Currently most legislative acts in the field of administrative law contain as a means of sanctions administrative penalties that are criminal penalties. This is evident from statistics regarding cases investigated by the Prosecutor's office. They reve...
Currently most legislative acts in the field of administrative law contain as a means of sanctions administrative penalties that are criminal penalties. This is evident from statistics regarding cases investigated by the Prosecutor's office. They reveal that administrative penalties were applied more often than general criminal penalties. Criminologists claim that administrative penalties are nothing more than a special type of criminal penalties and therefore belong to the field of criminal law rather than a separate field of its own. The present thesis studies the question of whether administrative and criminal penalties may indeed be differentiated, whether it is possible to talk of legal traits unique to administrative penalties, and what issues arise in applying administrative penealties and how they may be resolved.
General theory on administrative penalties was born based on Goldschmidt's theory. Discourse in Germany revolved around two concepts, penalties applied by administrative authorities and penalties for the violation of administrative law. In contrast to Germany, in Korea as well as in Japan the focus is not on who applied such penalties but on the legal nature of the norms violated or what norm the violated element could be attributed to.
Denying the distinction between administrative and criminal penalties is due to a misunderstanding of the German doctrine. Supporters of this position claim that since administrative penalties are applied as a means of sanctions the principle of "Nulla poena sine lege" holds, therefore the only difference lies in the gravity of the crime. Thus administrative penalties belong to a special type of criminal law. However there are numerous factors that support the relative differentiation of administrative and criminal penalties: administrative penalties have been adapted to the Korean legal environment; administrative penealties are not only sanctions against the violation of duties but they indirectly achieve the administrative function of guaranteeing the performance of duties; administrative crimes are not natural crimes since their antisocial nature is recognized only as a result of concious legislation for the realization of specific administrative purposes. Some may argue that such relativeness suggests that there are no clear-cut criteria for differentiation between the two. However such relativeness lies not in the criteria themselves but in that the border line between administrative and criminal penalties may change with time. Therefore administrative penalties may turn into natural penalties and vice versa. The criteria for distinguishing whether the antimoral, antisocial nature of a crime is dependent on the general public's consciousness of injustice or is attained only through legislation can indeed be clearly discerned.
The uniqueness of administrative penalties is another factor that plays in favor of distingushing them from criminal penalties. With regard to administrative penalties punishment norms are stipulated only after behavioural norms are specifically laid down by the administrative authorities. Moreover certain issues concerning penalties against the employer and employee or the punishment of legal persons are specific to administrative penalties. Although the principle of "Nulla poena sine lege" is applied, since administrative penalties are penalties in criminal law, negligence, intent and consciousness of illegality should be interpreted taking into account their distinct nature. Moreover not seldom general principles of criminal law are explicitly excluded, and statutory notification is required in imposing penalties.
A few of the main reasons why administrative penalties are criticized for lacking distinct legal traits are the indiscreet legislation of administrative penalties without the serious consideration of administrative purposes, the complex nature of the sanctions process and uncertainty concerning the elements of administrative crimes, the disproportion between administrative and other penalties including criminal penalties, the excessive legislation of administrative penalties. Such problems should be addressed as a result of simplifying the sanctions process by revising overlapping norms, and bringing into line the severity of various penalties. Decriminalization of certain administrative penalties by turning them into administrative orders can also contribute positively to resolving the problem. Finally it would be well-advised to provide for unified general principles for the regulation of administrative penalties.