The concept of an administrative offence
An administrative offence is an unlawful, culpable (intentional or negligent) act or omission that infringes upon state or public order, property, citizens’ rights and freedoms, or the established order of governance, for which the laws provide administrative liability.
An administrative offence is the failure to comply with legal norms, the non-fulfilment of a specific legal duty, or its improper fulfilment.
Characteristics of an administrative offence:
- Dangerousness and harm to society. (it constitutes an attack on certain social relations and on the established order in society; moral, physical, material, or other types of harm are caused to these relations and order).
- Unlawfulness. (a dangerous, socially harmful act or omission is prohibited by law, and such behaviour is considered an administrative offence. However, what is not prohibited by law and not required by legal norms cannot be regarded as an administrative offence, even if it is immoral or antisocial).
- Fault (culpability). (without fault, there is no administrative offence. This means that a socially dangerous and legally prohibited act (or omission) must be committed culpably – either intentionally or negligently. An act cannot be considered an administrative offence if committed by a person in a state of insanity, i.e. unable to understand the nature of their actions or control them due to mental illness, temporary mental disorder, intellectual disability, or another pathological condition).
- Punishability of the act. (for an administrative offence, the person found guilty is subject to measures of administrative liability provided for by law – penalties).
An act committed in a state of necessity is not regarded as an administrative offence. Therefore, an act carried out to avoid danger to human life and health cannot be considered an administrative offence if the harm caused is less than the harm avoided.