The primary focus of this dissertation is a set of theoretical provisions and practical recommendations to approach the specific issue of the legal science and practice concerned with qualifying more efficiently the administrative offenses in road transport. The trends, challenges, and ways of improving the qualification of administrative offense in road transport are considered through a review of the scientific and legal up-to-date research. The lack of a comprehensive doctrinal approach to the subject area under exploration was revealed as well as the missing effective links between scientific and practical spheres. The formal logical, cognitive, and legal (substantive and procedural) aspects of administrative offense qualification were analyzed to form a clear scientific understanding of its nature and essence. As well, determinant attributes of the administrative offense qualification were defined as an organized list while its concept was formulated, which suggests approaching the administrative offense qualification as a Law-driven evaluation of the actual delinquent act by an authorized law-enforcement entity, which resulted in a conclusion on the essential elements of the specific misdemeanor be in place, which is formally executed in terms of relevant procedure. A thorough analysis of objective and subjective attributes of administrative offenses in road transport was completed, and the importance of identifying accurately the object of an offense is highlighted. The latter is argued to be at the core of action (inaction) qualification as a tort of a particular type. Also, it accounts for the assigned proceeding framework and the circle of qualification subjects, as well as specific toolфs, algorithm, and procedure options. Chapter 10 of the current Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses entitled "Administrative offenses in road transport, infrastructure and communications" is suggested for an update to comply with a key role of the misdemeanor object in the current CUAO framework. The difficulties in defining the subject of administrative offenses in road transport are addressed, the largest number of mistakes in the administrative offense qualification occurring in finding out those responsible for poor maintenance of municipal roadways and streets as well as those liable for accidents caused by dangerous road conditions and poorly-maintained (or badly-designed) "off-balance" municipal facilities. The dissertation examined the practical aspects of the mental elements assessment as regards the administrative offense in road transport. The vast majority of such offenses are known to have formal corpus delicti and normally do not act injurious to the public in general. Given this, the mental elements assessment (in particular, guilt) cannot draw on the current CUAO version, linking the criminal responsibility to the attitude of the offender to socially dangerous consequences of what was done. The need for a clear legislative definition of criminal liability for misconduct with formal corpus delicti was recognized, such definition being driven by the idea that the misdemeanors with formal corpus delicti should be qualified following the offender’s mental attitude to his misdoing or inactivity. The individual nature of guilt in administrative offense occurrence in road transport is emphasized. In this connection, the terms of "dual guilt", "mutual guilt", "general guilt", etc. currently used in the procedural documents to recognize results of previous and final qualification, are criticized. They are argued to be pseudoscientific and unacceptable in common usage. The study prompts rethinking qualification of the administrative offenses, which result in damage to vehicles, cargo, roadways, streets, railroad crossings, road facilities, or other property. As the study shows, most mistakes in qualifying such offenses are due to the poor level of the administrative jurisdiction competence shown through a formalistic approach to gathering and examination of evidence, bad formulation of procedural documents, lawlessness, failure in regulatory substantiation of qualification. From this perspective, the thesis stresses the utmost importance for relevant issues of the administrative offense qualification to be put into the curriculum of the patrol police officers, as well as covered in the regulations to handle cases of administrative offenses in road transport.
