Business reputation of the uk rf. The procedure for the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation. Regulatory gaps

They are inseparable benefits of the individual. Citizens also have a business reputation. It is formed in the process of their implementation economic activity... Legal entities also have a business reputation. All these benefits are protected by law.

The concept of honor and dignity

An assessment is established for an individual in terms of social and ethical norms. A certain measure of a person's social and spiritual qualities is called honor. Moreover, each subject has its own idea of its value. It is called dignity. It is recognized by the state for all members of society equally. The concepts of dignity and honor determine the attitude to the subject as to highest value... These categories exist in close relationship. Dignity acts as a certain reflection of honor as an assessment of society in the mind of the subject. Together, these categories form an organic whole, an inalienable personality trait.

Business reputation

For people, it is determined by the level professional qualifications, and for a legal entity - according to indicators of production and other economic activity in accordance with its legal status within the framework of market relations. The content of the term "reputation" largely coincides with the definition of honor. However, the first reflects mainly professional, entrepreneurial qualities, and the second - more ethical.

Regulatory support

The above categories are closely related to legal provisions. Each subject has the right to protect honor, dignity, and business reputation. The limitation or loss of these benefits leads to a decrease in the established status in relations with other subjects. In this regard, civil protection of honor, dignity, business reputation is the most important area of state social policy. Within the legal system, these categories are considered as intangible goods and as special subjective opportunities.

Legal personality

It determines, to one degree or another, the position of individuals in society, reflects their relationship with the state. Each subject is endowed with a certain set of non-property and property, political rights. They reflect its legal status. These rights act as elements of legal personality. She, in turn, is a specific property of each individual. The right to dignity, honor and others is recognized as absolute. This is due to the fact that its implementation is ensured by the obligation of an indefinite number of persons. It consists in refraining from any encroachment on the honor, reputation, dignity of the subject. This obligation is enshrined in constitutional provisions, as well as other legislative norms. In case of violation of the instructions, judicial protection of honor, dignity and business reputation is provided.

An important point

The right to honor, reputation, dignity, as well as other non-property benefits enshrined in the Constitution, are of practical importance for subjects not only in the event of their violation, but also irrespective of it. When endowing one or another individual or legal entity with opportunities, the state provides an appropriate system of guarantees. It forms the conditions in which the implementation and protection of rights is carried out.

Classification

The provision is fixed that inalienable freedoms and rights, intangible benefits are protected by legal norms, unless otherwise follows from their essence. At the same time, Art. 150 of the Civil Code defines a list of such categories and divides them into 2 groups. The norm establishes intangible benefits that are acquired by virtue of:

birth (for individuals) or creation (for legal entities);
law.

Legislation includes health, dignity, personal inviolability, life, good name, honor, family and personal secrets, business reputation to the first. These categories exist regardless of their legal regulation. The protection of the dignity, honor and business reputation of the subject, as well as other benefits listed above, is carried out only in the event of encroachment on them. The second group includes the possibilities of choosing a place of residence and stay, freedom of movement, etc. They act as subjective rights in a specific respect. Accordingly, they are regulated by statutory provisions.

Specificity of protection of non-property goods

There is a specific rule, the provisions of which regulate the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation. The article in which they are contained determines the general procedure for the implementation of state guarantees that ensure the protection of these goods. For example, this concerns the dissemination of information that denigrates a person. According to Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the subject may demand its refutation. At the same time, the person who made the information public can avoid liability if he proves that the information is true. In essence, Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the possibility to demand a refutation takes place exclusively in relation to defamatory data. It should be said here that it arises regardless of the way the information is made public. At the request of interested subjects, refutation is possible even after the death of the person. Defamatory information should not harm not only the person himself, but also his relatives, as well as other participants in the relationship. The legislator provides for an indefinite range of admissible plaintiffs, using the expression "at the request of interested parties" in the norm.

