Each action of a person entails certain consequences. If the action of the individual was a violation of any charter or set of rules, most likely the result will be negative. One of the main costs of the military profession is strict discipline, the violation of which can be severely punished by law or internal statute.
In this article, you will learn in detail about the list of gross disciplinary offenses of military personnel, about their characteristic properties and what consequences they may entail.
The essence of disciplinary misconduct
According to Article 48 of the Disciplinary Statute of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, a gross disciplinary offense is the absolute or partial failure to fulfill a certain range of duties or internal statute, as well as various offenses of the public regime. Punishment for disciplinary offenses is applied only if there is no possibility or substantial reason for bringing a person to administrative or criminal liability.
With regard to violations of military personnel, regardless of the army rank, each soldier or officer can be brought to trial for gross disciplinary offenses.
It is also worth noting that in order to hold any individual accountable, solid and undeniable evidence is needed. Otherwise, a request for a penalty will be canceled.
Disciplinary misconduct by military personnel
The list of gross disciplinary offenses of the servants of the motherland is governed primarily by the Military Charter, as well as the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. It is worth noting that, like civilians, each soldier has his own chief. It is the commander of a unit that determines whether there is enough evidence to impose responsibility on the subordinate and what kind of penalty he will incur. Penalties for gross disciplinary misconduct are distinguished by the severity of the violation itself and are established in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and the Military Charter, as well as various internal statutes, regulations and local covenants. There are two groups of disciplinary misconduct that will be discussed below.
Categories of gross disciplinary misconduct
The first group of disciplinary offenses is less severe, and therefore the penalties for them are less stringent. The military charter of the Russian Federation records the following violations of the servants of the motherland:
- non-compliance with the rules of statutory communication between army representatives;
groundless absence of a soldier from the place of duty;
the absence of a person liable for duty after the expiration of the sick leave, vacation or business trip (without good reason);
non-appearance of a soldier under a contract for a workplace for more than three hours.
The unit commander punishes gross disciplinary offenses in accordance with legal standards and in the presence of solid evidence, and also chooses a preventive measure. As a rule, penalties for the first group are less severe.
The second group of gross disciplinary offenses is more substantial. Theoretically, a minister of the homeland could be held administratively responsible for them, but these violations are regulated by the Military Charter of the Russian Federation. Such misconduct includes:
improper performance of official duties or appointments entrusted to a liable person;
failure to comply with statutory rules and orders of higher colleagues during patrols or on duty;
causing physical, mental or material harm to a fellow employee;
damage to the state property of any unit;
groundless spending of money allocated by the unit commander to a military man;
careless use of explosive, radioactive and military devices, as well as complete disregard for instructions;
non-compliance with the code of operation of military equipment and various equipment;
stay in the office in alcohol or drug intoxication, as well as in a state of mental disorder;
concealment of essential information by the unit commander;
ignoring the term of annulment of punishment for disciplinary offenses;
deviation from liability by military personnel.
The most severe penalties apply for this list of gross disciplinary offenses. Later in the article you will learn about the types of penalties for the above violations of the first and second groups.
Penalties for misconduct
For the first group of disciplinary misconduct, the legislation of the Russian Federation regulates such types of punishments as:
reprimand;
strict reprimand for a specific period;
removal of a serviceman from the nearest dismissal;
reprimand with the possibility of further loss of rank or position.
The second group of penalties includes more severe penalties, which are enshrined in the Military Charter of the Russian Federation. They include:
confiscation of the insignia of a military liable person, which may entail the loss of any status;
reduction of the minister of the homeland in a military post or rank;
elimination of contract services earlier than prescribed;
expulsion of a military person from educational institutions (cadet corps, various military schools, relevant institutes);
Appointment of disciplinary arrest on an individual;
granting refusal to participate in military training;
removal from seasonal military training.
Disciplinary Offenses
According to the materials on gross disciplinary offenses, each boss must thoroughly check the evidence indicating the participation of a soldier in the commission of an unlawful act. Also, if the misconduct was committed by a group of persons liable for military service, as a rule, all participants in what is happening are required to provide explanations in writing. If the offender refuses to state the reasons for the misconduct on paper, then his guilt will be proved automatically. It is worth noting that even after this trial of gross disciplinary offenses will not be closed, and the commander will have to report on the status of the audit to senior management.
Accountability system
An individual committing an action from the list of gross disciplinary misconduct entails a certain verification procedure for specific criteria:
The place, time and date of the commission of the illegal action.
The essence of the violation (the severity of the misconduct).
Personal data on a group of persons who were participants in any misconduct.
The motives and circumstances of the disciplinary offense (information about what specifically prompted the soldier to commit an illegal act).
Evidence of guilty offender.
Data from the personal file of a military person.
Determining the consequences of gross disciplinary misconduct.
Mitigating and aggravating circumstances.
Other details of the violation that may be important in the proceedings.
It is worth noting that detailed data collection and thorough verification are the direct responsibility of management. Failure to comply with this procedure is included in the list of gross disciplinary offenses.
Distinctive features of the liability process
In order to fairly recover the serviceman, in the course of the proceedings, the management is obliged to collect the necessary information about what happened and to analyze the situation in detail. The following service materials belong to the evidence base:
testimony, which are executed in writing;
video and audio recordings, as well as photographs from the scene of the violation, material evidence;
medical expert opinion, if necessary.
Refusal to undergo a medical examination is an aggravating circumstance. In this case, the soldier’s guilt will be proved automatically. However, this examination may also confirm the absence of fault of the suspect in violation, in which case the possible recovery will be canceled.
Possibility of annulment of liability
There are a number of specific circumstances under which penalties for gross disciplinary offenses will not be carried out, and a potential violator will be found not guilty. These factors include the following situations:
self-defense;
ensuring the safety of civilians;
defense in various dangerous situations;
protecting the interests of the country and the army.
It is worth noting that the commensurability and the need for a disciplinary offense is of paramount importance. In addition to the above circumstances, the Military Code clearly spells out other factors that prevent the possibility of punishment by military personnel. These include:
execution of the order of the commander;
committing an unlawful act upon the arrest of a criminal or transfer to a higher unit;
an unlawful act was committed under uncontrolled circumstances or under duress;
lack of any evidence;
the suspect has psychiatric abnormalities.
In addition to factors that exclude the possibility of punishment, there are extenuating circumstances that can reduce the severity of the misconduct.
How to “mitigate” the punishment for a soldier?
During the investigation, management is required to pay attention to certain factors that prove that the suspect’s motives were not intentional or cruel. The military charter of the Russian Federation regulates the following conditions for mitigating punishment:
sincere repentance and admission of guilt by the suspects;
unauthorized informing the commander of the violation;
the performance of certain actions to prevent disciplinary misconduct;
voluntary attempt to eliminate the damage or monetary compensation;
commission of an offense in a state of affect (proven mental disorders exclude the possibility of imposing punishment, but do not “mitigate” it).
It is worth noting that even after a sentence has been passed by the unit commander, a soldier, as well as a member of his family or a service associate, may file for re-examination of the case in the manner prescribed by law.