Liability, Legal

in a broad sense, punishment, state law enforcement—the application of the sanctions envisioned by law to a person guilty of violating a legal obligation. The state-coercive nature of legal liability is evident not only in its content (law enforcement measures such as deprivation of freedom, fines, and confiscation of the driver’s license are carried out by the state administrative apparatus) but also in the fact that legal sanctions are applied by special state agencies (for example, agencies of investigation or inquiry and courts). In the socialist state measures of legal liability are frequently used not only by state agencies but also, with state authorization, by such social organizations as trade unions and comrades’ courts.

There are different kinds of legal liability, including criminal, civil, administrative, and disciplinary, which are carried out through judicial, arbitration, administrative, and other procedures.