The concept and types of official secrets. The punishment provided for the violation of confidential information that a person possesses due to his official position.
An official secret means certain information that is protected by federal laws, as well as special services. For the disclosure of this information, officials are punished.
Varieties of official secrets
Official secrets existed back in the days of the Soviet Union. Then this information was divided into several categories:
- State secret. This is a special type of confidential information that has been marked as "top secret" or "of special importance".
- Official secret marked "top secret".
- Special information - this category contained data intended for official use.
Currently, official information, for the disclosure of which is punishable, includes:
- data stored in local government and state authorities;
- information about the subjects of civil law relations;
- information about adoption;
- medical diagnosis;
- deposits in banks.
In addition, information relating to the activities of an organization can be classified as an official secret. Disclosure includes both spoken words and documentation. confirming this or that fact.
Punishment for disclosure
Disclosing official secrets can result in a person being brought to administrative or criminal liability. What kind of punishment will be imposed depends on the circumstances of the case.
So, if a person has disseminated information that is an official secret, then he can be brought to administrative responsibility. Article 15.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for a penalty in the form of a fine from 30 to 50 thousand rubles. The fine is paid to the state. Also, the guilty person can be removed from office for a period of 12 to 24 months.
The criminal liability provided for the disclosure of official secrets is regulated by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. So, the punishment directly depends on the type of confidential information:
- If there is a leak of information about adoption, then the guilty person faces a fine of up to 80 thousand rubles. In addition, for a person who has violated the safety of information, by a court decision, they can choose a punishment in the form of imprisonment, for a period of up to 4 months. This is spelled out in article 155 of the Criminal Code.
- If the secrecy of the activities carried out in a criminal case was violated, then the culprit faces a fine of up to 200 thousand rubles or imprisonment for up to 5 years (Article 311 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
- A person who has access to information concerning law enforcement officers and who has violated an official secret is brought to the same responsibility (Article 311 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Each of the penalties is determined only in court.
