Compensation for moral damage to the defendant. Legal advice: in what cases is moral damage subject to compensation? In cases of violation of the right to privacy and the right to personal and family secrets

Irina Fast

Lawyer, member of the Russian Bar Association. Legal experience - more than 20 years. Specialization - compensation for harm.

What is moral hazard?

Moral harm is the physical (pain, dizziness, suffocation, etc.) and moral (fear, depression, resentment) suffering that a person experiences if his intangible benefits and personal moral rights.

Regulated by Articles 151, 1100, 1101 of the Civil Code of Russia, as well as several decisions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court.

In what cases can moral damages be compensated?

Intangible benefits and personal non-property rights of a citizen include:

• life and health;
• immunity privacy;
• freedom of movement;
• personal and family secrets;
• honor, dignity and business reputation.

For compensation moral damage can be calculated if any of these rights are violated.

In some cases, moral damage is compensated unconditionally, even in the absence of the perpetrator’s fault. For example, if harm is caused to life and health in an accident, as a result illegal conviction, in connection with the dissemination of information discrediting business reputation.

Where to apply for compensation for moral damage?

1. To the offender. It’s better in writing: describe the circumstances, offer the amount of compensation.
2. To court. If an agreement cannot be reached, the only authority for resolving such issues is the court.

How to file a claim for compensation for moral damages?

Jurisdiction: the claim is filed in district court at the place of residence of the defendant or at the place of residence of the victim.

State duty: 300 rubles (many courts exempt plaintiffs in cases of compensation for damage to life and health from paying state fees).

Statute of limitations: absent. You can file a claim at any time after an infringement of intangible benefits or personal non-property rights.

Required documents:

• Confirming the event. For example, if we are talking about an accident, then a certificate from the traffic police, a resolution of the investigative authorities, and so on.
• Confirming the correctness of the choice of the defendant. The culprit is not always the right defendant. So, the parents are responsible for the child, and the employer is responsible for the employee.
• Confirming harm to health ( medical certificates) or disclosure of personal secrets (for example, a screenshot of a page on social networks).
• Confirming the presence of physical and moral suffering. For example, a psychologist's report.

If you cannot obtain a document on your own, ask the court for assistance in obtaining it.

How to act in court?

Litigation is hard. Moral damages must be proven, and this is not easy when it comes to pain due to death loved one or stress due to a tarnished reputation.

Therefore, the first and main advice: stock up on high-quality evidence. The more there are, the better. If, due to your worries, you had to stay in the hospital, see a psychiatrist, be sure to take relevant certificates. If loved ones witnessed your experiences, ask them to speak in court.

Tip number two: be prepared to relive what happened. IN Lately in the courts there was a tendency to demand that the plaintiffs themselves appear and personally recount the circumstances of the tragedy, in which the suffering was manifested.

Third tip: do not neglect the settlement agreement. If the defendant proposes to conclude settlement deal for an adequate amount, do not refuse. Sometimes you can get more from a settlement than from a court decision.

How much can you get for moral damages?

Multimillion-dollar payments for moral damages are a Hollywood fairy tale. Russian realities are such that it is not customary to charge much for experiences.

The average value of compensation for moral damage from the death of a person is 111 thousand rubles.

The “price” of insulted honor, dignity, violated freedom or personal integrity is even lower.

It is not surprising that citizens do not want to waste time and effort on cheap compensation. According to official statistics courts, in the first half of 2017, only a little more than seven thousand cases of compensation for moral damage in connection with harm to life and health were considered. Although there are many more such cases.

When determining the amount of compensation for moral damage, the court is not bound by the stated requirements and is guided only by its own discretion, taking into account the principles of reasonableness and fairness. Obviously, everyone’s concepts of reasonableness and justice are different.

The concept of “moral damage” is present in legislative system of all developed countries, but in Russian judicial practice it began to be used relatively recently.

Just a couple of years ago, news from abroad that an ordinary citizen was demanding compensation for moral damage in court made us smile and bewilderment. It was hard to believe that this actually happened, except that pop stars sued the yellow press after yet another sensational article. It is safe to say that today in our country the level of legal consciousness. Every person who has been treated unfairly and unlawfully can go to court for compensation for moral damage and be heard.