Specificity of the rebuttal

Information that does not correspond to reality may be published in the media. Accordingly, they must be refuted in them. If such information is contained in any document, it must be withdrawn or replaced. Determination of the procedure for refuting information in other cases refers to the decisions of the courts. According to Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the subject, in respect of which the information was disseminated in the media that did not correspond to reality, has the opportunity to publish the answer. It should be noted here important point... This provision refers to information that denigrates the honor, dignity, reputation, and data that infringe on the rights and interests of the subject. In the first case, it is established that the refutation is published in the same media, and in the second, the person has the opportunity to make his answer public.

General rules

According to Art. 208 of the Civil Code does not apply to claims for the protection of intangible rights, with the exception of cases stipulated by law. If it is impossible to identify the person who disseminated the slanderous information, the victim may submit an application to declare it untrue. If the obliged subject fails to comply with the decision made in favor of the victim, the court may impose a monetary penalty. The amount and procedure for collection is established in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure. The legislation also stipulates the possibility of compensation for material and moral harm to the victim, which arose as a result of the dissemination of data that denigrates him.

conclusions

Thus, the protection of honor, dignity and citizenship can be carried out in several ways. First of all, he can make a demand to refute the slanderous information. It involves bringing to the persons among whom it was disseminated, the data on the recognition of it as untrue. In addition, the protection of dignity, honor and business reputation is carried out through the recovery of moral and material damage from the culprit. The former is understood as the acknowledgment of emotional or physical suffering.

Characteristics of moral damage

In civil law, harm is understood as an adverse change in the good protected by law. Damage can be non-property and property. At the same time, the emergence of the latter does not mean that the suffering and worries of the victim do not appear. In this aspect, these categories are in a sense interdependent. As a result of the degradation of the dignity and honor, as well as the reputation of persons, moral damage occurs and is subject to compensation. This rule is established by Art. 151 GK. Moral damage presupposes, first of all, various emotional, moral experiences caused by a violation. This harm often makes you suffer more acutely than property harm. Without causing material damage, it entails heavy mental anguish. Moral harm is accompanied by a violation of mental well-being, emotional balance of the individual. It follows from this that it is accompanied by the undergoing of psychological or physical suffering, as well as a narrowing of the freedom of the individual and, therefore, cannot remain outside the legal sphere. Moral harm is mentioned in various legal provisions. For example, it is specified in Art. 1099-1101, 152, 12, 151 CC. The legal assessment of the essence of this harm is enshrined in Art. 151. Clarifications on this issue are also given in the resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces No. 10. Paragraph 2 of this document, in particular, says that moral damage should be considered physical or mental suffering arising from inaction / actions encroaching on the intangible benefits of persons by virtue of law or from birth or violating property or non-property (personal) rights. This condition can be due to various reasons. For example, suffering can be caused by the loss of relatives, the inability to continue Active participation in social life, loss of work, temporary restriction / deprivation of freedoms, disclosure of family), dissemination of information that does not correspond to reality.

Specificity of compensation

The offender's obligation to compensate for the moral harm caused by his behavior acts as a measure of responsibility. It has a preventive (warning) value in the field of personal protection. Protection of dignity, honor and business reputation through the recovery of moral damage can be carried out in different ways. The legislation, in particular, provides for compensation:

For the dissemination of data that does not correspond to reality, denigrating a legal entity. This method is provided for in clause 7 of Art. 152.
For the dissemination of information that denigrates the subject, regardless of the fault of the tortfeasor.
In case of violation of the non-property rights of a citizen or in case of encroachment on the intangible benefits that he has, as well as in other cases established in the legislation.

Recovery of non-pecuniary damage is made exclusively in money. The amount is established in accordance with the nature of the physical and psychological suffering that was caused to the person, as well as the degree of guilt of the offender in cases where it acts as a basis for the application of this method of protection.

Nuances

Considering the features of protecting honor, dignity and business reputation, it should be noted that when determining the amount of compensation, the principles of justice and rationality, the level of emotional and physical suffering that are associated with the individual qualities of the subject being the victim should be taken into account. The inability to accurately establish the amount of monetary or other equivalent cannot act as an obstacle to making decisions on compensation for moral damage. In accordance with the norms, the victim independently assesses the severity of the harm caused to him and indicates a specific amount in his claim.

