Even the simplest at first glance administrative offense can be dangerous to society. That is why unlawful acts always require punishment, only in this case it is possible to prevent their recurrence in the future and protect citizens, their health, rights and freedom. Responsibility for misconduct of this kind should be severe, but circumstances mitigating administrative responsibility should not be rejected. Consideration of such factors will help determine the most appropriate and fair punishment, which means making the judicial system in our country more perfect.
General concepts
Before talking about circumstances that mitigate and aggravate administrative responsibility, it is necessary to determine its main features and characteristics. So, it represents one of the varieties of legal liability, in the framework of which the authorized bodies (court) apply certain penalties (or sanctions) in relation to persons who have violated the law in this area. The features of administrative responsibility (AO) include:
- The ability to regulate directions by laws and regulations.
- Regulation of exclusively administrative offenses and no other more.
- Lack of criminal record as a punishment.
- Imposing liability only on the guilty person after receiving evidence and conducting a trial.
- Prevention of suffering of the accused, harm to his health or dignity.
When several offenses are committed by one person, the punishment is not summarized or generalized, but is assigned separately for each process.
Statute of limitations of administrative misconduct
Administrative offenses have their own statute of limitations. So, after two months from the date of the commission of the act, the punishment cannot be imposed. It should be borne in mind that for ongoing offenses (for example, living in Russia without registration), the period is counted from the day this fact is revealed. In case of unlawful acts specified in Article 4.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the term is extended to one year. These include misconduct in the fields of taxes, currency, and ecology.
General list of mitigating factors
So, to begin with, we give a general list of circumstances mitigating administrative responsibility. Although the list is not very significant, it covers the main points that can really affect the definition and mitigation of a possible punishment. It includes the following items:
- Pregnancy of a female offender.
- The presence of dependent offenders on a female offender.
- The age of the offender is up to 18 years.
- Prevention of possible negative consequences of committed illegal actions.
- Influence of the state of affect, difficult personal or family circumstances, emotional instability.
- Repentance of a perfect offense, full recognition of his guilt.
- Appearance (voluntary informing authorities about committed acts contrary to law).
Additional mitigating circumstances
It should be noted that at the discretion of the judge, other circumstances that mitigate administrative responsibility may be indicated.The Code of Administrative Offenses does not contain information on concessions due to the offender’s illness or his considerable age, however, in most cases, these factors are also taken into account, and a discount is given on them. In addition, the behavior of the offender at the process, as well as his characteristics from work or place of study, can be extremely important.
Such factors are relevant not only in the administrative, but also in the criminal law of our country. Let's get to know some of them in more detail.
Guilty plea
When asked what circumstance mitigates administrative responsibility to a greater extent, every second lawyer will tell you about voluntary confession of guilt or repentance. Usually judges or jurors they evaluate not only the fact of informing law enforcement authorities about the misconduct, but also the presence of a negative assessment of their actions by the offender. That is, he must evaluate his own actions, understand their inadmissibility and sincerely want not to repeat this in the future. Of course, even the most truthful repentance is not a panacea for punishment, but in some cases it can significantly reduce it.
Indemnification
Circumstances mitigating administrative responsibility may be supplemented by a clause such as indemnification an object (person, legal entity) that has suffered from illegal actions. A similar factor also requires clarification of a number of nuances.
So, compensation for damage to the victim should be made by the guilty party on their own initiative, without coercion and in full, it is better before the start of the official dispute. Also, the losses incurred can be not only compensated, but also eliminated. Such circumstances are relevant not only for individuals, but also for legal entities.
The circumstance mitigating administrative responsibility shall not be recognized as the situation when compensation for the damage was made at the insistence of the court after the opening of the case. If this issue is controversial, it is resolved through civil proceedings, as a result of which both parties can finally clarify previously unresolved issues.
The heat of passion
Circumstances mitigating administrative responsibility include states of affect and emotional instability. A similar temporary feature of the organism of the guilty person is explained by an unconscious reaction, impulse, complex psychoemotional state. It’s not enough to make a statement about the offender’s committing actions in a state of passion; to take this factor into account, the opinion of a third, disinterested party, qualified experts is necessary.
