Disposition as an element of the rule of law: concept and types

Updated July 21, 2022 709 Author: Dmitry Petrov
Hello, dear readers of the KtoNaNovenkogo.ru blog. Legal science contains many terms, the meaning of which is difficult for a person without a legal education to understand. And one of these words is disposition.

It is present in all articles of legislation and performs a regulatory function. Without dispositions, legal norms would lose their meaning, turning from generally binding rules into recommendations.

In this article you will get acquainted with the new concept in detail, learn about its types and meaning.

Hypothesis, disposition, sanction. Examples

It is advisable to consider another situation in which all three categories are reflected. It is from it that we will get examples of hypothesis, sanction and disposition. So, Article 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the content of which is related to petty hooliganism, reads: “Petty hooliganism, that is, a violation of order in society, expressing clear disrespect for it, accompanied by obscene language in public places, an insulting attitude towards citizens, as well as damage or destruction of someone else’s property shall entail the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of 500 to 1000 rubles or administrative arrest for up to 15 days.”

Hypothesis, disposition, sanction in law - examples of them can be easily found in the presented provision. In other words, all three components of the structure of the rule of law are present here. Thus, the hypothesis of this legal norm points to certain factors and circumstances. If present, the actions performed by the subject may be considered petty hooliganism. An example of a hypothesis is the commission of the listed acts in public places when they do not entail the use of criminal punishment.

You need to know that the disposition of this norm is, first of all, to prohibit specific actions, in particular, obscene language, offensive harassment of citizens or other actions. Finally, this article also contains a direct reference to certain adverse consequences (arrest or administrative fine) that occur for the person who committed actions prohibited by law.

What does the term "sanctions" mean?

The literal translation from Latin sounds like the strictest decree (sanctio). A sanction is a component of a legal norm applied to a person who has violated the rule established by this norm. The legal nature of sanctions lies in their punitive nature. They can well be considered as a punishment of a certain kind that is applied to the offender.

In this case, the punishment must have a legally justified mechanism. Full information about the type of sanctions, the degree of their severity and the specifics of their application must be indicated in a legal or other act. If such information is not available, then the application of sanctions is considered a separate offense.

Ignorance of the violator about the possibility of applying sanctions does not relieve him of responsibility. Sanctions must be legal in nature, applied only in proportion to the offense committed.

Types of dispositions

Today there are several criteria for classifying the concept. The main ones are listed below.

By the nature of the regulatory impact

There are three types of dispositions: permissive, prescriptive, and prohibitive.

The former give members of society rights that can be exercised at their own discretion. For example, it follows from the Constitution that every person has the right to choose his place of residence.

Prescriptive dispositions indicate a person's duties. For example, the Constitution of the Russian Federation states that all persons must take care to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of the country.

Prohibiting dispositions indicate the inadmissibility of committing certain acts. Most of them are contained in administrative tort and criminal law.

By way of description

Here, jurists have in mind the way of describing the signs of an act. According to this criterion, there are 4 types of dispositions :

1. Simple. The signs of the act are obvious from the text of the norm itself and do not require additional explanation. For example, the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation establishes penalties for the provision of traditional healing services.
2. Descriptive. The content of the act is revealed in the same norm where there is an instruction. Thus, Part 1 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation lists the signs of fraud: 1) theft or acquisition of the right to someone else’s property, 2) through deception or abuse of trust.
3. Reference. Signs of the act are described in the same normative document, but in different rules of law. For example, Part 3 of Article 131 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation deals with the rape of a minor. And the essence of the crime itself is revealed in part 1 of the same article.
4. Blanket. They refer the subject to the norms of other acts of legislation. For example, Article 15.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation talks about failure to comply with the deadline for applying to the tax authority for registration. But the period itself is indicated in another document - the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (General Part).

By composition

Composition is the number of behavioral models available to a subject. According to this criterion, dispositions are divided into three types: simple, complex and alternative.

In the first case, a person can choose one option. For example, according to Article 10 of the RF IC, marriage relations are registered only in the civil registry office.

Complex dispositions contain 2 or more behavior patterns. As a rule, they are also binding.

For example, according to Part 4 of Article 111 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, after the State Duma has rejected candidates for the post of Chairman of the Government three times, the President performs three actions:

1. appoints the Chairman himself;
2. dissolves the lower house of Parliament;
3. calls new elections.

An alternative disposition provides the subject with a choice. A simple example is maintaining a premarital surname or switching to the spouse’s surname.

Comments: 7

Your comment (question) If you have questions about this article, you can tell us. Our team consists of only experienced experts and specialists with specialized education. We will try to help you in this topic:

Author of the article Irina Rusanova

Consultant, author Popovich Anna

Financial author Olga Pikhotskaya

1. Natalia
   02/25/2022 at 08:16 How will sanctions affect the small foreign currency deposits of ordinary Russians in Sovcombank??..
   Reply ↓ Anna Popovich
   02/25/2022 at 09:32

   Dear Natalya, for now we can say that ordinary citizens will not experience any negativity from the situation. Sovcombank was not included in the sanctions list. At least for now.

