Warning in administrative law
The legislation of the Russian Federation is aimed at preventing all types of offenses.
The main goal of all types of administrative measures is to reduce their number. The preventive measures used are aimed at both offenders and persons who may become them. What is a warning? First of all, a warning is an administrative penalty. Article 3.3. The Code classifies it as one of the main types of punishment. It cannot be used as an additional one. In the rank of administrative measures, this is the mildest punishment. Its consequences for the punished are minimal. Features of a warning as a type of punishment:
- warning is a type of liability that applies to both individuals and legal entities;
- the content of the warning is official censure;
- An administrative warning cannot be applied when the offense has signs of high social danger and is committed repeatedly;
- A warning is used only as a primary punishment.
What is a warning under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation
A sanction such as a warning is an official censure of a citizen or organization. The censure is issued on behalf of the state and must be in writing.
The general conditions for the application of such a measure of influence are provided for in Article 3.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation:
- a warning can be issued only for the first time an act has been committed (in case of repeated violations of the law, a court or other body will apply other sanctions);
- the actions of the guilty person should not result in negative consequences in the form of harm to health, the environment, state and public interests, or property damage;
- This form of censure can be used if this sanction is directly indicated in the article of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (except in the case of replacing a monetary fine with a written censure).
Article 4.1.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation contains a rule on replacing a fine with a warning. This is allowed only in relation to small and medium-sized businesses (individual entrepreneurs or organizations), as well as their employees. A fine imposed based on the results of control and supervisory inspections can be replaced by a warning. It is impossible to replace fines imposed for the offenses listed in Part 2 of Art. 4.1.1. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
A warning is the mildest sanction under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. However, it may be the basis for toughening punishment for a repeated offense under the same composition of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. This rule is valid during the period of bringing to administrative responsibility - 1 year from the date of the decision (Article 4.6 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). If this period has expired and the citizen or organization has not committed repeated violations of the law, the punishment is canceled.
An oral reprimand, which is announced upon termination of an administrative case, should not be confused with a warning. A reprimand is not a punitive measure and does not entail any additional consequences. In fact, a remark has educational and preventive functions, as it indicates the inevitability of punishment for misconduct. A separate protocol is not drawn up for announcing a remark, whereas a warning is recorded in exactly this form.
Issue form
A warning as a type of administrative punishment is always issued in writing. Citizens often confuse verbal comments from law enforcement officers or supervisory authorities with the imposition of real penalties.
Is a verbal warning an administrative penalty? Of course not. A verbal reprimand will not be a punishment. Indeed, officials can release the offender from liability and limit themselves to conversation. They are authorized to classify the offense as minor.
The logical question is: in what form is a warning issued? A protocol on an administrative offense is not drawn up. The violator is given a second copy of the decision against signature. If there is a third party, a copy is made for them. Copies can also be sent by registered mail within three days from the date of the decision.
Conditional administrative warnings are divided into the following types:
- a general warning, which states public rejection of the violation and calls for compliance with the law in the future (a protocol is issued indicating the content of the violation);
- a special warning with the use of measures limiting a repeat offense (for example, a weapon, equipment, or special means with which the violation was committed is confiscated from a citizen or organization).
What is a warning?
If you ask a random driver how a warning is issued for violating traffic rules, in 90 percent of cases you will receive the answer that it is a verbal warning.
Let's consider article 3.4 of the Administrative Code:
1. A warning is a measure of administrative punishment expressed in official censure of an individual or legal entity. The warning is issued in writing.
2. A warning is established for administrative offenses committed for the first time in the absence of causing harm or a threat of harm to the life and health of people, objects of flora and fauna, the environment, objects of cultural heritage (historical and cultural monuments) of the peoples of the Russian Federation, state security, threats of emergency situations of natural and man-made nature, as well as in the absence of property damage.
So, the warning is given in writing . Those. the driver receives a warning order.
In practice, issuing a warning takes exactly the same amount of time as issuing a fine. That is why traffic police officers rarely issue warnings. If the policeman undertakes to draw up the paperwork, then he will issue a punishment in the form of a fine.
If the driver received an oral reprimand, then we can assume that the driver was not punished at all.
Of course, a warning is the preferred punishment for the driver, because... in practice, the driver simply receives an order. At the same time, he does not have to pay anything (fines) and nothing is taken away from him (the right to drive, freedom in case of arrest, etc.).
However, receiving a violation does have some consequences. They will be discussed below.
