ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES. DEFENSE AND REPRESENTATION

Issues with the law and meeting with government representatives may not be liked by many, but at the same time, no one is immune from problems that may arise from such meetings. If a meeting did take place and problems have arisen or are brewing, in our opinion, the only correct solution would be to defend your rights and fight for them.

However, it so happens that people tend to view administrative responsibility as something insignificant or lesser compared to criminal responsibility, and often even without considering themselves guilty, they decide to pay a fine instead of defending their rights. We do not condemn such decisions, as only the one held responsible has the right to decide whether to fight against it or not, but we do not agree with this position.

This publication is addressed more to those who disagree with being held accountable and intend to fight for their rights, but we also do not rule out that it may come in handy for those who have already decided to pay the fine without fighting for their rights.

First of all, it should be noted that the prevailing public opinion about lesser responsibility for administrative offenses compared to criminal liability is not always accurate. There are several articles in the Ukrainian Code on Administrative Offenses where the responsibility is much heavier than for certain criminal offenses. Moreover, the legal nature of administrative responsibility is essentially similar to criminal responsibility, as it is also public, related to the application of state coercion, initiated by authorities with governing authority, and the imposed sanctions, as mentioned above, can be quite significant for the individual.

In paragraph 21 of the European Court of Human Rights decision in the case “Nadtochiy v. Ukraine” dated May 15, 2008, it is noted that the Government of Ukraine recognized the criminal legal nature of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses.

Furthermore, in paragraph 39 of the European Court of Human Rights decision in the case of “Luchaninova v. Ukraine” dated June 9, 2011, the Court noted that due to the general nature of the legislative provision and the preventive and punitive purposes of penalties provided for by the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, proceedings in such cases are criminal for the purposes of applying the Convention.

As we can see, there is no need to talk about the “pettiness” of cases of administrative offenses.

Of course, attracting administrative responsibility will not result in a criminal record, but in these cases, there is the penalty of arrest, which will certainly not please anyone. Not to mention the corruption offenses with a whole range of consequences for a public official if they are held accountable. Most importantly, along with being held responsible, certain facts may be established: on one hand, the person’s guilt in committing an administrative offense, and on the other hand, the documentation of a certain event that will have prejudicial significance for another court.

For example, a road traffic accident occurred and a person was found guilty. They believe that a small fine is not worth worrying about. However, such a decision establishes the fact of guilt in the accident and may have further consequences, such as compensation for material and moral damages. There are known cases when a person, after a road traffic accident, did not worry too much about the consequences and did not even attend the court hearing, believing that the fine imposed for the accident was not worth participating in court sessions. However, after the decision in the case of an administrative offense has legal force, the victim turned to the court in a civil procedure for compensation for damages, the court imposed a seizure on the apartment and ultimately awarded compensation equal to the value of that apartment.

Cases involving motor vehicle accidents, such as violations of traffic rules leading to accidents, driving under the influence, and others, are the most common.

Regarding driving under the influence of alcohol (known as article 130 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), in recent years, the consideration of cases related to administrative offenses under article 130 of the Code of Administrative Offenses has drawn the attention of several public organizations. These cases are under the supervision of the leadership of law enforcement agencies, and violations in handling these cases often lead to judges being held accountable for disciplinary actions.

A significant part of this category of cases, especially in recent years, consists of corruption offenses, as well as cases of domestic violence and others.

The Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses covers not only violations recorded by the patrol police. A protocol on an administrative offense can also be drawn up by various institutions and organizations, starting from the fisheries inspection and ending with even the head of the Bar Association of the respective region.

It is worth noting that not all cases of administrative offenses are considered by the court. There are certain offenses for which a person may be held accountable on the spot by the person who notices the offense, through the issuance of a relevant decision.

Let the process in a case of administrative offense be significantly simplified compared to the criminal one, but within its framework, the person subject to administrative liability has rights, including the right to legal assistance by a lawyer in administrative offenses.

When providing services in this category of cases, an administrative lawyer will first review the available materials and outline the perspective of the case. If the client wishes to fight the charges, the administrative lawyer will try to gather evidence to prove the innocence of the client (such as video footage from surveillance cameras, witness statements, etc.) through the legal possibilities available to them. If the client disagrees with the decision to hold them accountable for administrative responsibility issued immediately at the scene of the violation, the administrative lawyer may file a lawsuit to cancel such a decision in court.

As mentioned above, the court process in a case of administrative offense is significantly simplified compared to criminal proceedings, but it is still based on the principles of the rule of law. Therefore, when hearing such a case, the court will not restrict the person facing administrative liability from exercising their rights to submit evidence, provide explanations, make objections, examine witnesses, request evidence, etc.

In administrative offense proceedings, the role of a lawyer in administrative offenses is extremely significant, starting from gathering evidence, to initiating a court process or challenging decisions in a case being heard by the court.

To defend or not, independently or with the help of a lawyer in administrative misconduct cases, is the right of every individual. However, in our opinion, everyone has the right to be heard and the right to present their arguments. Therefore, it is not coincidental that this is mentioned in the epigraph to this publication, as we believe this view is most relevant to this category of cases, where most people believe that such cases are dealt with formally.

Take advantage of our advice and you will see that protecting your rights can be fully done, and the legal profession can help you with it as the only organization in the country that is responsible for defending individuals, including those subjected to administrative liability.