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time, in the sphere where state coercion is applied, society and a
person are confronted with a number of disturbing phenomena. State
bodies and officials who investigate cases about offenses, are
endowed with authority, unreasonable and unlawful use of which may
cause significant losses to the rights and freedoms of a person. It is not
a secret that the specifics of the activity of law enforcement bodies,
which are obliged to promptly stop the offense, sometimes adds
indictment bias to the investigation of criminal and other cases. The
secret of inquiry and investigation which are necessary against
offenses may cause the lack of publicity, indulgence of arbitrariness in
obtaining evidence and intimidation of persons brought to the
investigation. The aspiration to justify the prosecution as soon as
possible and to terminate the case in due time may lead to the artificial
creation of evidence, up to the suspect's desire to plead guilty to an
offense that he/she may not have done. As a result, sometimes an
innocent person is accused and, conversely, corrupt law enforcement
officers have plenty of opportunities to relieve the perpetrator from
liability.
The procedural regulation of legal liability is essential in
resolving many of these issues. In determining the procedural order of
carrying out the liability, there is a pattern: the more severe the
sanction to be applied, the more complex the procedures for
investigating the circumstances of the case, the preparation and
adoption of a decision on the application or non-application of
sanctions are. Therefore, the general principles of legal liability were
mostly developed in the criminal process; other types of liability are
exercised on the same principles.
The basic principle of legal liability is legitimacy. It means that
the liability is applied only for the offense, that is, the guilty unlawful
act committed by a delinquent person.
In the application of liability, the law prohibiting any act should
not be given retroactive force for the reason that the law is usually
directed to the future, regulates the willful behaviour of people who
compare their actions with their legal assessment (for which to punish
a person, if he/she did not know that this act would be forbidden
once?). For the same reason, it must be known in advance which
punishment or penalty will be imposed on those who commit such an
offense. The addition of the retroactive effect of the law, which
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