Mental anguish under the law

Definition of the concept

The issue of compensation for moral damage is addressed in Article 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, where “moral damage” is defined as “suffering”. This definition of the concept perfectly reflects the state of the person to whom the injury was caused. moral damage. Every person from birth has the right to life, health, personal dignity and much more, and when strangers by his actions or inaction violates these rights, the person experiences moral and sometimes physical torment.

Moral suffering can include feelings of grief, shame, fear, resentment, and the physical manifestation of suffering can be expressed in the form of physical pain, deterioration in well-being, the occurrence or exacerbation of a disease.

However, not everything is so simple; suffering alone is not enough to receive compensation. The fact of causing moral harm has several important components that still need to be proven, but more on that a little later.

Legal norms

The issue of compensation for moral damage has its own specifics. Article 151 of the Civil Code states general norm, detailed regulation is provided for in Articles 1009-1101 of the Civil Code, but more specific Additional Information contained in separate laws:

• The issue of compensation for moral damage related to unlawful treatment of an employee, for example illegal dismissal, considers Article 237 of the Labor Code.
• Article 62 of the Law “On Funds mass media» obliges to compensate for moral damage in the event of the dissemination of untrue information that discredits the honor of a citizen.
• Clause 5 of Article 18 is devoted to compensation for moral damage. Federal Law"On the status of military personnel."
• The same topic is reflected in Article 15 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”, Article 6 of the Law “On the Fundamentals tourism activities in the Russian Federation”, Article 17 of the Law “On Personal Data”, Article 136 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.

In fact, it turns out that laws only prescribe general provisions, and the right to accept final decision belongs to the judge.

Unfortunately, there is no list that lists all the suffering for which compensation is due, and there is no formula by which this same compensation could be calculated. Due to the lack of uniform judicial practice on this issue It is quite difficult to predict the outcome of the case. The only thing that is clearly defined by law is that moral damage is compensated in in monetary terms, and everything else is at the discretion of the judge.

Procedure

Damage confirmation

As noted earlier, moral damages still need to be proven.

Three factors are required:

1. Your offender must have committed an unlawful act or inaction against you.
2. Your suffering is the result of the abuser’s actions.
3. The offender must be truly guilty, and his guilt must be proven.

A wrongful act means that the offender had no right under the law to do so. For example, a bar employee was accused of theft and fired, but the fact of theft itself was not proven and was not documented. The accusations were based on rumors and prejudice. In this case, it turns out that the person was accused, his dignity was humiliated, and he was illegally deprived of his job. IN in this case it can be argued that opposition was committed against the employee.

Due to sudden dismissal and slander, the employee experiences moral suffering– a feeling of resentment, injustice, fear of not finding a new job. Against the background of these experiences, it may occur breakdown

. In this case, it is clearly clear that the illegal actions of the leader caused suffering. All that remains is to prove the leader’s guilt.

If an employee was dismissed under an article without any evidence or investigation, then this is a direct violation of the law. True, if the employee wrote a letter of resignation due to at will

under pressure from management, or the contract with the employee in question expired and was not renewed, then it is almost impossible to prove the guilt of the offender. Here's another example: an employee leaving for legal leave, vacation pay was not paid on time. Due to the lack of funds required by law, the employee was unable to pay for the trip, for which a deposit had already been paid, and did not go on the planned trip. This case is an example of inaction, because the offender was legally obliged to act differently than he did. Absence resulted in both moral and material damage, because no one will return the amount of the deposit for the trip. In this case, the employee should file a claim in court for compensation for material and moral damage.

As practice shows, material damage can be easily recovered, but moral damage will still be investigated.

If it turns out that the benefit was not paid due to the negligence of management or accounting, then it will not be difficult to obtain compensation. But if the payment was not made due to lack of money in the defendant’s account or other circumstances beyond his control, then the court may not find fault and dismiss the claim.