Production excitement

The legislation proceeds from the inadmissibility of arbitrary intrusion into someone's private life, the need for the subjects to freely and unimpeded implementation of their legal capabilities, to ensure their restoration in case of violation. Protection of the rights of citizens acts as a fundamental principle and is guaranteed by the state. The legislation provides for certain measures of state coercion. They are aimed at protecting the freedoms and interests of the subjects, eliminating the negative consequences arising from their violation. These measures are implemented through civil proceedings. The norms establish the procedure in accordance with which the consideration of applications and complaints is carried out. To initiate proceedings, the injured person must file a claim. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation acts as a constitutional subjective legal opportunity. It is implemented through a certain set of powers. In particular, it provides for an appeal to the court as a whole and to a specific instance, the ability to count on an objective consideration of the stated claims, on the issuance of a reasoned and legal decision. In addition, the protection of the rights of citizens is carried out in the order of appeal and cassation proceedings. Of no small importance is the obligation to comply with the decision.

Specificity of making claims

According to the law, the protection of dignity, honor and business reputation can be carried out by any subject, on whose intangible benefits an infringement has been committed. At the same time, it should be taken into account that the communication of defamatory information to the person whom it concerns will not act as the dissemination of this data. In such cases, the protection of dignity, honor and business reputation can be carried out according to the norms of criminal law. In particular, the subject may be guided by the provisions of Art. 130 of the Criminal Code. In this situation, there is an insult inflicted in the absence of the dissemination of information about the victim to third parties. For example, the perpetrator showed an indecent gesture, sent the victim a letter with obscene language, and so on. These actions belittle human dignity and give rise to the right not only to initiate proceedings, but also to compensation for moral damage.

Protection of intangible goods on the Internet

In the information space, it is very easy to spoil the reputation, harm the dignity and honor of the subject. For this, a variety of means are used. These are various forums, news feeds, message boards. Quite often on sites there are references to the dishonesty of certain organizations, low-quality services. As a result of discrediting, reputation is lost potential clients, financial losses arise. At present, the problems of protecting honor, dignity and business reputation on the Internet are quite acute. This is primarily due to the lack of a clear regulation relations in information sphere... The dissemination of information on the Internet is considered a relatively new way of disclosing certain data. Therefore, there is no sufficient practice to consider disputes arising in connection with the publication of inaccurate, defamatory information. In addition, the specialists who provide legal assistance to the subjects are often incompetent. For example, a civil defense attorney has experience in advocating for a person's interests violated by traditional means, but at the same time, he may not have sufficient practice to participate in proceedings related to the dissemination of defamatory data on the Internet. As a result, illegal actions remain virtually unpunished.

Regulatory gaps

Protection of dignity, honor and business reputation on the Internet must be effective and based on the norms of the law. However, this is not enough to declare that the rules regarding the dissemination of information in traditional media also apply to electronic platforms... When considering disputes, it should be borne in mind that if defamatory information was published on a resource registered as a mass media, one must be guided by the relevant rules. Namely, those provisions that regulate the activities of television and radio companies, printed publications... List of "traditional" means mass media specified in Art. 2 FZ "On Mass Media". Thus, in case of a one-time dissemination of data that does not have a sign of periodicity, the provisions of this Law are not applicable. The Federal Law "On Mass Media" binds the permanent name of the publication to belonging to the mass media. Changing it involves a fairly complex procedure. For an Internet site, everything is much simpler - the "traditional" rules do not apply here. If we talk about the form of providing information, then there are no strict requirements regarding this. The law specifies, in addition to traditional media, "other publications" in the definition of media. This term can be called not only the electronic version of the paper edition, but also resources that do not have paper forms. The fact of their existence only in digital form does not exclude their being classified as mass media. From all that has been said, it follows that the aforementioned Law does not fully solve the problems arising with the dissemination of information in virtual publications.

