Let's talk about what legal liability is. This concept is not easy for an ordinary citizen. What is the meaning of it? First of all, these are measures and methods of state influence on the offender. Citizens are responsible before the law for their actions. And also in front of society. This is a moral aspect (conscience). In our article we will talk about what is legal liability. The concept, goals, principles of these legal relations will be examined by us in detail. So...
Positive and retrospective responsibility
There is a concept of positive responsibility. We can say that this is the need to comply with legal standards, to be responsible for their misconduct and deeds that a person may commit in the future. Along with this, jurisprudence distinguishes retrospective responsibility. It is already imposed for committed acts. That is, this application to the violator of measures of state influence, legal sanctions for the offense.
There is a kind of relationship between the state and the guilty citizen, in which the first side, in the form of the relevant authorities, can apply punishment to a person in order to restore the rule of law. The violator, in turn, must be convicted, and therefore deprived of certain benefits, which entails negative consequences. Which ones?
Consequences of legal liability
The consequences may be different:
1. Personal (for example, imprisonment or execution).
2. Property, such as fines, confiscation of property (full or partial), etc.
3. Prestigious. This may include reprimand or deprivation of any rewards.
4. Organizational (dismissal, closure of the organization).
5. A combination of consequences is also possible.
General concept of legal liability
Legal liability is usually compulsory-state in nature. It is certainly associated with deprivation, which means that it is accompanied by infliction of a certain damage on the perpetrator, threatens to restrict some freedoms and interests.
State actions in the field of coercion are carried out strictly by law. The subjects of legal liability are the court, the police, the prosecutor's office and other institutions involved in the investigation of offenses. You can only be held responsible if certain conditions exist: the illegality of the acts, the proven guilt, the harm done, the causal relationship between the act and the result.
Therefore, legal liability:
- It is based on state coercion (this is a form of imposing sanctions of legal norms).
- It comes after the commission of the offense, has a public discussion.
- It is expressed in the onset of negative consequences for the offender, which are mandatory for him, and which were not prior to the commission of the offense. Deprivations can be of a personal and property nature.
- Performed in procedural form.
Legal responsibility: concept, features, goals
We have examined the very concept of this kind of legal relationship, and now let's talk about the signs.
Legal responsibility:
- It is imposed only for those actions that are regulated by legal norms.
- It comes only for those acts that are committed, and not for intentions.
- It is imposed by certain government agencies.
- Provides for coercion of the offender to the performance of duties.
- For the same offense, a person is responsible only once.
All of these features are required. In the absence of even one of them, they say that there is no legal liability.
Principles, functions, goals of legal liability
Responsibility - the need to take the offender in advance of the state sanctions in the prescribed manner. Her social need is reflected in the functions. The functions and objectives of legal liability are an integral part of jurisprudence. Let's give this issue a separate attention.
So, there are the following functions of legal liability:
- Punitive (it is also called a penalty box). Its purpose is to prevent the repetition of similar actions in the future, to commit an act of punishment for the deed.
- Recovery (to recover losses, restore the violated right, etc.).
- Educational, which is a means of preventive work with offenses.
- Security - monitors the correct operation of the machine of legal regulation, while being an element of regulation, one of the many means of influence on social and public relations.
- Security. It acts as a means of protecting and protecting the rule of law in the state.
- Private Preventive. The use of measures against the offender prevents them from committing similar acts in the future.
- General preventive. The punishment of one citizen is the prevention of offenses by other members of society.
As can be understood from the above, all the functions of legal responsibility are equally important and are determined by the goals for which it is carried out.
Principles
Specialists in the field of legal relations point to the fact that the principles, functions, goals of legal liability are closely intertwined with each other. Moreover, these concepts cannot exist separately. We will not argue with professionals, just try to make sure, albeit theoretically, whether this is so. We have already considered two points, we pass to the third.
