Circumstances excluding administrative responsibility are factors that, despite the available reasons to believe that a violation has been committed, oblige not to prosecute or to terminate the proceedings of an already begun case.
Legislative regulation
Circumstances excluding administrative responsibility are established by the Federal Administrative Code. Regions cannot influence these provisions by adopting their own laws. The same applies to hierarchical authorities (for example, the Federal Antimonopoly Service or the police, etc.).
Authorities are entitled to clarify the application of the law. The most important among them are those given by the judiciary, in particular the RF Armed Forces. His reviews of practice with specific examples or general explanations in the Resolutions of the plenary sessions play a serious role, their goal is to unify the application of legislation.
The meaning of the right phenomenon
The law is structured in such a way that a person or organization cannot be held accountable if there are partial signs of a violation. In some cases, accountability is either meaningless or harmful.
We must not forget the main goals of sentencing:
- prevent new violations;
- protect the interests of society and its individual members.
The involvement of the perpetrator without taking into account circumstances excluding administrative responsibility makes these tasks impossible.
And the restrictions imposed or coercive measures will lead to only additional problems, in particular, the authority of the authorities falls.
Something in common with practice
The code has changed repeatedly. Over the past three years, additions and clarifications to Art. 24.5 were entered several times. However, something has remained unchanged. It is enough to have at least one exclusive circumstance to dismiss the case.
It does not matter whether there is a lack of an administrative offense or anything else.
What does it mean? For example, a police officer began to draw up a protocol, fixing a violation of the SDA, but only after a while did he learn that the person involved was less than 16 years old. This alone is enough to dismiss the case. All other facts lose their legal significance.
The case under the law is terminated at any stage of the proceedings, and some officials are waiting for the transfer of materials that have no prospects to court. According to them, the punishment for this is less than for making an independent decision.
What factors exclude liability?
The list of circumstances that exclude bringing to administrative responsibility:
- there is no violation event;
- the absence of a violation, in particular, the guilty person is not 16 years old, which means that he is not fully responsible for his actions;
- the guilty person was in a state of insanity;
- there was an extreme need;
- amnesty law, excluding administrative liability;
- cancellation of an article of the law under which they are prosecuted, unless criminal liability has been introduced for the same violation;
- for the same violations, the citizen was already held accountable, and he was found guilty or not guilty or a criminal case was instituted for the same actions;
- the person involved has died;
- liquidation of a legal entity in respect of which administrative proceedings are being conducted;
- the statute of limitations has expired;
- other circumstances excluding administrative responsibility under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
All of the items listed below are disclosed.
No violation event
There is no act or omission that could be interpreted as a violation. For example, a driver, in a car, in a parking lot or other place where it is allowed to stop transport, drinks alcohol. A police officer who has noticed this is not entitled to make a complaint until the car with the same person behind the wheel moves.
All other information about a person, his car no longer has legal significance.
Composition of the violation
The composition of the violation is a legal concept. Its elements are signed in the Administrative Code with comments.
It includes three elements:
- objective side;
- subjective side of the act;
- subject of violation.
The first is the visible part of the composition: action or inaction, something that is noticeable to others. For example, sales of alcohol to minors were recorded. However, after a period of time, it turns out that buyers already have the right to purchase alcohol.
The subjective side is the internal state of a person, his attitude to what is happening. In jurisprudence, the term "fault" is used. It can be direct or indirect.
Direct fault - deliberate actions aimed at achieving an illegal result. Indirect is associated with negligence or negligence, a person assumed that the result of his actions or inaction would be a violation of the law.
Subject - a person who is suspected of a violation. Under the subject refers to a person with the ability to commit sane actions to him.
This includes the achievement of a minimum age of administrative responsibility - 16 years, the possession of special rights or capabilities (violation of traffic rules by drivers). A number of articles of the Administrative Code affect persons with a certain status or authority, for example, clauses on violation of the rules for the use of budget funds.
The Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation notes with comments other elements of the violation, but they are highlighted as separate factors that cancel the onset of liability, and are discussed below.
Features of the mental state of a person
Investigating a violation, in particular related to violence or the use of drugs, drugs, study the mental state of a person.
The law contains the term sanity. It is mentioned in Art. 2.8 and in Art. 24.5 Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. This evaluates the ability to control one’s own actions and be aware of them. Often in conversations they mention: “as if the mind had gone behind the mind”, “clouding of the mind” and other similar expressions.
The degree of sanity is determined by the expert opinion. Insanity is typical for mentally ill people with persistent mental disorders, and for those who are temporarily in this state.