• It should also be noted that there are cases where guilt does not need to be proven to receive compensation:
• The harm was caused by a source of increased danger.
• In cases where a person was illegally convicted, arrested, his freedom was limited by a recognizance not to leave the place, or he was subjected to correctional labor. Detonation business reputation
• and humiliation of dignity through slander and rumors. Others provided by law

cases.

Assess the consequences

The law does not set out clear and precisely formulated criteria and methods for determining the amount of compensation for moral damage. There are no minimum or maximum limits for the amount of compensation.

• The decision on the amount of payment is made by judges, who must take into account the following factors:
• the nature of the victim's suffering,
• the degree of guilt of the defendant (did he do it intentionally or through negligence),
• requirement of reasonableness and fairness,

other important circumstances. Due to the lack of uniform judicial practice and common methods

assessments, it happens that a person who has lost his sight or hearing due to moral harm is awarded several times less compensation than a writer whose copyright was violated. This is why you should take it very seriously court hearing

, it would be a good idea to hire a lawyer who can help defend your rights.

Collection of documents and filing a claim In order to go to court, you must draw up statement of claim , in the header indicate the name of the court, your full name, and residential address. The text of the claim is written in free form . You need to clearly state the problem, provide facts proving your suffering and the guilt of the defendant. In addition to moral compensation, you can also demand compensation material damage

or lost profits.

• The following documents must be attached to the claim: 10% Receipt for payment of state duty (its amount is
• from the minimum wage).
• If a representative is acting on your behalf, then a power of attorney is required to sign the statement of claim.

You can also attach additional documents, for example, certificates from the hospital. If necessary, you can provide the names and exact addresses of witnesses who can confirm your case. You should also immediately indicate the desired amount for compensation.

When assessing the moral damage caused, one should remember the principle of reasonableness. You can link the amount of moral damage, for example, to your material costs, if any. You can submit a claim in person or by sending by registered mail at the place of residence of the plaintiff.

Compensation for moral damage to a citizen

In case of an accident

One of the cases where it is not necessary to prove the guilt of the causer in order to compensate for moral damage is an accident. Statistics show that most often physical harm is caused by a source of increased danger.

If we talk about moral damage from an accident, it often combines physical and moral suffering.

IN result of an accident people receive various types of injuries, which damages their health; a person may remain disabled or even lose his life. So serious physical consequences entail no less serious moral suffering. Victims of road accidents may develop mental illness against the backdrop of experiences physical suffering

. Relatives also have the right to compensation for their suffering.

It should be noted that if, as a result of an accident, only the vehicle was damaged, and all participants remained safe and sound, then in order to receive compensation, the defendant’s guilt will still have to be proven. There are cases when third parties unlawfully take possession of a vehicle and get into an accident. In this case, compensation for moral damage will be demanded directly from them. But if the owner vehicle

voluntarily transferred the right of control to another person, then moral compensation will be exacted from each of them, based on the degree of guilt. If the accident is the fault of the owner of the vehicle, whose health was damaged, then compensation is not paid to him.

In case of offenses Any offense causes material or moral damage to the victim, but only those cases in which non-property rights are violated are subject to compensation for moral damage. For example, infliction of serious harms human health and poses a danger to his life. The rights to life and liberty are among the fundamental rights of every person, therefore the victim has the right to receive compensation.

In the event of the death of the victim, his close relatives may apply for compensation for moral damage, since their family well-being is violated.

Another example of violation of moral rights is defamation. Every person who has been unfairly slandered has the right to be acquitted, having restored his right to honor, dignity and business reputation.

The Criminal Code considers offenses related to violation of the right to freedom and personal inviolability of home. Detention without court decision more than 48 hours is illegal, as is entering someone else's home without a court order, and for compensation moral labor

there is no need to prove the guilt of the offender. A fairly common offense is delay in payment of pensions and benefits, which makes it impossible to maintain decent level

life of the victims.

How to peacefully resolve a conflict

A peaceful resolution of the conflict will help both parties avoid wasting time and nerves on courts, lawyers, and paying fees.

