Administrative Misconduct is an illegal act practiced within the Public Administration, when a public agent acts dishonestly and disloyally in the performance of their public functions.
Corruption is an example of administrative misconduct, as the public agent acts in bad faith and dishonesty with the objective of achieving their own benefit or that of third parties.
Even though it is considered an illegal action, this it's not a crime, as defined by Law No. 8,429, of June 2, 1992, known as the "Administrative Misconduct Law (LIA)", which presents the sanctions that public agents must be submitted if they are involved in acts of improbity.
Unlawful acts of misconduct are classified as civil and non-criminal conduct. Thus, a public official who has committed administrative misconduct cannot be held liable for a crime.
However, according to article 5 of this law, if the illegal act of the agent is proven, the agent must fully reimburse all the data caused.
In addition, the Federal Constitution also describes other
penalties for those who commit improbable acts, such as: payment of a fine; loss of assets; suspension of political rights; loss of public service; prohibition of receiving tax incentives or benefits, among others.In the Administrative Misconduct Law, it is worth highlighting the typification of the three main modalities of this unlawful act:
- Illicit enrichment: when a public official uses his position and function as a "weapon" to acquire economic advantage for himself or others, thus harming the Union.
- Actions that cause data to the treasury: it occurs when the public agent uses the Union's financial resources for private purposes. It consists of the diversion of public money and the application of public funds to enrich the employee, for example.
- Violation of the Administration Principle: any type of conduct that violates the principles of honesty, loyalty, legality and impartiality to public institutions. Fraud in a public tender is an example of violation that falls under this modality.
Learn more about meaning of impropriety.