Legal practice

It is worth noting that instances of general jurisdiction, as well as arbitration tribunals, often experience difficulties in resolving disputes arising in connection with the dissemination of information on the Internet. Moreover, not every civil lawyer will undertake to provide assistance to the injured subject. Among the main difficulties, it is necessary to highlight the difficulty of identifying persons who can be held liable and will be obliged to compensate for the damage caused. In addition, there is the problem of fixing evidence, recognizing their reliability and admissibility. On the Internet, people have the opportunity to be anonymous. This significantly complicates the identification of authors, sources of defamatory information. To prove the spread of slanderous information, it is necessary to carry out a number of difficult procedures. As a result, it is very often impossible to identify the culprit. All these problems need to be addressed. This requires appropriate additions to the existing legislative framework.

Civil Code of the Russian Federation Article 152. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation

(see text in previous edition)

1. A citizen has the right to demand in court the refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, unless the person who disseminated such information proves that it is true. The refutation must be done in the same way that information about the citizen was disseminated, or in another similar way.

On demand stakeholders protection of honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen is allowed even after his death.

2. Information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen and disseminated in the media must be refuted in the same media. A citizen in respect of whom the specified information has been disseminated in the media has the right to demand, along with a refutation, the publication of his answer in the same media.

3. If information defaming the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen is contained in a document issued by the organization, such a document must be replaced or revoked.

4. In cases where information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen has become widely known and in this connection it is impossible to bring a refutation to the public, the citizen has the right to demand the removal of the relevant information, as well as suppression or prohibition of further dissemination of this information by means of seizure and the destruction, without any compensation, of copies of material carriers containing the indicated information made for the purpose of putting into civil circulation, if the removal of the relevant information is impossible without the destruction of such copies of material carriers.

5. If information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen turned out to be available on the Internet after their dissemination, the citizen has the right to demand the removal of the relevant information, as well as the refutation of this information in a way that ensures that the refutation is communicated to Internet users.

6. The procedure for refuting information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen, in other cases, except for those specified in paragraphs 2 - of this article, shall be established by the court.

7. Application of measures of responsibility to the violator for non-execution of the court decision does not relieve him of the obligation to perform the action provided for by the court decision.

8. If it is impossible to establish the person who disseminated information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen, the citizen in respect of whom such information is disseminated has the right to apply to the court with a statement that the disseminated information is not true.

9. A citizen in respect of whom information has been disseminated that discredits his honor, dignity or business reputation, along with the refutation of such information or the publication of his answer, has the right to demand compensation for losses and compensation for moral damage caused by the dissemination of such information.

10. The rules of paragraphs 1 - of this article, with the exception of provisions on compensation for moral damage, may also be applied by the court to cases of dissemination of any information about a citizen that does not correspond to reality, if such a citizen proves that this information does not correspond to reality. The limitation period for claims in connection with the dissemination of this information in the media is one year from the date of publication of such information in the relevant media.

11. The rules of this article on the protection of the business reputation of a citizen, with the exception of provisions on compensation for moral damage, respectively apply to the protection of business reputation. legal entity.

Restoration of reputation and protection of honor is a legal right of every citizen, which can be resorted to in cases of moral damage in the form of dissemination of defamatory information that does not correspond to reality.

Table of contents:

Defining the concepts of honor and dignity

The government Russian Federation the concepts of honor and dignity are not regulated, however, based on the provisions legal practice, the following can be noted:

the concept of honor means the assessment of a person by society, which is based on its social and spiritual principles;
dignity means the statement of a citizen about himself as an individual, his assessment of personal significance (introspection);
assessment of the professional and personal characteristics of a citizen in the aggregate is his business reputation (as a rule, it is applied in relation to legal entities).

The protection of these forms of personality assessment is regulated by the norms of civil, administrative and criminal law.

For example, the oppression of a person's dignity by any illegal actions is regarded as an insult. The offender is subject to punishment in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses. Taking into account the circumstances, motives and other components, monetary compensation is paid up to 5,000 rubles.

note

Dissemination of defamatory information about someone is punishable by the Criminal Code. Detention for libel does not occur, however, the culprit may be charged, as punishment, with executive work on a long period or compensation on an especially large scale (the fine can reach 5,000,000 rubles in proportion to the deed).