This is beneficial to both parties, if, of course, the offender and the victim can communicate and reach understanding. If you are the offender, then do not forget to protect yourself and be sure to conclude a settlement agreement.

If you do not do this, the victim who received compensation from you will be able to file a lawsuit demanding a recalculation of the amount of compensation. The settlement agreement must indicate that the victim is satisfied with the agreed amount.

Arbitrage practice An interesting trial took place in Moscow regional court

at the beginning of the two thousandth. An elderly resident of Orekhovo-Zuevo had to prove that she was alive. In June 2002, the pensioner’s phone was turned off, and then her pension stopped accruing.

How surprised the woman was when she found out the cause of her troubles. It turned out that she was listed as dead. I had to spend more than six months trying to restore my rights. In October 2003, a citizen filed a claim against the Orekhovo-Zuevo Department of Internal Affairs for compensation for moral damages. After all, by mistake officials her death was documented, as a result of which the civil registry office issued a death certificate, she was removed from registration accounting

According to the court decision, the woman was paid 30,000 rubles and reimbursed court expenses – 15 rubles. The citizen was dissatisfied and filed cassation appeal. Oddly enough, the Ministry of Finance of the Moscow Region, which was entrusted with the responsibility for compensation for moral damage, was also dissatisfied. The Ministry also filed a cassation appeal.

The court once again checked the case materials. It was found that the pensioner does have the right to compensation for moral damage. However, the court considered that her illness and suffering were poorly related to what happened, so the amount of compensation was reduced to 5000 rubles.

The issue of compensation for moral labor is very controversial. Always consider human factor when making these decisions. It may be many more years before the amount of compensation for moral damages in Russia approaches Western standards. But this does not mean that you should simply give up and not stand up for your rights. Know how to stand up for yourself and your loved ones!!!

One of the most difficult aspects in the practice of litigation is establishing the amount of compensation moral damage, because the legislative acts not installed fixed amounts compensation. Often the amount of payment is set locally, according to the verdict of a particular court. In this case, the judge must take into account all the factors and circumstances available in the case, and, based on this, make a decision to pay a certain amount.

Definition of moral damage and its compensation

Moral damage is certain type mental ill-being of a person, received by him when he is insulted moral values, which can be presented in the form of moral and physical suffering.

Causing moral damage is a consequence of the conflict. In Russia, a claim against a defendant for moral damage must be addressed to state law enforcement services, which defines moral damage as a part of the legal environment.

Moral damage is regulated by the Civil Code (namely Article 151). The amount is calculated differently for each individual case and depends on the circumstances of the investigation, the evidence and the judge.

Criteria for determining the amount of compensation for moral damage

In its conclusions regarding the determination of the amount of payment, the court is based on Art. 151 and art. 1101 of the Civil Code, which establish the following criteria for determining compensation for moral damage:

At the same time, the Civil Code defines situations when payment may be charged to the defendant even if there is no personal fault in causing the damage. These are cases such as:

• moral damage caused emergency circumstances or situations with a high risk to health and/or life;
• promoting the message false information which insults or degrades the reputation and dignity of a person before society;
• a situation in which a person was wrongly charged as an accused in a criminal case.

When calculating the amount of compensation, the judge also analyzes the intention of the victim. If the applicant’s mistake is determined, the payment amount will be significantly reduced. If slander is established on the part of the plaintiff, the compensation will be canceled (in accordance with Article 1083 of the Civil Code).

If we talk about compensation for moral damage when causing damage to health, it should be noted that damage is divided into light, medium and severe based on the following criteria:

• level of ability (or lack thereof) to work;
• time spent recovering from injury;
• the presence of irreparable consequences: blindness, deafness, amputation of body parts, and so on.

The amount of compensation for moral damage in this case will depend on the level of physical harm caused. So, it will be:

• from 5 thousand to 45 thousand rubles. at causing easy damage;
• from 60 thousand to 480 thousand when causing average damage;
• from 100 thousand to 500 thousand when causing heavy damage.

