Contravention
In many civil law countries a contravention is a non-criminal offense, similar to an infraction or civil penalty in common law countries.
France
Contravention is, in French law, an act which violates the law, a treaty or an agreement which the party has made. It designates a minor infraction, as opposed to a delict or misdemeanor, or a crime.Any infraction of a law or regulation enforced by the agents of the State executive, that is not punishable by more than a €3000 fine for a person, is considered as a contravention.
The fine may also be accompanied by an additional sentence.
Competence
Contraventions and their penalties are determined by the executive organs of the French State, unlike délits and crimes which are determined by the legislative organs, as per Article 34 of the French Constitution of 1958.The executive organs include:
- The President of the Republic
- The government
- The local government
- The department and region Councils
- The police prefect of Paris
- The town Council and Mayor
Penalties
The additional penalties are defined in the Article 131-10 of the Code Pénal.
They include:
- Prohibitions
- Forfeitures
- Incapacity
- Retraction of a right
- Obligation to seek treatment
- Obligation of action
- Immobilisation or confiscation of an object
- Confiscation of an animal
- Closure of an establishment
- Obligation to publish the court decision publicly, and since the law n°2004-575 in date of June 21, 2004 obligation to communication the decision to the public by electronic means.
There are 5 classes of contraventions, each having a progressively higher maximum fine.
| Classification of the contraventions | Seriousness of the offense. |
| 1st class | Non public slander and insult |
| 2nd class | Involuntary attack on a person's physical integrity having caused no work incapacity |
| 3rd class | Threats of violence |
| 4th class | Light violence |
| 5th class | Willful violence having caused an incapacity to work shorter or equal to eight days. |
Brazil
In Brazil, contravention is a sort of penal infraction — not only an administrative offense - which is considered to be less serious than a crime.Since 1941, Brazilian Law has a dual system which separates penal infractions in two main different acts. They are the Código Penal — describing crimes in general — and the :pt:Contravenção|Lei de Contravenções Penais — describing the contraventions.
Contraventions are punished less severely than crimes in Brazilian Law. While crimes may be punished to reclusão or detenção, the only kind of possible imprisonment for contraventions is prisão simples, which is never served under closed conditions. Fines may also be imposed due to contravention sentencing.
In Brazilian Law System, one who is already convicted for a crime is not considered to be recidivist when committing a contravention for the first time, and vice versa.