Administrative Sanctions and the Concept of “Criminal Charge”. Romanian Perspective in a Comparative Law Study

• Main Author: Elena-Mihaela FODOR
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Danubius University 2015-08-01
• Series: Acta Universitatis Danubius: Juridica
• Subjects: legal principles; punitive sanctions; human rights
• Online Access: http://journals.univ-danubius.ro/index.php/juridica/article/view/961/799

Objectives: The research tries to point out the principles that should apply to administrative sanctions so that the requirements from the autonomous notion of “criminal charge” created by the European Court of Human Rights should be fulfilled. Prior Work: In the national jurisprudence not many authors have referred to this subject. Comments on the dispositions of Government Ordinance No. 2/2002 regarding the juridical frame for contravention have been made. In the jurisprudence of some European countries where no specific legal dispositions refer to principles that protect against public power abuse in enforcing administrative sanctions, comments have been made on this subject. Approach: A search has been conducted in the legislation of several European countries, searching for Constitutional or Administrative Acts dispositions on the matter. Also the jurisprudence approach on the matter in these countries was observed. Implications: The study should be useful for administrative bodies in their investigative and sanctioning activity and for the courts in appreciating the consequences of valuing a certain administrative sanction as a “criminal charge”. Value: This paper is summarizing the principles of criminal law that apply to administrative law and points out to what extent the Romanian legal norms express those principles.