To determine this situation, a special examination is carried out, on the basis of which a conclusion is prepared. It will be considered in court when determining possible exemptions. If the results of such a study are considered controversial, then the manipulations can be repeated to reveal inaccurate information or to confirm previously obtained data.
Other factors
The circumstances mitigating administrative responsibility are also the factors already listed above, such as the pregnancy of the offender, the presence of young children dependent on the woman, the age of the offender is up to 18 years. At the same time, there are a number of other possible premises that are not directly specified in the law. This may be a difficult financial situation, age over 70 years. In such cases, the court considers the impossibility of a psychological or physical assessment of its actions that entailed the commission of the offense.
Administrative liability of legal entities
Consider another important question: "What are the circumstances mitigating the administrative liability of legal entities?" To get an exact answer, it is necessary to determine who is the defendant on behalf of the company in such an unpleasant situation.According to information from the same Code of Administrative Offenses, the blame lies with individuals who were top managers of the company, or members of the board of directors. The purpose of administrative punishment in this case is as follows:
- Prevention of the commission of new offenses by the guilty legal entity or other objects.
- Ensuring the fulfillment of obligations undertaken by a legal entity.
Responding directly to the question posed, it is necessary to note the information contained in sections 1, 3, 4, 5 of the administrative code of Russia. According to her, laws apply equally to individuals and legal entities. And this means that mitigating circumstances will be absolutely identical, except in those cases where the meaning of the article implies the use of only an individual.
Aggravating circumstances
It should be noted that there are circumstances that mitigate and aggravate administrative responsibility, the latter should not be forgotten either. Their list includes several key factors:
- Misconduct under the influence of alcoholic beverages.
- The commission of misconduct in difficult times, for example during a natural disaster, any other force majeure situation, as well as religious or national beliefs.
- An offense committed not by one person, but by a group.
- Attraction of minors to the offense.
- Repeated commission of an unlawful act with the unexpired term of the first punishment for a similar misconduct.
- Continuation of the commission of guilty acts upon receipt of demands from the authorities and the order to terminate them.
- Offense against unprotected categories of citizens (for example, pregnant women).
It should be noted that taking aggravating factors into account directly depends on the opinion of the judge conducting the case, in certain circumstances he may well not take them into account.
If an aggravating circumstance is a direct sign of an offense defining it, then it cannot be considered as an additional factor enhancing guilt.
The list of aggravating circumstances (as opposed to mitigating ones) cannot be expanded at the discretion of the judicial authority; this is simply ruled out. According to the current legislation, it is exhaustive.
The main nuances of cancellation of administrative responsibility
The Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO) governs the punishment for unlawful acts of this kind. Circumstances mitigating administrative responsibility are not the only nuances listed in it. So, there are special conditions that exclude AO in principle, even despite the presence of signs of an offense. They are as follows:
- The guilty person did not reach the age of 14 years.
- The guilty person does not give an account of his actions (insanity, dementia, mental disorders).
- Lack of application from the injured party.
- Committing an offense in order to protect one’s own life or health.
- The commission of an offense during the detention of a person who himself committed an offense.
- The emergence of conditions of special need (for example, if there is a danger to the health and life of others).
The main nuances of exemption from administrative responsibility
If the administrative responsibility of a person has already been proven, this does not mean automatic sentencing. In some cases, the law provides for the possibility of exemption from it, this happens in the following situations:
- The low importance of misconduct for society.
- Circumstances mitigating administrative responsibility (listed above).
- Reconciliation with the injured party.
- A serious physical or mental illness acquired by the guilty party after the sentencing.
Instead of a conclusion
Administrative punishment is one of the varieties of responsibility for a crime committed by a citizen, contrary to the norms of the current legislation. First of all, the goal of such an impact is to prevent relapse of crime to prevent their repeated commission in the future. In addition, the possibility of punishment for misconduct affects not only the offenders themselves, but also each member of the society, being a warning of possible sanctions in case of neglect of the general rules.
At the same time, existing laws remain quite loyal and take into account possible circumstances mitigating administrative responsibility. The list of such factors is recorded in the Code of Administrative Offenses and is fixed. It should be borne in mind that in some cases local judges have the right to accept mitigating circumstances and other features. Thanks to their presence, justice is becoming more equitable, able to take into account most of the existing nuances.