To be entitled to substantial fair compensation for moral damages, you must provide the following evidence:

• recording of visits to the hospital (certificates, extracts, sick leave);
• proof of the degree of damage caused to health (extract from an expert in a criminal case);
• evidence of moral feelings (statements from psychologists and psychiatrists, eyewitness testimony).

note

In conditions where the plaintiff significantly overestimates the amount of the desired payment, the court may reduce the final amount of compensation.

How to sue for compensation for moral damages

To complete your application correctly, you must have and provide the following documents:

The lawsuit is being filed in standard procedure V arbitration court. The main requirement for the plaintiff is to indicate the desired amount of compensation from the defendant.

State duty when filing a claim for recovery of material damage for 2019. is 200 rubles.

The claim is considered within 5 days from the date of its filing. Next, the court informs the plaintiff of the date of the first meeting at which the hearing will be held. Typically, the trial lasts no longer than a month. However, the period of such litigation always individual.

note

After graduation trial The received statement must be kept in personal documents for unforeseen cases, because the case for compensation for moral damage has no statute of limitations.

With the help of an extract from the court, you can later go to court again if the offender repeats his actions. The extract will become additional evidence that will have impressive weight in court.

Compensation options

Payments of compensation for moral damage are possible in cash and non-cash form. In both cases, the defendant must have a document confirming the transfer of money to the plaintiff: receipts, statements bank accounts, checks, etc.

If within three months from the date of the court decision the victim has not received the amount awarded, he must inform the bailiff at the place of residence of the offender, which was indicated in the claim.

If the victim is confident that he is right, but the judge refused to accept the claim for record keeping, the plaintiff can appeal the decision of such a court to higher authority. Also in such a situation, you can declare Supreme Court with a demand to recover an amount for moral damage caused by the court authorities, which consists of an unfair refusal to resolve the conflict stated in the claim.

How to correctly calculate the amount of compensation for moral damage? What methods exist for calculating the cost of a claim when health damage is caused? slight harm? These questions interest many people who find themselves in difficult situations. After all, the maximum and minimum price damage has not been established by law. Regardless of the situation, the amount of compensation for moral damage is determined only by judges. The demands indicated by the plaintiff cannot be counted as the cost of the claim. The amount indicated in the application may be significantly exaggerated by the victim due to an inadequate moral state or an elementary thirst for profit. Lung assessment(as well as heavy and moderate severity) there is enough harm to health not an easy procedure. After all, compensation for treatment is not the amount of moral damage.

Under moral compensation in this situation, the physical suffering and moral distress suffered by the victim will be counted. In general, determining the price of a claim for compensation for moral damages is quite complex procedure. Judicial practice for last years revealed a large number of imperfections and insufficiency legal framework to determine the amount for moral damage. When considering such a claim, the judge independently determines, for example, the price of the victim’s health or the price of the consumer’s nervous shock for an exploding TV. It also happens that the victim indicates a small amount in his application in advance, and the court cuts it even further. In order not to miscalculate the amount of the claim (or, on the contrary, to justify its overstatement, provided that you are the defendant), it is necessary to present to the court a strong evidence base.

Experienced lawyers from our website will help you with this completely free of charge.

Competent specialists rely on judicial practice and legislative framework when deciding conflict situations on an individual basis.

Moral harm is understood not only as moral lamentation, but also as physically unpleasant and sometimes very painful sensations. That is, this is the infliction of bodily harm, which has an unflattering effect on appearance the victim and his health. It is worth considering that any harm to health (including minor) can be caused intentionally or unintentionally. I would like to immediately note that unintentional injuries are not subject to monetary compensation, but are punished only community service(although, of course, it all depends on the situation and circumstances). Deliberate infliction of harm to health is understood as a premeditated crime with specific purpose(robbery, revenge, anger, cruelty, etc.). Based on judicial practice, acts committed with intent face a more severe punishment and the cost of a claim in such situations is higher. In order to assess the physical damage caused to the victim, it is necessary to understand the difference between the divisions of the degree of harm to health.

Injuries caused (intentionally or unintentionally) are divided into:

• lungs;
• heavy;
• moderate severity.