There are a lot of principles of legal responsibility defining its norms and limits. Among them, the main ones can be distinguished:
- The principle of legality. It consists in the accurate and consistent implementation of the requirements of the law in the implementation of criminal, civil, administrative, disciplinary liability. Compliance with these requirements is a necessary condition for achieving the goals of this kind of legal relationship.
- The principle of guilty liability . This means that if a citizen could not foresee what the results of his act would be, and did not want them to come, he could not control his actions, then legal liability does not occur.
- Justice . For the wrongful act is the one who committed it. With all this, it is possible to punish the guilty person for the same act only once, and when assigning the punishment, the severity of the crime must be taken into account. A law establishing or enhancing liability cannot be retroactive.
- Individualization . It makes it possible to choose different means of legal influence, taking into account the level of social danger of the acts, nature and personality of the accused, mitigating and aggravating circumstances.
- Inevitability . It implies a clear attack, the inevitability of responsibility. Here it is not even so much about mandatory sanctions against offenders (for old people, children, a pregnant woman, the application of measures is not always advisable), but about the unambiguous reaction of the relevant authorities and officials. The offense must be announced, and the offender is criticized and convicted by law enforcement agencies (with regard to the above persons, sentencing can be delayed or applied conditionally).
- The speedy onset of legal liability . This principle says: if the period between the offense and the onset of punishment for it is quite large, then the sanctions may be irrelevant, have no sense, do not meet current social requirements.
- Validity . All facts of the case that are important in a legal sense should be established.
- Expediency . According to the norms, a punishment is selected that will be as consistent as possible with the essence of the law and the circumstances in which the offense was committed.
Responsibility Objectives
As already mentioned, the functions of the legal relations under consideration are determined by their goals, which means that they are interconnected. So, we move on to the next paragraph of our topic. What are the goals of legal liability? Just want to note that there are several. However, they all have something in common. What exactly? The main objectives of legal liability are to restore order in society, punish the perpetrator and, of course, restore justice. And now let's discuss all these points in more detail.
In general, for a deeper disclosure of the topic “Legal responsibility: signs, goals”, one should start by considering the role of such relations in society. Even Wiener wrote that until society itself has decided what it wants for offenders — isolation, atonement, education — there will be confusion and confusion in which one crime gives rise to another. The goals of legal responsibility, therefore, are to represent the ideal model of the subjects of society about the results of their actions. It is they who determine the nature of actions aimed at their achievement. But here there are some nuances.
Firstly, it must be said that legal liability is imposed with the aim of punishing the offender in order to restore justice. Of course, the principle of "an eye for an eye" has long been a thing of the past, but the idea of reckoning for committed acts exists; Naturally, the punishment depends on the severity of the misconduct.
Secondly, the goals of legal liability are also the re-education of the offender, as well as the work to prevent this citizen from committing misconduct in the future. After returning from prison or after paying a fine, a person remains in society and continues to live and work. Society itself is interested in a person who is not embittered by punishment, but who is aware of his guilt.
Thirdly, legal responsibility is also applied for educational purposes for everyone around, in order to prevent unlawful acts on their part. Otherwise, they may be punished and deprived of personal wealth.
Fourthly, such responsibility is aimed at restoring the state of the victim, at reimbursing material losses and moral harm.
Thus, the goals of legal liability are to preserve the existing way of life in society and the rule of law.
Types of legal liability
We examined what legal liability is. The purpose and its types are inextricably linked. The degree of responsibility and penalties always depend on the severity of the offense itself. Next, we consider the types of legal liability.
1. Criminal . She comes only for a crime. Criminal prosecution is the prerogative of the court. And only this body determines the measure of punishment.
Crime refers to socially dangerous acts, which are described in the Criminal Code. In Art. 14 of the Criminal Code gives a clear definition of this concept. The most severe coercive measures are envisaged for him, which seriously limit the rights of a convicted citizen (deprivation of rights and liberty, considerable periods of work, fines). Moreover, a person can be held responsible not only for actions that have already been committed, but also for complicity, attempt, preparation. Only a court recognizes a person as guilty of a crime; he also prescribes punishment in accordance with procedural rules (see the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Enforcing a verdict is governed by penal laws. Persons who have served their sentences still have a criminal record. In this case, legal liability measures: capital punishment, imprisonment, etc.