How harm to honor and dignity is expressed

In accordance with Article 152 of the Civil Code, causing moral harm to a person by disseminating false and defamatory information in society is a humiliation of dignity. The distribution methods do not matter in this case.

The reason for claiming the protection of reputation is the discrepancy between the disclosed data and reality.

It is the responsibility of the citizen who disseminated it to provide evidence of the truthfulness and accuracy of the information. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that there is a presumption of innocence, according to which all disseminated information is initially considered false. The opposite should be proved in court or in another procedure established by the Government of the Russian Federation.

An example is the dissemination of information that a citizen is guilty or contributed to the commission of a criminal act. Even with the indisputability of the data and the correctness of the citizen who provided them, without a court decision, they are not considered as valid.

Methods of protecting honor and dignity

To protect his reputation, a citizen needs to file a claim in court. The application must indicate:

Based on the results of the trial, the plaintiff has the right to count on:

official confirmation of the falsity of the information disseminated about him by the defendant;
compensation for moral damage in the form monetary compensation.

At the discretion of the court, two types of punishment can be applied to the offender at the same time, depending on the circumstances, his goals, and the degree of remorse.

Compensation for moral damage

To obtain monetary compensation, it is not enough to refute false information; it is also necessary to prove the infliction of moral damage. At the same time, it is rather difficult to provide evidence of spiritual suffering. The provisions of the legislation on this issue are rather vague and do not explain exactly how moral suffering should be confirmed.

According to Article 1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the signs of assessing moral damage are:

his character;
the degree of guilt of the defendant;
the circumstances of the crime;
characteristics of the victim.

In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Court No. 10, moral damage can be worries due to the loss of a job, inability to continue the usual way of life, and more. Typically in jurisprudence the former way of life is considered the refusal of society from communication and interaction with the victim, his exclusion from any organizations, and so on. All these factors, which have become the result of a slander or the dissemination of false information, can have a significant negative impact on a citizen.

According to Article 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, compensation is collected from the guilty person only in monetary terms. The size is established by the court, taking into account the requirements put forward. At the same time, any boundaries, general rules and views do not exist. The victim can demand the recovery of monetary compensation in any amount, however, the court has the right to reduce it.

note

A citizen has the right to apply to the authorities for compensation for mental suffering at any time. According to Article 208 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, cases on the protection of intangible rights are not statutory limitation.

Refutation of defamatory data

Discrediting information is refuted by the provisions of Article 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. This is done in the same way as the information was disseminated. However, there are some peculiarities:

if the disclosure of distorted information was made in the media, the victim has the right, together with the refutation of the publication, to demand a personal answer;
documentation that contains false information is subject to seizure (this also applies to special orders, orders of institutions);
if the refutation of the information is impossible, the victim has the right to demand the removal of materials with their reference from all sources of mass information (or removal of media), as well as a ban on their further mailing and distribution;
when publishing defamatory data on social networks or Internet resource sites, the posts are deleted with their further refutation.

Each person has such benefits as honor, dignity, business reputation, and a legal entity has a business reputation.

Honour - This public appraisal personality from a socio-ethical point of view, a certain measure of the spiritual, social qualities of a person.

Dignity - self-esteem, the idea of their own value as a person. The dignity of the human person is recognized by the state in equal measure for all members of society, which does not exclude the recognition of great services of some to others.

Business reputation of a citizen is determined by the level of his professional qualifications, and legal entity - assessment of production or other activities in accordance with its legal status in the context of business and market relations.

In organic unity with the concept of "honor" as a certain social assessment of a person, there is a category of dignity, which is a certain reflection of this social assessment in the mind of the subject himself.

The meaning of the term "reputation" largely coincides with the concept of honor. However, the personality's reputation is more manifested by its business qualities rather than ethical.

Under business reputation one of the aspects of reputation as a whole should be understood, which reflects the prevailing opinion about the qualities of the subject in the field of his professional activity.