In each case, the cost of a claim for moral damages will be different. The law defines different punishment behind various degrees causing harm to health. It could be:

• correctional work;
• forced labor;
• restriction of free movement or imprisonment accompanied by escort to familiar places;
• plus payment for moral damages according to the claim of the victim satisfied by the court.

Severity of damage caused to health

Minor harm to health is understood as a short-term disorder of the body’s functionality and temporary loss of performance (no more than three weeks). When harm to health is of moderate severity, body functions are more severely affected, and the person becomes unable to work for more than three weeks (more than 21 days). With definition severe injuries much more difficult.

The consequences of such injuries are reflected in the following list(at the same time responsibility for committed act, and, accordingly, the cost of the claim will be much more serious):

• violation usual life for the victim, without the possibility of returning to a normal state (the claim will contain demands not only for compensation for moral damage, but also for the imposition of punishment in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation);
• disruption of the full functioning of any organ in the victim or its complete removal (broken eye, failed kidney, etc.);
• consequences physical violence in the form of deformity (scar, burn, scar, etc.), especially in a visible place;
• loss of ability to work due to damage caused in the amount of at least 1/3 of the total amount;
• complete loss of the ability to work;
• provoking a miscarriage at any stage of pregnancy, disruption of the functioning of brain cells (development of mental and psychiatric diseases), development of addiction to drinks containing alcohol and narcotic drugs.

Determines how much severe consequences is worried victim expert physician or commission medical specialists. Reimbursement of the amount of the claim for an illegal act occurs in parallel with the imposition of the main punishment (correctional/forced labor, imprisonment, penalties, etc.).

Principles of compensation for moral damages

The infliction of moral harm is expressed either in the action or inaction of people, as a result of which the non-property rights of the victim were violated or an encroachment on the benefit occurred (expressed in material and intangible form).

Data object legal relations will be directly moral and ethical experiences caused by the following factors:

• death of relatives or very close dear people;
• job loss;
• restriction of participation in public life;
• violation of medical confidentiality;
• dissemination of information discrediting the image and status of the victim in his social circle (work, school, study, interest groups, etc.);
• restriction of freedom of action and rights in violation of the law;
• suffering mental or physical harm due to the exercise illegal acts in relation to non-material rights and benefits of a person of a non-material nature.

If as a result illegal actions If at least one of the above events occurs, then you can safely file a claim with judiciary. You can specify its price yourself, but final solution will still remain with the judge who will deal with your case.

The claim is filed by a person whose rights have been violated. The time frame for filing a claim is determined by the beginning of criminal proceedings and ends with the beginning of judicial trial. Collect evidence if your health is harmed investigative authorities, but in cases related, for example, to defense consumer rights or insulting a person publicly, including through an Internet portal, this duty falls on the victim.

The claim must contain the following information:

• what rights were violated;
• what consequences occurred after the offender committed the act;
• the price of the claim, which the plaintiff expects to receive;
• evidence confirming the victim’s claims (including support by the legal framework);
• a list of expenses incurred by the plaintiff due to misconduct defendant.

You can get advice and assistance in filing a claim on our website from experienced lawyers in handling cases on obtaining compensation for moral damage in various situations.

Compensation for moral damage in civil law

In accordance with civil law The division of labor occurs into two categories:

• damage to property;
• causing moral damage.

Under property damage is understood as an encroachment on the property of the victim. This type damage caused is compensated either monetary equivalent, or in the provision of similar property in in good condition. When compensating for moral damage, we can only talk about monetary compensation, and only in established by law cases. Everything is normative - legal acts and it is impossible to present comments on them at once. Therefore, for more specific information, you can contact our website specialists using the form feedback absolutely free.

Civil law obliges the defendant to pay compensation provided that his guilt is proven in court.

Also, payments for moral damage will be made even without intent in the following situations:

• Article 1079, injury to the victim from a source of high danger;
• Article 1070, conviction of the victim, his involvement in forced/compulsory/executive labor, arrest, recognizance not to leave, prosecution under the Criminal Code is illegal;
• Article 62, libel;
• other situations, provided for by the standards law.

