Administrative Sanctions and Measures of Influence on Minors: a Critical Analysis and the Need for Reform

The article presents a critical analysis of administrative sanctions and measures of influence applied to minors. It is noted that such instruments serve as a means for the state to respond to unlawful behavior. The author substantiates the need to review and update approaches to the system of administrative sanctions and measures of influence concerning minors, taking into account current realities and changes driven by societal transformation. A significant portion of these measures has either lost its effectiveness or fails to meet the modern challenges in the field of public administration. The outdated nature of certain types of sanctions, their disproportionality to the nature of the offense, as well as the lack of clarity in implementation mechanisms, reduce the overall efficiency of the administrative liability system. Therefore, the revision of the list of administrative sanctions, their substantive refinement, and adaptation to the principles of justice, proportionality, and legal certainty is an urgent task for the legislator. It is considered appropriate to replace the term “sanction” with “punishment” in the context of administrative liability, as this is lexically and substantively justified. The article also argues for lowering the age of administrative liability to 14. Modern children are increasingly involved in social processes, actively interact with the digital environment, make independent decisions, and thus may commit offenses that have real consequences for others and for society at large. Furthermore, contemporary practice demonstrates a growing number of administrative offenses committed by individuals aged 14 to 18, confirming the necessity to reconsider the age limits of delictual capacity. The transformation of social reality and the shift to a digital society require abandoning outdated measures of influence and applying administrative sanctions to minors aged 14 to 18, with the entire system requiring legislative review. Keywords: administrative offense, delictual law, administrative liability, minors, administrative sanctions, measures of influence, the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses.