printProhibitions and Penalties – a Universal Way to Resolving Social Problems? (Part I)
Skoblikov P.A.
Dr. Sci. (Law), Leading Researcher, Institute of State and Law of RAS, Moscow, Russia skoblikov@list.ru
Skoblikov P.A. Prohibitions and Penalties – a Universal Way to Resolving Social Problems? (Part I). Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2026. No 6. P. 100-111
This article examines the growing volume of legislative prohibitions in recent years, backed by administrative and criminal penalties for non-compliance. The problem is examined using examples of introduced and proposed prohibitions on various types of propaganda, dissemination and search for certain information, and others. The rationale and social consequences of these prohibitions are analyzed. It is demonstrated that the adoption of ill-considered prohibitions contributes to the excessiveness of legal regulation. This, in turn, entails the infringement of citizens’ rights and freedoms, in particular, it limits freedom of expression and distorts legal consciousness. At the same time, unproductive costs for entrepreneurs and other economic entities are increasing. The problem is exacerbated by the uncertainty surrounding the formulation of prohibitions and the potential for arbitrary interpretation. Furthermore, the practice of incorporating provisions for liability for ever-increasing offenses into administrative-tort and criminal legislation is not accompanied by a proportional increase in the staffing levels of regulatory, law enforcement, and judicial bodies, nor by additional funding. All this leads to a distortion of the declared objectives of legal policy, expanding the objective preconditions for selective law enforcement, abuse, and corruption.
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