As mentioned above, moral experiences are compensated only in in cash. Unless the parties can agree on a different solution to the conflict that has arisen between them in pre-trial proceedings.

The amount of the refund will be assessed depending on the following circumstances:

• on the severity and nature of the injuries and suffering suffered by the victim;
• on the extent to which the guilt of the perpetrator is determined.

When determining the amount of compensation, a judge can only be guided by common sense and a sense of justice. Since the regulatory framework and exact amounts The civil code does not provide. Experienced lawyers will help you draw up an application to the court for compensation for moral damage, help you write a counterclaim, organize legal support at all stages of the trial.

Evidence of damage and compensation rules

To prove that harm to health was actually caused, it is necessary to provide extracts from the hospital card or the history that the doctor writes during treatment in a hospital setting. You can also bring it to court sick leave, confirming in what period you did not visit workplace. To prove moral suffering, you will need witnesses (at least two) who can describe your state of mind before the conflict between the victim and the defendant and after it. So suffering alone is quite a disadvantageous activity.

When the court considers a case to recover compensation from a defendant, it will consider the following factors:

• the severity of the plaintiff’s moral distress;
• the severity of the plaintiff's physical injuries;
• all aspects of the case under consideration that are significant;
• the degree of guilt of the defendant;
• the relationship between the actions of the defendant and the condition of the victim;
• the degree of wrongfulness of the defendant’s actions against the plaintiff.

The court may satisfy the plaintiff's claim for full amount, for partial payment, or to refuse altogether. The verdict is fixed by a court decision. Then, the results of the case are sent to bailiffs, which, in turn, collect the amount from the defendant in accordance with the writ of execution. At collective responsibility, for each culprit there will be a separate performance list indicating the amount he must pay to the person who filed the lawsuit. To avoid wasting time and to achieve punishment for the person who offended you. Or, on the contrary, to avoid liability for something you did not do (in case you were slandered and want to profit from it), contact experienced specialists with experience and practice in dealing with cases of compensation for moral damage and payment of compensation for physical and non-material damage caused. Consultations are free.

Moral damage in criminal law

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains in its norms almost the same definition of moral harm and damage as other normative legal acts, but for a more precise understanding it divides the concept into its component parts:

• causing only moral harm (personal insult, slander, etc.);
• causing both moral and physical harm (beatings of varying severity, theft, etc.);
• causing simultaneously property, physical and moral harm (robbery, robbery, etc.).

By compensation, criminal proceedings mean replenishment, smoothing out or compensation for the consequences of the defendant’s act by all possible ways in addition to the punishment that he received for violating the law (for example, causing grievous bodily harm will be punished under one article, in parallel, the victim can file a claim for compensation for moral damage).

But the suffering received will be compensated if there is following conditions simultaneously:

• the unlawfulness of the defendant’s actions has been proven;
• the connections between the cause and effect of the defendant’s actions and the condition of the victim have been proven;
• the defendant has been proven guilty of the charges brought against him.

Even if the court considers a case that falls under the jurisdiction of the criminal process, moral damages are assigned in accordance with the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Criminal law provides several options for compensation for harm caused:

• returning things to the owner when using them as evidence;
• compensation in cash equivalent;
• restitution;
• making amends (correction by the defendant of everything he has done);
• repentance (in voluntarily the defendant corrects all his illegal actions towards the plaintiff);
• conclusion of a peace treaty.

One of the most controversial and controversial issues in judicial practice is determining the amount of compensation for moral damage.

Many court decisions on the recovery of compensation for moral damage have become notorious. This is especially true for cases of compensation for harm caused to the life and health of citizens in connection with the death of loved ones caused illegal actions government agencies and so on. It is noteworthy that such popularity of court decisions in the West and in Russia has the same reason -. But at the same time they have a diametrically opposite direction. In the West, the size is often overestimated, but in Russia it is underestimated to a ridiculous level. The main reason is so different approaches in determining the amount of compensation lies in the application of different legal systems - Anglo-Saxon in the West and Romano-Germanic in Russia.

