As you know, the employer has the right to hold the employee responsible for disciplinary offenses. In the military sphere, the same system operates, but with small, one might even say, specific features. How are members of the military accountable? What types of disciplinary offenses exist in the military-defense system? All these questions will be answered in detail in the article.
What are disciplinary offenses?
The concept of misconduct of a disciplinary type is given in article 48 of the Disciplinary Charter of the RF Armed Forces. This normative act characterizes the concept as a complete or partial failure to fulfill official duties, violation of public order or established discipline. A disciplinary sanction for committing a disciplinary offense is imposed only when there are no grounds for imposing administrative or criminal liability.
A soldier may be held accountable regardless of rank and status. It is also worth noting that an extremely important condition here is the existence of grounds for imposing a corresponding penalty; simply put, a quality evidence base is imperative.
Acts of the military
Disciplinary offenses are divided into subspecies (depending on their severity). The more gross the misconduct is, the more severe the penalty will be. Punishments are regulated by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, since the entire military system is no different from the classic "worker-employer" scheme. At the same time, there are some other normative acts, which should also be guided by persons liable for military service. These are various kinds of charters, regulations and other local acts.
The disciplinary action is taken by the military leadership. The unit commander makes decisions on the presence or absence of grounds for holding a military man accountable. He also chooses the optimal measures of influence. Naturally, no one in the military sphere can go beyond the rules and norms established by laws. Punishment for a misconduct must always be in accordance with the Labor Code and the Military Regulations.
Disciplinary misconduct: the first group
Current legislation affecting the topic of military service, regulates the basic characteristics that can be used by superiors to determine the gravity of the offense. In particular, the RF Higher Law Institute consolidates the following gross disciplinary offenses of military personnel:
- violation of the requirements of statutory communication between persons liable for military service;
- the absence of a military citizen at the duty station without good reason;
- failure to show up for military service after vacation, sick leave, dismissal or business trip - in the absence of good reason;
- the absence of a contracted military person at the place of service for more than four hours - without good reason.
Disciplinary misconduct is quite diverse. The second group of offenses will be described below.
Disciplinary misconduct: second group
The current military legislation of the Russian Federation regulates, in addition to all of the above, the following gross disciplinary offenses of military personnel:
- improper performance of functions and duties assigned to a military person;
- failure to comply with the rules and requirements of combat or any other duty, garrison patrols, etc .;
- causing harm to a co-worker - physical, material, mental or any other;
- destruction of state property;
- waste of funds, violation of the existing procedure for the preservation of values;
- non-observance of the procedure for handling explosive, radioactive substances, military weapons, and other dangerous elements;
- violation of the requirements for the operation of equipment and machinery;
- being in the state of intoxication - alcoholic, narcotic, etc.
- concealment by the head of the unit of important information;
- failure to take measures to terminate a disciplinary offense by military personnel;
- refusal to prosecute the guilty military.
Thus, the list of disciplinary offenses is quite large. And what can be said about the types of penalties for the alleged offenses?
The first group of penalties
Current legislation establishes the following types of responsibility for violation of discipline in the military sphere:
- Reprimand or severe reprimand. If a simple reprimand is a regular remark made in verbal form, then a severe reprimand is a remark indicating a certain period; during the established period it is forbidden to violate discipline, otherwise a much more severe punishment will follow.
- Deprivation of a liable, committed offense, the next dismissal.
- Warning of incomplete compliance with a military post. This is somewhat like a reprimand, as it is a notice of a possible dismissal.
Next, we will talk about other types of penalties.
The second group of penalties
The detection of a disciplinary offense may entail the following types of penalties:
- deprivation of a soldier's insignia;
- demotion of a guilty military man in rank, status or position;
- dismissal from service earlier than due due to improper performance of the clauses of the concluded contract on the service;
- exclusion of a soldier from an educational institution of a military professional type;
- granting refusal to participate in military training;
- disciplinary arrest.
How is the process of holding a soldier accountable? This will be described later.
Accountability
For each violation of military discipline, management is required to conduct a thorough check. If only one member of the armed forces was involved in the offense, then the verification is carried out on the fact of his misconduct, and if the offense was committed by a group of persons, then the proceedings are conducted against the entire group at the same time.