2. Administrative . He comes for violations of public order. The law states that administrative punishment is a measure for committing an unlawful act, misconduct. It is used to prevent new offenses by both the offender and other people. Its purpose cannot be causing suffering, harming the reputation of a citizen. The following measures are envisaged for the commission of such offenses:
- warning;
- fine (administrative);
- seizure of the object of an illegal act;
- confiscation of the instrument of offense;
- deprivation of the rights of an individual;
- arrest (administrative) ;
- suspension of activities (administrative);
- disqualification.
In relation to legal entities, the measures specified in 1-4 paragraphs are applied. According to the general rules, a penalty for an administrative violation can be imposed no later than two months after the commission of the offense. The penalties and bodies authorized to consider such cases, the proceedings on them and the procedure for the execution of decisions on the case are determined by the Administrative Code.
3 . Civil . It is used for non-compliance with property rights. For example, failure to comply with the terms of contracts, damage to property or the company, signing an illegal transaction, copyright infringement, etc. The main penalty is damages, restoration of violated rights, etc.
4. Disciplinary . It is a consequence of a violation of military, service, training, labor, discipline. For misconduct, or rather, non-fulfillment or poor performance by the employee of the duties assigned to him, employers can apply the following types of punishments: remarks, reprimand, dismissal under certain articles. Other employee penalties may apply to certain categories of employees, in accordance with federal law. Penalties that are not specified in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation are unacceptable.
An employee may appeal the sentence to the state labor inspectorate or to organizations considering individual labor disputes.
5. Material . It comes for damage to the employer. As a rule, it is limited by the average monthly income of an employee. In full, it can be assigned to an employee only if the offenses committed by him are indicated in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 243 or other laws of the Russian Federation.
Workers who are less than eighteen years of age can be fully punished only if they intentionally inflict material damage, as well as if they cause harm in a state of drug or alcohol intoxication.
A feature of material and civil liability is that damage can be compensated voluntarily by those who caused it, and in case of refusal - in court.
Thus, the main objectives of legal liability are the protection of order and the restoration of all violated rights.
Justice and legal liability
Problems of legal liability are among the oldest in legal literature and are eternal and relevant at all times. The concepts of legal liability and justice are very closely interconnected.
It is believed that justice is one of the eternal values of law. This problem is currently the main one in the philosophy of the mentioned category of social relations. Even at the time of Cicero, this topic was considered from the point of view of revenge for some actions.
The reason for prosecution can only be an offense. To implement it, you need a special document, an act that contains information about the forms and extent of punishments applicable to a particular person. It can be both a court verdict and a decision of the chief. If the reasons for exemption provided for by law are not indicated, then the offender will face serious punishment.
Fair treatment of someone or something requires impartiality. The law must affirm the equality of people and have the support of most citizens. Then he will be fair, and his violation will be a violation of justice. In this case, legal liability is its protection and guarantor. The criteria for choosing a fair punishment are the degree of social danger of the offender, the amount of guilt, circumstances of the case (extenuating or aggravating) and, of course, the culprit. Absolutely all the nuances of the incident should be taken into account by the judge when considering the case.
According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, justice is administered only by the court. The judicial branch includes the following types of proceedings: administrative, criminal, arbitration and civil law. But how do you define the concept of justice? These are actions aimed at resolving social conflicts on the basis of legislation. And in a simpler interpretation, justice is the work of the courts in considering civil, administrative, and criminal cases on the basis of fair legislation. The judiciary, in fact, performs the functions of justice, control of the rule of law, and coercive measures applied, confirms the facts that are important in a legal sense. Since its inception, it is inextricably linked with law, while having a legal form of expression. , , . .
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