Measures
The administrative warning measures that the police can use look completely different. They are not a punishment, but a measure of administrative coercion. Used for the following purposes:
- directly to prevent crime;
- to limit circumstances that threaten the public and personal safety of citizens.
Administrative warning measures are restrictions of an administrative and legal nature, administrative and compulsory actions against a citizen or official.
The first group of measures is used to prevent immediate threats or undesirable consequences for people and society. For example, closing streets or sections of the road where accidents occurred, landslides, or downed power lines.
The second group of measures applies to citizens with antisocial behavior. An example is maintaining administrative supervision over those released from prison.
Authorized persons
Only specially authorized officials can use administrative penalties in their work. Their circle is clearly defined by the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. This list includes:
- commissions on juvenile affairs;
- tax authorities and tax police authorities;
- internal affairs bodies;
- customs and export control authorities;
- border guard agencies and troops;
- state labor inspectorates;
- bodies of State Epidemiological Surveillance, fisheries protection, state environmental control;
- state supervision authorities, transport inspection;
- FAS, Rospotrebnadzor, state housing inspection bodies and many others.
In total, more than 60 bodies and officials can initiate the issuance of an administrative warning.
Reasons for use
In what cases is an administrative warning established:
- a citizen or legal entity commits an offense for the first time;
- the offense did not lead to harm to the life and health of people, objects of the surrounding flora and fauna, or cultural heritage;
- there is no threat of emergency situations, nothing threatens the security of the state;
- there is no property or material damage.
Consequently, a warning as a type of administrative punishment is issued only for minor offenses.
When is a warning issued instead of a fine?
A warning is a rather mild punishment, and, accordingly, it can be issued for a not very serious and dangerous offense.
A warning may be issued if:
- the administrative offense was committed for the first time;
- an administrative offense did not cause harm, did not provoke a threat of harm to the life and health of people, the environment, cultural heritage sites, state security, or a threat to emergency situations.
A warning as an administrative punishment can be imposed even if the article does not provide for this type of punishment (warning) for a specific administrative offense.
The Code of Administrative Offenses provides options for replacing administrative punishment in the form of an administrative fine with a warning in the presence of the same circumstances as those mentioned above.
Interesting on the topic:
The administrative fine can be reduced by 50%
When administrative measures can be applied
Let us remind you that an administrative warning can be applied to both individuals and legal entities.
If the decision on an administrative warning has entered into force, the person is considered subject to administrative punishment. In some exceptional cases, administrative measures may be applied to the violator. They are usually aimed at ensuring the execution of administrative punishment. This could be an inspection of things and goods, document verification, removal from driving, driving, and others.
Punishment in the form of a warning to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation
Who can receive a warning?
Let us turn to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation:
Legal entities receive an unambiguous warning if an article of the Code states that a violation entails a warning. For example, Article 8.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
If your enterprise is a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), and earlier during the year it was not brought to administrative responsibility for similar offenses, as a result of this violation there was no harm to the environment or there was a threat of harm to the environment, then it is quite possible that you You can get an administrative fine replaced with a warning.
Therefore, the conditions for receiving a warning are:
- your enterprise is an SME,
- earlier during the year your company was not brought to administrative responsibility (for any offense committed, not only environmental!!!),
- as a result of the violation there was no harm to the environment or there was no threat of harm to the environment.
Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation Article 4.1.1. Replacement of administrative punishment in the form of an administrative fine with a warning
1. Those who are small and medium-sized businesses, persons engaged in business activities without forming a legal entity, and legal entities, as well as their employees, for the first time committed an administrative offense identified during the implementation of state control (supervision), municipal control, in cases where the appointment administrative punishment in the form of a warning is not provided for by the relevant article of Section II of this Code or the law of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation on administrative offenses, administrative punishment in the form of an administrative fine is subject to replacement with a warning in the presence of circumstances provided for in Part 2 of Article 3.4 of this Code, except for the cases provided for in Part 2 of this article.
Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation Article 3.4. Warning 1. Warning is a measure of administrative punishment expressed in official censure of an individual or legal entity. The warning is issued in writing. 2. A warning is established for administrative offenses committed for the first time in the absence of causing harm or a threat of harm to the life and health of people , objects of flora and fauna, the environment, objects of cultural heritage (historical and cultural monuments) of the peoples of the Russian Federation, state security, threats of emergency situations of natural and man-made nature, as well as in the absence of property damage.