In the process of conducting the audit, management must require written explanations from the military. At the same time, the guilty persons are not at all obliged to draw up explanatory statements - it is, rather, the right to express their point of view on what happened. Failure to provide a written explanation, of course, will not imply the unconditional guilt of the suspected soldier. Disciplinary proceedings will not close, but will continue; in this case, management will be obliged to confirm for its part the fact of the suspect's refusal to provide written explanations.
What particular circumstances should be studied in the investigation of an offense? This will be described later.
Procedure for holding liable
A disciplinary misconduct of a military serviceman entails verification of the following basic facts:
- date, place and time of the offense;
- the nature of the offense (what exactly was violated, how grave the misconduct was);
- information about the persons involved in the offense (their personal data, positions, ranks, status, etc.);
- the conditions and motives for the misconduct (information on what prompted the offenders to commit the offense);
- circumstances confirming the guilt of violators;
- characteristics of the guilty military personnel;
- clarification of the consequences of the offense (in the form of action or inaction);
- circumstances - extenuating or aggravating type, grounds for exclusion of recovery (but only if there are any);
- details and facts, one way or another relevant to the consideration of the offense.
Thus, gross disciplinary offenses entail a thorough examination for a variety of reasons.
Features of accountability
In investigating a disciplinary offense, a wide variety of evidence can be collected, including testimony. They must be in writing. All documentation containing testimony should be attached to the materials of the internal audit. In this case, the main material may include video recordings, audio recordings, photographs, documentary or material evidence. All of these elements should be appended to expert opinions.
If there are special grounds, then the guilty soldier will undergo a medical examination. His refusal in this case will be regarded as an aggravating circumstance. Finally, if in the course of the investigation circumstances are found that indicate the lack of guilt of a military soldier, the possibility of disciplinary action will be excluded.
At the end of the investigation, management will draw up a protocol that lists all the facts that indicate the guilt of the individual.
Is liability disclaimer possible?
When conducting an investigation, an internal audit may reveal certain circumstances indicating the innocence of a soldier suspected of committing an offense. What circumstances could these be? Current legislation indicates the commission of an offense in self-defense, the protection of third parties (civil or military), the protection of the legitimate interests and rights of the state in the event of dangerous circumstances. The main criterion in this case is the proportionality of the defense, the inadmissibility of exceeding it in unreliable situations.
In addition to self-defense or defense, the law regulates several circumstances that exclude punishment for committing a disciplinary offense. All of them are worth highlighting further.
Exclusion of circumstances
For committing a disciplinary offense, the employer (in this case, the commander) is required to impose liability. But before that, a quality check should be carried out. What circumstances may contribute to the withdrawal of responsibility from a soldier? This is what the law indicates:
- the implementation of an offense by command or order of the commander;
- the offense was committed at random during the detention of the offender, or when transferring it to the authorities;
- the purpose of the offense was to prevent some adverse event that poses a threat to the life and health of people, the interests of the state or citizens;
- strangely enough, the benefits of a perfect offense for society have been proven;
- the misconduct was compulsory, and the soldier was not able to fully control himself and his actions.
This, of course, is far from the only circumstances precluding the imposition of liability. This can also be added by the lack of direct evidence, the presence of mental disorders in the offender, as well as the famous rule "the law has no retroactive effect."
Is it possible to "soften" the punishment?
In addition to circumstances that completely exclude the imposition of liability on the offender, there are also extenuating circumstances.These are certain facts that indicate that a disciplinary offense is an insignificant situation that does not have truly strong and cruel motives. When conducting an investigation, the commander, or a specially created commission, takes into account a number of conditions that can “soften” the responsibility of a soldier who violates discipline. Such circumstances will be described later.
Extenuating circumstances
Current legislation establishes the following series of extenuating circumstances:
- remorse of the offender;
- informing management of their own free will on the commission of a disciplinary offense;
- adoption by the violator of certain measures aimed at preventing the negative consequences of the offense committed by him;
- compensation for harm caused; voluntary remediation of harm;
- commission of an offense due to traumatic experiences (not to be confused with mental illness).
If during the investigation the commander decided not to take into account extenuating circumstances, relatives, colleagues of the guilty serviceman or the offender himself is able to appeal through special military instances.