Despite all the benefits that military personnel perform during their service, they, like civilians, are responsible before the law, while their merits, status and rank do not matter.
In cases where a military man commits illegal actions for which administrative or criminal liability is not provided, he falls under disciplinary liability.
Military personnel should know for what actions this type of liability is provided, what the procedure for prosecution is and whether there are exceptions.
The main points and rules for bringing to disciplinary liability are regulated by such a regulatory document as Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1495 of November 10, 2007 “Disciplinary Charter of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” (DU).
What is a disciplinary offense
Every military man, while serving in the army, observes established discipline, which is regulated by the charter of the military unit.
In cases where he commits an illegal, guilty action or, conversely, inaction , which is expressed in a violation of this military discipline and does not entail criminal or administrative liability, then such an act is called, according to Decree No. 1495, a disciplinary offense (DP).
Each offense of this kind has the following characteristics that characterize it:
- public danger – harm to military discipline or public order is actually caused or can be caused;
- illegality - the act must violate established rules of law;
- guilt - the offense must be guilty, and the guilt of the military man must be proven;
- Punishability – punishment is established in accordance with the rules of the Criminal Code or other Federal Laws.
Moreover, such an illegal action can be committed by a military man either intentionally (awareness of the possible consequences or indifference to them) or through negligence (he foresaw the consequences and independently tried to prevent them or did not foresee them due to inattention).
Foreclosure procedure
The penalty is applied in the following order:
- The military commander initiates proceedings.
- The fact of the offense, its causes and circumstances , as well as the perpetrators are established.
- A violation protocol is drawn up.
- The boss imposes a penalty or sends the case for consideration to higher management or to the court.
The trial should be completed within a month. In order to ensure verification, the commander has the right to detain a suspected military man, remove him from duty, take him into custody, confiscate things and documents and analyze documents, as well as question witnesses in the case.
During the investigation it is necessary to establish:
- the event of the offense (place, time and method of its commission);
- causes, circumstances and consequences of the offense;
- presence of guilt, motives;
- characteristics of the perpetrators;
- existence of exceptional circumstances;
- presence of aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
If an offense is committed by several persons, then the degree of guilt and participation of each is established.
The misconduct report must contain the following information:
- Full name, title and position of the compiler;
- Full name of the culprit, his passport details, rank and position;
- military unit number;
- list of witnesses to the offense;
- list of evidence;
- explanation of the culprit;
- circumstances of the offense;
- list of attached documents;
- date, seal and signature of the unit commander.
Evidence of misconduct may include explanations of the perpetrator, testimony of witnesses, explanations of specialists, as well as documents, photographs and videos.
A sample protocol can be viewed here. After drawing up the protocol, the unit commander makes a decision on the penalty within two days.
If a decision is not made, the protocol is sent to higher military authorities. Notification to higher authorities is mandatory if the offense has a criminal or administrative component.
A penalty imposed by the unit commander may be replaced by higher management with a more severe one, but cannot be reduced or canceled unless the re-trial does not exclude or reduce the guilt of the offender.
What is disciplinary responsibility
After a serviceman has committed a disciplinary offense or other offense, disciplinary liability occurs, characterized by the imposition of disciplinary sanctions by authorized members of the disciplinary authority.
This type of responsibility applies to employees both conscript and contract, as well as those staying for training camp.
Its main purpose is to protect military discipline and law and order, combat violations and have an educational effect on other military personnel.
This kind of liability must have two bases - legal and factual. The first is determined in accordance with established standards in legislative documents, and the second is the commission of the offense itself, which is subject to punishment.
At the same time, bringing to this responsibility does not relieve the serviceman from further performance of his military duties, as well as from compensation for damage caused.
Common mistakes
Error: Management fired a serviceman for being late for duty once.
Comment: The disciplinary measure must correspond to the severity of the offense. Being late once is not a valid reason for dismissal, especially if the offense did not have serious consequences.
Error: The manager fired the serviceman when his guilt in violating labor discipline was not proven.