The honor and dignity of the individual, the business reputation of the citizen and the legal lime are inextricably linked with the law, since their restriction or loss entails a decrease in a certain status in legal relations with other subjects. Therefore, honor, dignity, business reputation are the most important social and legal values for any state and society that need an appropriate legal protection.

The issue of legislative protection of honor, dignity and business reputation is, first of all, the issue of human rights, their real provision, and the possibility of their implementation guaranteed by the state.

In the civil legal sense, the categories of honor, dignity and business reputation should be considered as social intangible benefits protected by civil law, and as special subjective rights.

Each subject of law is endowed with a certain set of political, property, personal non-property rights that determine it legal position... These include subjective rights to honor, dignity and business reputation. These rights are elements of the legal personality of a citizen or organization (legal entity). Legal personality is a special specific legal property of an individual. Due to this property, as a subject of law, from the moment of birth, he is endowed with a certain set of rights. Legal personality determines to one degree or another the position of citizens in society, expresses the relationship between citizens and the state.

The right to honor, dignity and business reputation is an absolute subjective character due to the fact that the subjective right of the authorized person corresponds to the duty of an indefinite circle of persons. The content of this universal duty is to refrain from infringing upon the honor, dignity and business reputation of an individual or legal entity. The state protects the honor, dignity and business reputation of citizens or organizations (legal entities), respectively, by establishing a general obligation to refrain from encroaching on these social benefits and by providing judicial protection in cases of their violation.

The right to honor, dignity and business reputation, as well as the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, have real significance for subjects of law, not only when it is violated, but also independently of it. Endowing this or that natural and legal person with certain rights, the state ensures the necessary system guarantees for their implementation and protection, for the implementation of the rule of law in the Russian Federation, as well as providing for the liability of obligated persons.

Civil legislation establishes the provision that inalienable human rights and freedoms and other intangible benefits are protected by civil legislation, unless otherwise follows from the essence of these intangible benefits (Clause 2, Article 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Moreover, in Art. 150 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation defines an approximate list of legally protected intangible goods, subdivided into two groups:

intangible benefits acquired by citizens by virtue of birth and legal entities by virtue of creation;
intangible benefits acquired by them by virtue of the law.

To the blessings first group The Civil Code of the Russian Federation includes life, health, personal dignity, personal integrity, honor and good name, business reputation, privacy, personal and family secrets. They objectively exist independently of their legal regulation and need legal protection only in the event of an infringement on these benefits. At the same time, as noted, the right of citizens to honor, dignity and business reputation is their constitutional right, and the business reputation of legal entities is one of the necessary conditions their successful activities.

To intangible benefits second group includes the right to free movement, the right to choose a place of stay and residence, the right to a name, the right of authorship, and other personal non-property rights. They are the subjective rights of a specific legal relationship and thus are already regulated by the rules of law. In case of violation, these rights enjoy legal (legislative) protection.

The right to protection of honor, dignity and business reputation is enshrined in Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. According to paragraph 1 of this article, a citizen has the right to demand in court the refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, if the person who disseminated such information does not prove that it is true.

It follows from the content of this provision that the right to refutation can only take place in relation to the dissemination of defamatory information. It is also important that such a right arises regardless of the way such information is disseminated, and not only as a result of publications in the media, as it was before. The same paragraph states that, at the request of interested persons, it is allowed to protect the honor and dignity of a citizen even after his death. Indeed, defamatory information regarding such a person should not detract from the reputation, good name of his family and other subjects of legal relations. At the same time, the legislator gives an indefinitely wide range of possible plaintiffs, using the phrase “at the request of interested parties”.

Information disseminated in the media that does not correspond to reality must also be refuted in the media, and if the specified information is contained in a document emanating from the organization, such a document must be replaced or withdrawn. As for the procedure for refuting other situations, it is established by the courts (clause 2 of article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

In accordance with paragraph 3 of this article, a citizen in respect of whom the media have published information that infringes on his rights or legitimate interests, has the right to publish his answer in the same media. Attention should be paid to one significant circumstance arising from the content of Art. 152, which refers to the dissemination in the media of information "defaming the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen" (paragraph 2), as well as "infringing upon his rights and legitimate interests" (and. 3). In the first case, it is indicated that such information must be refuted in the same mass media, and in the second, the citizen is given "the right to publish his answer."

