A Procedural Form of Proceedings in Disciplinary Cases

Based on the theory of administrative process, the paper characterizes a general purpose of disciplinary proceedings, provides the views of researchers on the activities of subjects of disciplinary authority to impose disciplinary sanctions as administrative proceedings, administrative jurisdiction or substantive procedure. A lack of consensus on the legal nature of disciplinary proceedings led to studying its most important characteristics and procedural category, namely: the procedural form, analysis of its content and structure. The author determines the meaning of the procedural form in disciplinary proceedings and the legal consequences of its non-observance. Taking into account available approaches, the paper describes the main features of the procedural form of proceedings in disciplinary cases. It has been substantiated that an independent procedural form is inherent in the enforcement of disciplinary cases – an obligatory qualitative feature of the activity in question. On the basis of the instrumental approach that implies consistent use of legal means to achieve the goals of legal regulation, to highlight a procedural component of the legal regulation mechanism, namely, the procedural and legal mechanism, the author structures the system of administrative procedural means that form the content of the procedural form of proceedings in disciplinary cases and examines their specific features. The author provides the definition of the procedural form of proceedings in disciplinary cases that takes into account its features as a scientific structure, a legal category, a structural model of administrative procedural activity of subjects of disciplinary power. It is concluded that the procedural form externally unifies and internally differentiates the main methods of law enforcement, reflects the course of legal activity and its results in procedural acts. It is stated that at present the procedural form of disciplinary proceedings is far from ideal, suggestions are made on possible directions for improving the procedural regulation of the activity in question.