How often did courts order community service as an administrative penalty?

July 29, MINSK. Public works as an administrative penalty were applied by the courts in relation to almost 600 people in the first half of the year, Judge of the Supreme COURT Edgar Martirosyan said in an interview, BelTA informs.

"In 2021, only 20 people were subject to this penalty. This was due to the fact that it took local authorities some time to fully organize their work in this direction. As a result, in the first half of 2022, public works were applied by the courts in relation to almost 600 people, and the facts of evading its execution are single today," Edgar Martirosyan said.

A new type of administrative penalty - public works - is enshrined in the updated Code of Administrative Offenses, which entered into force more than a year ago.

As Edgar Martirosyan explained, public works are carried out free of charge, and the organization of their execution is entrusted to local authorities, which determine the specific type of public works, as well as the object or place where they should be performed. In this case, the offender is not only involved in labor, but society also receives a certain benefit from this.

A key feature of public works is that they can be applied by the court and only with the consent of the offender. However, this does not mean that this type of penalty will necessarily be applied. The court must assess whether the offender deserves just such a penalty, whether it will be fair, and also make sure that this person does not belong to the category of citizens to whom the law does not allow public works due to age, HEALTH status and other grounds specified in the law .

Edgar Martirosyan believes that community service is a good alternative to a fine or administrative arrest, and also has great preventive potential. If the offender evades the performance of public works, the law provides for him a fine in a significant amount or the same administrative arrest.