Any power, even the most insignificant, was and remains the main cause of all kinds of discord and violations.
Quite often there is an excess of powers provided for by a person’s position in a company or in public service. This violation is a criminal offense and is punishable up to imprisonment with the inability to continue to occupy certain positions for several years.
Kinds
The Criminal Code of Russia has several articles related directly to the post held by a citizen:
- abuse of authority;
- abuse of authority by private notaries and auditors;
- abuse of authority;
- abuse of authority;
- appropriation of authority of an official.
For ordinary people who have encountered these phenomena or just heard about them, there is no difference. Nevertheless, it is, although at first glance it is not so noticeable.
Simple abuse
Any organization or structure has a head, chairman of the board of directors or other managerial person. When qualifying such a crime in the economic sphere as abuse of authority, the fact that the object on which the guilty person works is not a state one is taken into account.
It is envisaged that a person holding a leadership position and accused under Article 201 commits any actions for selfish ends, while causing damage not only to individual citizens, but also to organizations, and also damages his actions to the public interest or the state. Even if there is an excess of authority, Art. Criminal Code 286 is not applicable.
For those guilty of such a crime, the Criminal Wheel provides a fine, the maximum amount of which is 200 thousand rubles (as the lower limit of punishment), or imprisonment of up to 4 years (as the maximum measure).
In judicial practice, despite the difference in article numbers and positions of perpetrators, it is often difficult to determine which crime is committed. This is of little concern to non-state persons, but in the case of acts such as abuse of power or abuse of authority, difficulties may arise in qualification.
Criminal intent on the part of notaries and auditors
For this category of persons, the legislator has provided for a separate provision in the criminal code - article 202.
It is generally accepted that the notary and the auditor can be trusted unconditionally, therefore the malicious actions of these persons are subject to criminal punishment. Because a citizen carries out important processes of checking circumstances or certifying documents and does not fulfill his immediate mission, there is a penalty from a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles to a maximum of 3 years in prison with a ban on holding this position or similar for up to three years old.
In any of categories of crimes whether it is abuse or abuse of power, the Criminal Code draws attention to the fact that the perpetrator violates the rights of individuals or legal entities or causes harm to the state.
In the event that a notary or auditor performs actions that are contrary to the main objectives of the activity with respect to persons under the age of majority, or knowingly incompetent, the sanctions of the article are a little stricter - up to 500 thousand rubles a fine or up to 5 years in prison. Such persons will be prohibited from engaging in such activities for 3 years.
Official abuse
The powers that a person has given the state are also abused, and quite often.Such posts include those established by the Constitution of Russia, as well as official posts in departmental organizations or the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
As a rule, persons holding the post of public servant, regardless of rank, decide the fate of people to one degree or another. Abuse of authority (abuse of authority including) in the area of management or security in violation of civil, public rights and interests entails structural changes that affect not only one object.
Civil servants are responsible for the climate in society as a whole more than the heads of commercial structures who are responsible only to their company and the tax office.
The perpetrator under Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation may be awarded a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles or serving a sentence in a colony of up to 7 years. In this case, the convicted person is deprived of the right to occupy a certain position for 3 years.
More severe sanctions are provided if the actions of an official entailed grave consequences. The legislator has set a period of detention for such attackers to 10 years. As a rule, a former official cannot return to his previous job for 3 years.
Abuse of authority
Section 286 The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation expressly states that if an employee of a state institution carries out activities that go beyond the limits of his own authority, this is considered a crime.
As in other similar cases, such an act becomes criminally punished when there are injured citizens or organizations in the process of the guilty party whose interests and rights are harmed. Also, officials are subject to criminal prosecution in the event that an abuse of authority has occurred, and thereby the perpetrator has caused damage to the interests of society or the state as a whole.
Since people in a certain position are government employees in this case, they can cause significant harm to someone through their illegal actions. In this case, it is customary to talk about grave consequences, therefore, when such events occur, the guilty person is sentenced to a real term in a colony for up to 10 years.
Assignment of authority
Article 288 of the Criminal Code is also provided for persons who are not officials, but confidently assume the authority of others. Usually, the assignment of status is limited to one or more actions that do not carry a certain percentage of danger in relation to the rights and interests of citizens or society, unlike the composition of the disposition of Article 286 of the Criminal Code - abuse of authority.
Events resulting from the assignment of authority become relatively quickly known, and any transactions or permits are canceled.
Due to the small risk of crime, a fines of up to 40 thousand rubles or an arrest of up to 3 months as the upper limit of punishment under this article may be imposed on the perpetrator.
Differences
In the case of abuse of authority, it is necessary to clarify that a person who has any right (for example, the right to sign documents) does not use it in the interests of the state or organization, but for his personal selfish purposes. This may violate the rights of others. For example, an official refused to provide housing for the needy, citing the fact that there are no free apartments in the base.
At the same time, some time ago, a person holding this post already issued several residential properties either to his relatives, or sold a free municipal area. Here is the use of official authority for their own purposes. The official did not appropriate other people's obligations and rights, he did not go beyond his limits.
The excess of powers of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is determined by the fact that a person, already being an official, goes beyond the limits of his competence. Here we can talk about the following actions of employees:
- sole performance of those duties that can only be performed collectively;
- the exercise of powers that belong to a superior or equal status;
- the use of their own powers in cases where this was not necessary.
To qualify a crime under one of the previously mentioned articles, the goals or motives of the guilty do not matter, only the fact of violation.
The appropriation of authority, in contrast to excess, is that a person, not being an official, implements some elements of the activities of a public servant.
Totality
Most often, these acts in the economic sphere lead to violations of the law not only in the enumerated articles, but also in others. If a person is accused of a crime under Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (abuse of power) or according to the 285th (abuse), forcing other people to commit illegal actions, the punishment is cumulative.
For example, the head of the garrison forced the soldiers to steal ammunition from the warehouse, in which he personally participated. For this, the officer promised the employees a relatively calm atmosphere while they were in the location of the unit and assistance in providing leave-breaks.
During the investigation of this case, the guilty boss was convicted under the following articles: paragraph 1 of Article 285 and paragraph 3 Art. 158 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Abuse of authority example
The traffic police and the owner of the car drew up a protocol about an alleged accident. This was done in order to receive compensation from the insurance company. Here we can talk about abuse of authority and a criminal offense of providing knowingly false documents.
Abuse of authority: an example
The person’s going beyond his competence is also observed in the case of a military doctor, who gave false conclusions about the unsatisfactory condition of some soldiers who were subsequently dismissed from the Armed Forces of Russia for health reasons. The doctor performed these actions for a fee.
The court recognized that there was an excess of authority, that is, the employee did not have the right, while in this position, to give such certificates.
Although a civilian medic is not recognized by the code as executive, in the above example, the doctor performed certain activities. In accordance with Note No. 1 to Article 285, employees who perform administrative or administrative functions, including in the Armed Forces, are considered officials.
Assignment Example
In the event that a person declares (as a rule, verbally) that he has any specific right to perform actions, this is the appropriation of powers belonging to a person in a certain position.
Moreover, the perpetrator may use both branded clothing and a fake certificate (article 327 of the Criminal Code).