Excess of official authority. Art. 285 of the Criminal Code with comments

Corruption and the crimes connected with it, exist in the world since ancient times. However, it was with the development of the market that a bright surge of such crime occurred. And this is not surprising. After all, since then, the use of official position for personal and mercenary purposes has brought a significant income. In European countries for more than two hundred years, the law prescribed a ban on corruption. In Russia, for illegal activities carried out with the help of official powers, liability under Art. 285 of the Criminal Code.

The history of corruption

In Latin, this word means "bribery". In Russian criminology, corruption is defined as a social phenomenon characterized by the sales of civil servants. The Criminal Code contains a number of articles designed to prevent such illegal activities. One of them is art. 285 of the Criminal Code. Comments on this article can be found further. But first of all it should be said that various corruption actions are the most common motive in illegal activities, but far from being the only one.

Service crimes

An official is a citizen who has certain rights necessary for him solely for the performance of his duties. It is for this purpose that he is endowed with such power. But in practice quite often citizens holding executive positions in various state institutions take advantage of opportunities, breaking the boundaries of their official activities.

Crimes related to the misuse of powers are prescribed not only in Art. 285 of the Criminal Code. Actions that are carried out with the help of official opportunities, but which are contrary to the interests of the service, are getting and giving a bribe, forgery, commercial bribery, illegal registration of transactions with land, abuse of authority. Art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation concludes the description of crimes, which are, as a rule, a prerequisite for the above types of violation of the law.

The objective side

Normal, full-fledged work of state bodies is under threat in committing such official crimes, as the acts described in art. 285 of the Criminal Code. Abusing the position, a person occupying a certain position, causes damage primarily to the institution in which he works. Thus, it can be said that the object of this deed is the interests of the public service.

Such an act as abuse of authority, which relies on a person only according to job description, is characterized by certain actions. These actions are performed in spite of the service. They also entail socially dangerous consequences. Official human rights vest the law solely for the performance of their duties. The pursuit of any other purposes within the framework of his service is punishable by law.

Minimal punishment

Selfish or personal interest has nothing to do with government activities. Therefore, in the implementation of such actions, an official, according to Part 1 of Art. 285 of the Criminal Code, may be fined eighty thousand rubles. For such a crime, the deprivation of the right to hold managerial positions in the next five years can serve as punishment. As for the monetary penalty, it does not necessarily represent a fixed amount. In some cases, it can be appointed based on the income of the accused over the past six months.

Other types of punishment

Accused under part 1 of Art. 285 of the Criminal Code can be sentenced by the court to forced labor for four years. The deprivation of liberty is also provided for in this criminal article. The consequences of such acts, first of all, depend on the term of imprisonment. The maximum is ten years. The same forms of punishment are provided for by law in the commission of such crimes as abuse of official authority.

Art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation says that official crimes have more serious consequences for the perpetrator if he, having committed them, held public office and the rights that she assumes, used mostly for selfish and personal purposes. For such an act, various forms of punishment are also envisaged.

What threatens abuse of power to a person holding public office? What could be the verdict? Art. 285 of the Criminal Code provides for the following types of punishment:

• A fine of one hundred to three hundred thousand rubles;
• Forced labor (up to five years);
• Deprivation of liberty (up to seven years).

The fine depends on the income of the accused. In the event that forced labor is punished in accordance with the judge's sentence, the perpetrator is also deprived of the right to hold certain positions for a period of three years.

The subjective side

Who can act as a defendant in a case brought on the basis of the article "Abuse of official authority"? Art. 285 of the Criminal Code provides for punishment for a crime, the object of which may be representatives of the authorities, performing the following functions:

1. Organizational and administrative.
2. Administrative and economic.

Such activities are carried out in various state or municipal institutions, local self-government bodies, as well as armed forces and other military formations.

Symptoms

The crime, which is referred to in Part 1 of Art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, is always connected with direct intent. Acts committed by negligence or negligence are governed by other criminal acts. The motive for the abuse or abuse of authority can be either self-interest or the pursuit of purely personal goals.

Criminal cases under art. 285 of the Criminal Code are instituted as a result of unlawful activities, which may lead to very serious consequences. Such circumstances are prescribed in the third part of this criminal article. And officials brought to criminal responsibility on the basis of Part 3 of Art. 285, can be sentenced to ten years in prison.

Influence on society

In many such crimes, the legitimate interests of citizens act as an additional object. There is no doubt that if a representative of the government actively abuses his powers, this can not but affect ordinary people. In some cases, this effect resembles a delayed-action mine. In others, a negative reflection of illegal activities on the lives of citizens occurs almost instantaneously.

In a number of crimes of this kind, the subject may be the property of citizens and even their health. To establish the fact of the crime, it is necessary to determine the terms of reference of an official. The composition of the crime is regulated by the commentary to art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in a new version.

Expenditure of funds

An official shall be held criminally liable if, by abusing his official position, he carried out misuse of funds. As in other cases, the penalty for such actions may be different. It all depends on the circumstances under which the crime was committed. If such actions were carried out by an official independently, the culprit will have to pay a fine of one hundred to three hundred thousand rubles on the verdict of the court . But if the act is planned by a group of individuals, the amount of the penalty for each of them will be more substantial. Such a form of punishment, like deprivation of liberty, in such a case can also be applied.

Motives

The crime referred to in this article is, as a rule, associated with selfish motives. The acquisition of property benefits is the goal that was pursued by the once most of the convicts under art. 285. Temporary borrowing of budgetary funds is also a criminal act. But not only material benefit is the object of this crime. Labor and transport related to a particular institution can not also be used by a person who occupies even a very significant position in this state organization. That is why attraction of employees of the organization and use of the office car for personal purposes can also be called abuse of authority.

In the criminal article mentioned above, other personal goals were also included among the motives. They are understood as incentives that are not directly related to profit, but also can not be called unselfish. Careerism, nepotism and protectionism are motives, guided by which heads of state institutions often commit numerous crimes. The most common among them are the acts that are provided for in Article 258.

Significant violations

Abusing their powers, a representative of state power affects the interests of the state and society. Such actions are negative and can create violations. The most significant are those actions that violate the rights of citizens, prescribed in the Constitution, undermine the authority of the authorities and interfere with their work. Whether the created violations are significant or not, the court decides in each case. There are no special signs in this respect. As a rule, the court draws a conclusion on the basis of the degree of negative influence on society, which was rendered by the actions of the perpetrator under Article 258.

Severe consequences

The third part of this criminal article deals with a crime that entails special consequences. For committing this act, a citizen holding a leading position in a state organization can be sentenced to ten years in prison. What are these consequences? And why are they called grave?

Such consequences are understood as emergency situations that occurred as a result of criminal actions of an official. Also, the grave consequences can be called major material damage caused as a result of exceeding or abuse of one's own authority by one of the leaders.

The guilt of the suspect in the crime provided for in Article 258 can not be proved if at least one of the signs that are characteristic of this act is missing.