Comment: It is not permitted to take disciplinary action against employees until their guilt has been proven.
What offenses are people held accountable for?
Each serviceman must fully fulfill the official duties assigned to him, observe the discipline and public order established in the military unit, otherwise he will commit a disciplinary act, which obliges him to be subject to disciplinary liability.
For ordinary traffic offenses, the penalty is determined by the unit commander , who must also independently determine the severity of the offense. However, there are gross disciplinary offenses, for which Federal Law No. 199 of December 1, 2006 provides for a special procedural procedure, and cases are considered by a military court.
These types of gross offenses of military discipline include:
- violation of the statutory rules of relations between military personnel;
- willful abandonment of a military unit or gathering place;
- absence of valid reasons for failure to appear by the deadline after dismissal, business trip, vacation or treatment;
- absence of a military man serving on a contract basis from an established place without reason for more than four hours;
- shirking the performance of military duties;
- failure to comply with established rules regarding combat duty, border, guard or internal service and public order;
- violation of patrol rules in the garrison;
- destruction, damage, damage, illegal expenditure and use of military property, committed intentionally or through negligence;
- violation of the rules for handling military weapons, as well as hazardous substances, which resulted in harm to health or other adverse consequences;
- violation of the rules for operating military vehicles;
- the serviceman being under the influence of drugs or alcohol and refusing a medical examination;
- concealment of information or failure to take any punitive measures against the offender by the unit commander.
Normative base
The main legal document regulating the rights and obligations of military personnel is Law No. 76, adopted in May 1998.
Its task is to ensure the social and legal interests of those liable for military service, as well as to determine the range of their responsibilities related to military service.
There is also another federal act - Presidential Decree No. 1495, which approved the general provisions of military regulations. According to the Decree, which was adopted in November 2007, the provisions of the charters should not contradict Law No. 76. The publication will use the concepts, rules and requirements enshrined in both the 76th Law (“On the Status of Military Personnel”) and the Decree.
Procedure for attraction
According to ch. 4 of the DU, there is an established procedure for bringing a citizen serving in military service to disciplinary liability. It consists of the following steps.
The unit commander must take the necessary measures - conduct a written or oral investigation into the fact of the offense committed within the time limits established by law and in the process identify the following:
- date and time of the act;
- nature of the offense;
- participants in the action (personal data, position, title);
- the motives and conditions for committing the offense, as well as circumstances confirming guilt;
- characteristics of each participant in the act;
- what consequences followed;
- identify circumstances that may mitigate, exclude or aggravate the punishment;
- other significant facts and details.
Based on the results of the investigation, the commander, within the scope of his powers, imposes a disciplinary sanction on the perpetrator. If he does not have the authority to impose the punishment, then within 10 days he must report the offense to higher command.
The culprit must be familiarized with the decision made, and the information must be entered into his service card. In this case, the procedure for familiarization depends on the type: for soldiers, sailors and foremen, a reprimand or severe reprimand is announced before the formation, for officers - at meetings, and a demotion in rank or early dismissal is necessarily formalized by an appropriate order.
The serviceman who committed the crime has the right to provide the command with an explanatory statement in writing, which must be taken into account in the investigation. If the culprit refuses to write an explanatory note, then the management must formalize this with a special act signed by at least two witnesses.
Also, any testimony of witnesses to a disciplinary offense must be documented in writing and attached to the investigation materials.
In cases where the culprit refuses to sign the decision made by the command, the corresponding mark is put in the protocol and a copy is given to the military man.
Procedure for execution of disciplinary sanctions
The execution of disciplinary sanctions can begin at any time, as long as the statute of limitations has not expired. Its omission makes it impossible to bring to justice, however, a record of the penalty will in any case appear in the violator’s service card.
The judge's decision on any disciplinary sanction is executed immediately after it comes into force. The exception is the arrest order - it is executed after it is issued.
Note!
Arrest applies only to persons whose health condition allows them to endure such a severe punishment.
A complaint filed against a disciplinary sanction does not suspend its execution. An exception is the presence of an order from a commander (chief) or a decision of a higher court.
