A contravention implies the violation of a rule.
Contravention is the act and result of contravening : acting against what is established or what is obligatory. In the field of law , a contravention is illegal conduct that is punishable by law .
When a person commits a contravention, his or her conduct puts a legal right at risk . This is a minor offense that, for this reason, is not classified as a crime , although it is nevertheless grounds for punishment.
For this same reason, the penalties applied to those responsible for violations are lower than those applied to those who commit crimes. It is common for it to be a pecuniary punishment (such as a fine ) or the deprivation of some right , but not a punishment that deprives the offender of his freedom.
Characteristics of a contravention
The characteristics of the contravention may vary according to the legislation. Crossing a red light , for example, is an action that is usually considered a violation. Anyone who engages in this practice is fined. It can also be a violation to ride a motorcycle without a helmet or drive a car without using a seat belt .
It is important to note that the fine is not a monetary amount that dissolves, so to speak, once it reaches the hands of the authorities; On the contrary, it should be allocated to social promotion, education or health programs, among other initiatives that advocate for the development of the community .
Whoever commits a violation may be fined or receive another type of sanction.
Possible penalties
Let's look at some of the penalties that the authorities apply to those who commit a violation, beyond fines:
* warning : this is a call for attention that the judge carries out privately to the offender;
* caution not to offend : whoever commits the offense must deposit in the bank an amount of money established according to the case, which remains in a Government account for a certain period of time as a "guarantee" that he will not violate the law again . After this period of time, which usually does not exceed six months, the money returns to its owner, unless another violation has been committed;
* reparation : it is based on the same criteria that apply to the fine, and consists of the payment that the offender makes to the affected person to compensate them for the damage to which they have been subjected;
* prohibition of attendance : the person who has committed the violation can no longer approach the place where he committed the offense, among others determined by the judge.
An example: contraventions in Buenos Aires
In the City of Buenos Aires ( Argentina ), to name a specific location, street harassment is considered a violation and those responsible can be fined or sentenced to community work. Street harassment is understood as making sexual comments or obscene gestures on public roads or in private places with public access; to exhibitionism; to non-consensual or improper physical contact; and to record photos and videos of a person without their consent, as long as all these behaviors do not constitute a crime.
Upon reporting an alleged contravention, police personnel must verify or verify its existence, after which they must proceed to draw up the relevant minutes and record all the details of the procedure, such as the evidence and personal information of the participants, with their corresponding signatures.
The report made by the police officers is sent to the agency in charge of dealing with violations, and once in its facilities it is labeled to begin the file that will then be investigated by the assigned prosecutor, in agreement with the police station that intervened. . This is how the origin of a contravention process takes place.