Legal significance of circumstances aggravating administrative liability, as set out in Part 1 of Article 4.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation

Introduction. The study of the institution of circumstances aggravating administrative responsibility is an important task of modern administrative and legal science, since it is through the mechanisms of individualization of responsibility that the effectiveness of administrative and jurisdictional influence is ensured. In the context of the dynamic development of public relations and the increasing complexity of the nature of illegal torts, the question of how this legal category meets the requirements of legal certainty, consistency and practical feasibility becomes relevant. Within the framework of the proposed topic, the legal status of the circumstances stipulated in part 1 of Article 4.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation is subject to research in order to identify both gaps and contradictions in the current law, as well as opportunities for further improvement of legal norms. Materials and Methods. This research is based on the application of a set of general scientific and private legal methods of cognition, corresponding to the theoretical and legal nature of the work. The works of Russian jurists, as well as the current regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation, were used as the material base. In addition, in order to identify the extent of the practical feasibility of circumstances aggravating administrative responsibility, the author conducted an empirical analysis of 368 cases of administrative offenses. The Results of the Study made it possible to identify legal conflicts caused by the imperfection of the normative formulations of Part 1 of Article 4.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation and formulate specific proposals for their elimination. A low percentage of the use of circumstances aggravating administrative liability in practice, contradictions in the wording of the norms of part 1 of Article 4.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation were revealed. Some circumstances contradict certain provisions of administrative and tort legislation, which leads to a low applicability of the circumstances studied in practice. In addition, the absence of rules on the election of administrative punishment, taking into account the circumstances aggravating administrative responsibility, in some cases leads to the formal application of the provisions of Article 4.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation. As a result of the research, specific ways to improve legislation are proposed, including the replacement of some formulations and clarifications of certain concepts contained in part 1 of Article 4.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation. Findings and Conclusions. The institution of circumstances aggravating administrative responsibility in its modern form requires a comprehensive reform, including the unification of terminology. If in some cases such a need arises due to the contradictory nature of certain provisions of Part 1 of Article 4.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, in others it is necessary to clarify certain terms by referring to current regulatory legal acts. Without these measures, circumstances aggravating administrative responsibility will remain more of a declarative legal category of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, unable to ensure the principles of fairness, individualization and proportionality of administrative punishment.