I will not go into discussions about legal systems, advantages, disadvantages, etc. When discussing this topic, one can get into very distant jungles that are not related to today’s topic, although the topic is attractive and can be discussed sometime later.

We are primarily interested in practical side affairs.

There are several practical questions:

How to determine the amount of compensation for moral damage?

Does the declared size affect the final size of the court decision?

And is the game really worth the candle?

It is no secret that in practice it is impossible to be guided by the criteria for determining the amount of compensation for moral damage specified in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Article 150 and Article 1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), due to the lack of clarity and unambiguity.

These are the criteria the judges and I are instructed to follow Civil Code, you can judge for yourself:

The degree of guilt of the offender;

The degree of physical and moral suffering associated with the individual characteristics of the person who suffered harm;

Other noteworthy circumstances;

The nature of physical and moral suffering, which must be assessed taking into account the actual circumstances in which moral harm was caused, and individual characteristics victim;

Requirements of reasonableness and fairness.

If the degrees of guilt and the degree of physical suffering are determined by law, then everything else is a complete blank. In addition, the legislation does not have any reference point, expressed in rubles, to which one could be attached, at least when determining the scale of “tariffing” of the degree of guilt and the degree of suffering.

We impose on this problem the bureaucratic nature of our judges and the historically established definition of value human life in Russia and we receive court decisions that can only be called mocking.

There are rare exceptions, which remain such, precisely because of the rules applied in Russia. legal system, which does not allow prejudice(application by analogy) court decisions.

But this is all lyrics again. What amount of compensation should be indicated in the claim?

There are two opinions:

1. You need to declare a larger amount to get something acceptable in the end.
2. It is necessary to indicate the amount closer to reality - there will be fewer reasons to reduce it.

In practice, I was unable to identify a clear pattern. Therefore, I believe that both approaches have rights to be used. Personally, I tend to lean towards the second option. But I do not undertake to estimate, even approximately, the harm caused to health and life.

It is much easier to determine the amount of compensation in cases such as consumer protection. I have already noticed in practice that judges, when determining the amount of compensation for moral damage, for some reason, are often tied to the cost of the goods that are the subject of the dispute. Therefore, there are such absurdities as, for example, the same amount of compensation for moral damage according to miscellaneous matters– about the return of low-quality household appliance and compensation for damage to health caused as a result of beatings.

It follows from this next question: Does the declared size affect the final size of the court decision?

As you probably guessed from the answer to the first question, the conclusion will be: no, it doesn’t matter. In judicial practice, there are examples of reducing the declared amount by almost 10,000 times.

What then influences the determination of the amount of compensation by the court, what factors?

I can’t lay claim to the truth, but from my observations I came to the following conclusions:

Personality of the judge;

Applicant's identity (status);

The degree of validity of the suffering (at least some documentary evidence is highly desirable);

As you can see, the last factor is the only one that can be controlled and controlled by the applicant.

AND last question, indirectly related to this topic: Is it worth filing a claim for compensation for moral damages?, if the amount of compensation may not even cover legal costs?

For myself, I came to this conclusion. If a claim for compensation for moral damage is filed separately, then it must be filed and supported in court independently, without the involvement of legal assistance. Thus, you can count on at least some material satisfaction from the trial, and quite possibly quite a lot. IN otherwise, it may well turn out that even the costs of a representative (lawyer) will not be covered, and this when positive decision court Another factor in favor of self-support this claim– no matter how you decide, it’s up to you to talk about the degree of your moral suffering, and judges take this into account (also from observations in practice).

If the claim for compensation for moral damage goes additional item to the main claim, the subject of which allows such a claim, then it is necessary to declare compensation unambiguously. The state duty is 200 rubles (reimbursed upon satisfaction of the claim).

In conclusion, I can add that recently there has been a tendency to increase the amount of compensation for moral damage, established by the courts. Therefore, there is only one conclusion: we need to file claims for compensation for moral damage more and more often; this is the only way to accustom our judges to this category of cases and influence the formation of a unified judicial practice.