Bordeline Between Crimes and Administrative Offences

Abstract

Between criminal law and administrative violent law in Europe, a sphere of law has been established which may be treated partly as administrative penal law (in Austria, Switzerland), quasi-criminal law (in Poland), law of management order offences (in Germany, Italy, Portugal), a complex of administrative sanctions with moral effect (in Sweden). This legal sphere is considerably different from criminal law and administrative violent law since there is no imprisonment as a punishment, and one of the main sanctions is fine which more often than before is enlarged by the legislator. Various additional means such as confiscation of income are often imposed. Priority is given to general liability, and it is not necessary to clear up the offender or his/her quilt. However, one cannot dispense with certain principles and guarantees of criminal law.
Discrepancies between criminal and process law often are found in this sphere of law. Standards related to criminal law arise out of specific functions of administrative violent law.