In accordance with Art. 208 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on claims for the protection of personal non-property rights and other non-material rights the limitation period does not apply, except as otherwise provided by law.

If it is impossible to establish the person who disseminated information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen, the injured person has the right to apply to the court with a statement that the disseminated information is not true (clause 6 of article 152).

In case of non-compliance with the court decision, the court is entitled to impose a fine on the violator. The fine is imposed in the manner and amount established by the civil procedural legislation, and is collected in the income of the Russian Federation. It also provides for the possibility of reimbursing the injured citizen for losses and moral harm caused by the dissemination of defamatory information (and. 5, Art. 152).

Thus, the ways to protect honor, dignity and business reputation in civil law are refutation and compensation (compensation) to the victim of moral harm. At the same time, refutation means bringing to the circle of persons in whose environment the information was disseminated information about their recognition by the court as untrue, and moral harm (in accordance with Article 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) - recognition of the victim's physical or mental suffering.

Compensation for non-pecuniary damage as a way to protect honor, dignity and business reputation

In civil law under harm means unfavorable changes in the good protected by law. In this case, one should distinguish property and non-property(moral injury. However, this does not mean that the infliction of property damage does not entail the experiences or sufferings of the victim, and in this aspect, these concepts are in a certain sense interrelated and interdependent in their consequences.

It should be noted that as a result of belittling the honor and dignity of citizens, as well as the business reputation of citizens or legal entities, moral damage is inflicted on them, subject to compensation (Article 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). In other words, non-property (moral) harm presupposes, first of all, various moral, emotional experiences caused by an offense. Moral harm often makes the victim suffer more sensitively and more acutely than property harm: without inflicting property harm on the victim, it causes severe moral suffering and mental anguish. Moral harm means, in particular, a violation of mental well-being, mental balance of the individual.

Thus, moral injury represents the undergoing of physical or mental suffering, a restriction of personal freedom, and therefore it should not remain outside the sphere of law.

Moral harm is mentioned in Art. 12, 151, 152, 1099-1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Currently, the legal assessment of the essence of moral harm, by which the legislator understands the infliction of physical or mental suffering on a citizen, is enshrined in Art. 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

In paragraph 2 of the resolution of the Plenum The Supreme Court of December 20, 1994 No. 10 "Some issues of the application of legislation on compensation for moral damage" (as amended on February 6, 2007) states that moral damage is understood as moral or physical suffering caused by actions (inaction) encroaching on those belonging to a citizen from birth or by virtue of law, intangible benefits or violating his personal non-property or property rights. Further, it is noted that a person's moral experiences and sufferings can be associated “with the loss of relatives, the inability to continue an active social life, loss of work, disclosure of family, medical secrets, dissemination of untrue information discrediting the honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen, temporary restriction or deprivation of any rights ”.

The duty of the offender to compensate for the moral (moral) damage caused by him is a measure of certain responsibility that has a preventive value in protecting the rights of an individual, which does not allow impunity to diminish his honor, dignity, and business reputation. Compensation for moral damage is, in turn, one of the ways to protect civil rights (Article 12 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for the grounds, methods and amount of compensation for moral damage exacted by the court, in particular:

compensation for moral harm (physical or mental suffering) is carried out in case of violation of personal non-property rights of a citizen or in case of encroachment on intangible benefits belonging to him (including honor, dignity and business reputation), as well as in other cases provided for by law (Article 151) ;
provides for compensation for moral damage to a legal entity, in respect of which there was dissemination of false information discrediting its business reputation (paragraph 7 of article 152);
compensation for moral damage, in particular, caused by the dissemination of information discrediting honor and dignity or business reputation, is carried out regardless of the fault of the tortfeasor;
compensation for moral damage is carried out only in monetary form and is determined depending on the nature of the physical and mental suffering inflicted on the victim, as well as on the degree of guilt of the inflictor of harm in cases where guilt is the basis for compensation for harm (paragraph 1.2 of article 1101).