The arrest order is considered executed:
- after the serviceman has fully served his assigned term of disciplinary arrest;
- upon early termination of execution of a sentence.
The grounds for early termination are:
- reversal of the decision on the imposed penalty;
- repeal or invalidation of the law or its individual provisions regarding the responsibility of military personnel for misconduct;
- cancellation, recognition as invalid of the provisions of the law, regulatory act that were violated by the military personnel;
- death of the person held accountable;
- recognition of the person brought to justice as missing, declaring him dead, in accordance with the established judicial procedure;
- exclusion of the person brought to justice from the list of personnel of the military unit.
In addition, early termination of arrest is possible:
- when the health of the guilty person is unsatisfactory, when he cannot be under arrest for objective reasons;
- if it is necessary for the presence of a serviceman in the family, when this is caused by tragic events (death of loved ones, natural disaster from which relatives suffered, etc.);
- when involving the culprit in combat service, exercises, liquidation of consequences of emergency situations, etc.
Special circumstances excluding the liability of a military personnel
When the command conducts an investigation into a committed offense, circumstances may be identified that exclude the advisability of imposing penalties on a military citizen.
Such circumstances include:
- the act was committed for the purpose of self-defense, protection of third parties or the rights and interests of the state in a dangerous situation, and the proportionality of defense - not exceeding it - will be of particular importance;
- the offense was carried out in accordance with the orders of the command;
- the action was related to the capture of the criminal for his further transfer to the authorized authorities;
- the purpose of the offense was to prevent events unfavorable and dangerous to life, health, and the interests of citizens and the state;
- the perpetrator could not control himself and control his actions due to being under duress.
Also, disciplinary liability is not imposed if there is no clear direct evidence, or the citizen has a psychological disorder, or the statute of limitations for the offense, which is one calendar year, has expired.
Mitigating circumstances during the investigation will include the commission of an action in a state of passion, his confession and sincere repentance , as well as the adoption of military actions to prevent negative consequences.
On the contrary, repeated commission of such offenses, holding mass riots, being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, with further refusal of a medical examination can aggravate the punishment.
Is it possible to “mitigate” the punishment?
In addition to circumstances that completely exclude the imposition of liability on the guilty person, there are also mitigating circumstances. These are certain facts indicating that a disciplinary offense is a minor situation that does not have truly strong and cruel motives behind it. When conducting an investigation, the commander, or a specially created commission, takes into account a number of conditions that can “mitigate” the responsibility of the serviceman who has violated discipline. Such circumstances will be discussed below.
Types of liability
According to the established norms of the law, the following types of disciplinary liability may be applied to a military personnel for disciplinary offenses in the form of penalties such as:
- ordinary or severe reprimand;
- inability to go on another leave from a military unit or ship;
- removal of the badge;
- warning;
- demotion in position or rank;
- early dismissal from contract service;
- expulsion from a military educational institution;
- non-admission and exclusion from military training;
- disciplinary arrest, which consists of isolating a military man in a garrison or military guardhouse, with exceptions being officers, females and persons under 18 years of age.
Humiliation of human dignity, causing suffering or rudeness to the perpetrator cannot be used as punishment.
Extenuating circumstances
Current legislation establishes the following series of mitigating circumstances:
- repentance of the guilty person;
- informing management of one's own free will about the commission of a disciplinary offense;
- the adoption by the offender himself of certain measures aimed at preventing the negative consequences of the offense he committed;
- compensation for harm caused, elimination of harm on a voluntary basis;
- committing an offense due to traumatic experiences (not to be confused with a mental disorder).
If, during the investigation, the commander decided not to take into account mitigating circumstances, relatives, colleagues of the offending serviceman, or the offender himself are able to file an appeal through special military authorities.
How is a penalty removed?
If the serviceman’s behavior is corrected, his commander petitions the unit commander to remove the penalty, then it is lifted ahead of schedule. In other cases, the penalty is valid for a year.
After the penalty is lifted, a note about this is made on the service card.
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