   Reply ↓
   Olga
   02.26.2022 at 15:31

   What about Otkritie Bank?

   Reply ↓
   Olga Pikhotskaya
   02/26/2022 at 16:43

   Olga, good afternoon. You can find details in our material “Explanations from “sanctioned” banks.”

   Reply ↓

Final part

So, we have fully examined the category of hypothesis in law and analyzed the most striking examples. In addition, the areas in which the hypothesis is also widely used were named. In conclusion, it should be noted that the modern concept of a category contains an element of a legal norm indicating the conditions of its action (in other words, place, time, subject composition, etc.). These circumstances are determined through the establishment of legal facts. Thus, a hypothesis must be considered as part of a legal norm, which indicates vital factors in the presence of which specific subjects enter into relationships with each other.

It must be kept in mind that hypotheses can be simple or complex. Thus, simple ones indicate the only circumstance of the implementation of the norm (for example, in Article 242 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation this is the immutability of the composition of the judicial body, which acts as a condition for considering the case). Complex hypotheses require several conditions (for example, paragraph 1 of Article 72 of the RF IC: parents can be considered restored to parental rights when they have changed their lifestyle, behavior and (or) attitude towards raising their child).

Categories of disposition in the Criminal Code

The Code of Criminal Law consists of two main parts - special and general. The above directly concerns the special part. At the same time, different categories of dispositions are also present in the general part of the Criminal Code, they are simply presented in a slightly different form and differ in a strictly definitional or descriptive nature. For example:

• In 14 Art. Of the Criminal Code, in the part where the concept of a criminal act is spelled out, there is a definition, that is, a definition of something specific. This provides a clear and specific definition of violation. These moments, which do not fit this concept, do not relate to criminal actions.
• Art. 3 - the basic principle of criminal legality - shows that violation of the requirements of the Criminal Code and punishment are determined exclusively by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
• Art. 4-7 describe in detail the principles used in the Criminal Code, which are strictly prohibited from being violated.

Hypothesis at work

Let's look at an example of the work hypothesis, another type of category, if we consider it not only within the framework of law, but in a general sense. Thus, the hypothesis in the thesis acts as the most valuable methodological tool of the research being carried out. It is through hypothesis that scientific researchers discover new knowledge and ideas. This is a kind of assumption following from the theory. It is worth noting that the existence of such an assumption, which is indicated in the introduction of the work, has not yet been experimentally refuted or proven. As a result, throughout the entire research work, the author will have to successfully prove the falsity or discover the truth of the object being studied.

The structure of behavioral standards

The theoretical part of modern criminal law has three important components:

• A hypothesis or guess about a specific disorder.
• Disposition – rules of citizen behavior established by law.
• Sanction – category of punishment and its volume.

The RF UP is characterized by a special dual structure. This is what distinguishes UP from numerous legal and civil areas and spheres.

The first part of the Criminal Code completely lacks sanctions for citizens of the Russian Federation, and the second is completely devoid of assumptions and any guesswork. Accordingly, disposition and conjecture are present in articles related to the general/main part. At the same time, the special spells out not only the disposition itself, but also the punishments prescribed for criminals.

Examples

For example, a work entitled “Motivating the work of management employees.” The hypothesis will be the following: “We should expect that achieving the highest level of motivational sphere of management employees is closely related to maximum success in their professional activities.”

In the work “Document flow in an organization,” the following lines will serve as a hypothesis: “It is assumed: if you develop measures related to improving the document flow of the company with their further implementation in the activities of the structure, then the efficiency of the document support department of the enterprise in general will significantly increase.”

General concepts

Each theoretical section of modern law contains such a concept as “Established legal norm”.

Without this legal composition, the branch of legislation is not considered. Without knowledge regarding the disposition and what legal sanctions are in the Criminal Code, it is impossible to clearly and correctly explain the law, much less apply it in the practice of criminal law.

The modern legal norm of UE is:

1. Legislative rules of individual behavior of a person and the whole society.
2. Careful compliance with modern law and UP.
3. Fulfillment by a person of his obligations.

Failure to comply with the rules of conduct will be punished strictly in accordance with the law!

The disposition of each modern article of the Criminal Code is an important part of the rules of generally accepted correct behavior prescribed in the legislation.

Let's sum it up

• Types and categories of dispositions and imposed sanctions are one of the main topics in the CP. They must be considered in a thorough study of law and legislation.
• The guess directly concerns the general part of each article, and the sanction relates to the special.
• Categories of sanctions and criminal dispositions are typical for articles related to a special part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
• Criminal law is a special form of power of a modern state, and a legal norm is the content of a special form, the careful observance of which makes a citizen law-abiding.