The reason for temporary insanity is illnesses, emergency situations (violence, life threat to a loved one, etc.).
It becomes clear whether the person was in a painful condition at the time of the violation or if the mental disorder had no effect.
Mental disorders are an unstable phenomenon, periods of enlightenment and exacerbation are observed. A significant part of patients encounters mental disorders in short periods of time. And just the presence of the disease is not enough to determine the degree of sanity.
Urgent need
The term is used in Art. 24.5 Administrative Code and in other its provisions. An urgent need is the conditions under which the infliction of harm, the violation of another interest protected by law, relieve a person from liability.
The threat to individual rights, state or public interests could not be eliminated by other methods. The result from the actions or inaction of the person must be proportionate to the harm prevented.The eliminated threat must be real, not imagined. As a rule, we are talking about situations where you need to act quickly and there is no time and opportunity to look for another way.
For example, in which case a driver delivering a person to a hospital is exempted from responsibility for speeding?
- there is a real threat of death or serious ill health;
- there is no other way to deliver a person to the hospital or to do it on time;
- no harm to other people or property.
The actions of a person driving a car while intoxicated are also evaluated.
If at least one of the three conditions is absent, accountability cannot be avoided.
Legislative changes
According to the law, administrative liability cases are terminated or citizens are exempted from liability if:
- the article of the Code of Administrative Offenses or another law on the basis of which the case was initiated was repealed
- amnesty declared.
Amnesty means the termination of cases under certain articles that have already begun and there is no final decision on them. If cases are considered, citizens are exempted from punishment. Punishment is canceled in whole or in part.
The amnesty law is issued by the lower house of parliament. He may exclude certain categories of citizens, for example, those who have previously been held liable for a year for the same violations.
Prohibition of double punishment
The law prohibits punishment twice for the same action. A vivid example of administrative responsibility: a citizen got into an accident, and a decision was made on punishment. Once again, it cannot be brought in for the same accident.
If a decision is made by which a person is found not guilty, the opening of a new production is prohibited.
If the deadline has expired and no substantive decision has been made, the proceedings are terminated and the question of guilt is prohibited.
Not so long ago, a new trend emerged. For some acts committed for the first time, citizens are brought to administrative responsibility. For the same actions committed during the period when the person is considered previously involved, a criminal case is already being instituted. The basis for it is the earlier ruling and reports of police officers.
For example, they are similarly held accountable for evading or refusing to pay child support.
Similarly, they attract citizens for illegal rallies or meetings in a public place.
The death of a person or the termination of an organization
The death of a person means the cessation of all his rights and duties, some of them become an inheritance, part disappears completely. The second option extends to any example of administrative responsibility.
If the organization is involved, the death of the director or other involved official exempts only them. In relation to the legal entity, proceedings continue.
It is subject to termination from the moment of liquidation of the organization, which is considered the cancellation of the entries from the register of organizations, it does not matter, by decision of the court or the founders of the organization.
Statutes of limitations
What circumstances preclude administrative responsibility in addition to those described previously? Statutes of limitations, their expiration.
Two accounting options are proposed:
- from the date of the violation;
- from the moment of its identification by the relevant authority.
If it was produced by other officials, the materials are sent to the competent authority. Timing also continues to flow.
If the material should be submitted to the court, the statute of limitations for administrative liability is 3 months, if another body - 2 months.
When it comes to special law (driving, other mechanical means, hunting, storage of weapons, etc.), the period of time for prosecution is 12 months from the date of the commission or detection of a violation.
In case of violations of the antimonopoly legislation and the commission of certain other violations, the terms are calculated from the moment the decision was made by the commission that revealed the violation.
For violations in the Antarctic, the calculation of time begins after the transfer of materials to an official.
Thus, the statute of limitations for administrative responsibility is taken into account in different ways.
Other circumstances
They are indicated directly in the notes to the articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses. For example, a citizen is not held accountable for the purchase of drugs or drugs without a prescription for his own use, if he passed them in advance.
The law also contains reservations that exclude or abrogate the use of notes and the described example of administrative responsibility is not the only one of this kind.
Circumstances mitigating liability for an administrative offense
They are listed in Art. 4.2. Codex. Their presence in the case does not exempt from liability, but the body that makes the decision, imposing the punishment, is obliged to choose the most mild option.
The law does not limit officials to a list of this article or other provisions of the code. As mitigating circumstances, it is permitted to take into account other factors or circumstances not provided for by law. In comparison, aggravating factors are taken into account provided that they are directly indicated by the code.