also taken into account. The official reviewing the case can obtain the greatest amount of evidence from the protocol, which was drawn up in the process of documenting the corpus delicti.
The opinions of experts or specialists in a particular field, as well as testimonies provided by technical means, can also be taken into account. Material evidence is also of no small importance, which relate to a separate large group.
Admissibility of evidence
All evidence in an administrative case must be admissible. This means that each of them must be obtained exclusively by legal methods, subject to all the procedures necessary for this.
The law also states that any evidence must be verified and that you can contact it at any time to verify the source. Among other things, the admissibility of evidence involves the collection of evidence by officials without exceeding their powers and abuse of them. In this process, in no case should the rights of other persons, including participants in the case, be violated.
Relevance of evidence
In addition to the admissibility of evidence in cases of administrative offenses, there is still the significance of relevance. In other words, every fact that is presented to the official for consideration on the merits of the issue should fully relate to the subject of proof. Any fact or information should justify or, conversely, refute those circumstances that are the subject of consideration.
What information cannot be evidence
The legislation provides a small list of those circumstances in the presence of which the obtained data cannot be evidence in the case of an administrative offense. In the first place, rumors, conjectures, and the assumptions of individuals are not considered to be such, even if they were presented by a person who is going through the case as a witness. The data obtained during the operational-search measures, but at the time of their submission were not verified, are also not direct evidence. In this case, the court or officials can consider them as indicative materials, and they can be attached to the case as admissible evidence only after clarification and clarification. If in the course of the proceedings there are essentially materials that are relevant to the case but are not attached to it, then such information also cannot be admissible evidence.
Process of proof
In the course of the proceedings on the merits, a procedure such as proof cannot be dispensed with. It involves actions to establish the truth on the fact of the offense. Moreover, this truth should be extremely objective.
This process involves not only reviewing the available facts and establishing their relevance to the case, but also collecting evidence in the case of an administrative offense, their investigation, as well as assessment.
All facts obtained must be duly reflected in the case file.
Types of evidence
All evidence that can be presented in the case file, the legislation divides into several categories, depending on various factors. According to the source of origin, it is customary to separate documents, personal and material evidence from each other. Documents are carriers on which information on the commission of an offense is recorded in a written or other form. As for the material evidence in cases of administrative offenses, they represent exclusively objects that are an instrument of the offense or carry information on the subject under consideration. Material evidence can be, for example, a material object of an offense, a tool, as well as photographs.
As for personal evidence, these include testimonies provided by witnesses, explanations of the offender, as well as any other information that is provided by an individual.
There is another sign by which administrative offenses are classified - this is a way of generating evidence. According to this criterion, all evidence is divided into initial and derivative. The first case includes facts taken directly from the source, and the second case, those that were obtained on the basis of the available initial information, through some intermediaries.
And finally, the third group in the classification of evidence is the nature of the relationship between evidence and the fact to be established. According to this criterion, they are divided into direct and indirect. The direct ones clearly indicate the involvement of an individual or legal entity in the subject of proving evidence in an administrative case. Indirect ones serve as a justification for any facts that may serve as a clue to the disclosure of the essence of the matter.
Procedural evidence
Any material evidence that is involved in an administrative case must be properly executed. The law provides clear instructions on how exactly this should be done by authorized bodies.
First of all, in the process of considering this object, it is important to process the fact of its discovery or the process of obtaining the item by an authorized person. In addition, it is mandatory to describe it in detail and indicate in the case that the object is material evidence. In addition to all of the above, the fact of bringing the evidence to the case is also important - otherwise it cannot be used as such.
Any material evidence must be kept in the case file until a final decision or decision on imposing an administrative penalty is issued.
Documents as evidence
This type of evidence in an administrative case is important in a trial. Any document that is used in the process must be relevant and valid, otherwise it cannot be used to consider the issue on its merits. As for the form of providing information, it can be any: during the review, both paper and electronic (and any other) media are used. The main requirement for documents is their veracity and relevance to business.
The concept of a document as a source of evidence may also include a video or soundtrack. In addition, in a court session, evidence can be considered materials of films, photos, as well as data taken from information directories, data banks, databases, as well as from other similar sources.
Examination and indications of special technical means
This version of the evidence is becoming increasingly popular in the modern world. Often, authorities conducting investigations in cases of administrative offenses turn to specialists and experts who are professionals in explaining various issues.
Examination can be appointed in cases in which a professional explanation of certain points that are important for resolving the case on the merits is necessary. It is carried out exclusively by one specialist or group. Based on the results of the study, a conclusion is compiled without fail with the signature of the responsible person.
Using the testimony of special technical means is another option for obtaining evidence, which is quite similar to the work of an expert.Unlike the first option, in this case all the information is provided by a specially designed instrument or equipment.
Falsification of evidence
In the process of studying the materials provided in the case, the official relies solely on the evidence provided to him. In order to make the decision honest and fair, the law prohibits any falsification of evidence in cases of administrative offenses. Otherwise, a person who intentionally committed falsification of documents or other evidence, provided false information and evidence, bears the responsibility established by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.