It should be noted that for the first time in relation to the amount of compensation for moral damage, the legislator established that when determining it, the requirements of "reasonableness and justice" (paragraph 2 of Article 1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), as well as "the degree of physical and mental suffering associated with the individual characteristics of the person who has been harmed ”(Article 151).

The limitation period does not apply to claims for compensation for moral damage, since they arise from the violation of personal non-property rights and other intangible benefits (clause 1 of article 208 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

The impossibility of accurately determining the monetary or other property equivalent should not restrain the courts from making decisions on compensation for moral damage, in particular, in the form of monetary compensation. According to the legislation, the victim himself subjectively assesses the severity of the moral harm inflicted on him and indicates a certain amount in the claim.

Judicial protection of honor, dignity, business reputation

Civil legislation is based on the inadmissibility of arbitrary interference by anyone in private affairs, the need for the unhindered exercise of civil rights, ensuring the restoration of violated rights, their judicial protection (clause 1 of article 1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Judicial protection is a measure of state coercion provided by law aimed at protecting rights and freedoms and eliminating the consequences of their violation, implemented in civil proceedings, one of the important means the initiation of which is the claim.

Right to judicial protection should be considered as a constitutional subjective right of an individual or legal entity, which in civil proceedings is realized through a whole range of powers: the right to appeal to a court in general and to a specific court; the right to an objective examination of the claims made by the plaintiff; the right to make a lawful and reasoned decision, as well as the right to initiate cassation and supervisory proceedings and to enforce the judgment.

In accordance with the legislation, any interested person has the right to apply to the court in accordance with the established procedure for the protection of the violated (or disputed) right or interest protected by law. A citizen whose honor, dignity and business reputation has been diminished, and an organization (legal entity), if its business reputation has been discredited, has the right to file claims for the refutation of widespread untrue, defamatory information.

The disclosure of defamatory information to the person whom they relate to is not recognized as dissemination. In such cases, a citizen who has been informed of offensive information for him has the right to apply to the court with a request to initiate a case to bring the perpetrator to criminal responsibility under Art. 130 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Such an insult is considered inflicted in the absence of dissemination of any information about the victim to third parties, "one-on-one" (for example, an obscene gesture, an insulting letter to the victim containing obscene language, etc.). The listed actions belittle the dignity of a person and give rise to the right not only to initiate a criminal case under the article, but also to compensation for moral damage (if the tortfeasor is guilty).

According to paragraph 6 of Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, in circumstances where it is impossible to establish the person who disseminated information discrediting the honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen or the business reputation of a legal entity, the person in respect of whom this information is disseminated has the right to apply to the court with a statement that the disseminated information is not appropriate reality.

An equally important prerequisite for the emergence of the right to bring a claim for a person applying for judicial protection is civil legal capacity. By endowing the subjects with the ability to have civil rights and obligations, the legislator also provides them with the ability to apply to a court or other jurisdictional body for the protection of their rights or interests, to be a defendant or other subject of the process and to have civil procedural rights and obligations.

Cases on claims for the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation under Art. 152 are initiated according to the general rules for initiating civil cases in court. Such a case can be initiated by filing a statement of claim by citizens or organizations (legal entities).

As noted above, in cases of protection of honor, dignity and business reputation, the burden of proving the validity of the disseminated defamatory information lies with the defendant, the plaintiff is obliged to prove only the fact of their dissemination by the person or organization against which the claim is filed.

It should be noted that the possibility of real execution of a court decision is provided even during the period of acceptance of a statement of claim, preparation and consideration of a civil case, including on the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation. Thus, the court can take measures to secure the claim, prohibiting the further dissemination of information discrediting the plaintiff pending a final decision on the case. The court is obliged to take all measures, regardless of the stage of the process, to resolve the dispute, while avoiding infringement of the rights and legitimate interests of each of the parties.