A civil defendant is a term that applies to a participant in a criminal process, but in the broadest sense, is a participant in a civil dispute, one of its parties. What are the features of his status?
Who is the defendant
In civil proceedings, the main participants in the proceedings are the plaintiff and defendant. Defendant - a person brought in connection with a lawsuit filed against which claims have been made.
A person or individual, state or municipal authority or legal entity may act as a defendant in a civil case. The body or representative of the organization must necessarily have the status of a legal entity. For example, police departments or a pension fund, unlike departments, are not legal entities, respectively, they do not represent themselves.
Sometimes the court has the right to attract organizations that do not have the status of a legal entity, for example, the council of an apartment building that decides on the management of the same house. This refers to the recognition of their acts as illegal or invalid.
Civil defendant - a person who is responsible for non-fulfillment of obligations, causing harm and other violations of the law. The defendant is the parents, guardians or trustees or organizations responsible for the actions of the child.
If the defendant is not alone
In complex disputes, there may be several civil defendants. Often during the process, first one person is involved, then another, and so on. This is due to the fact that each of them bears only part of the responsibility for the violations committed, and the circumstances of the case are clarified over time.
This refers to either joint or several liability. The first option involves the division equally, the second means the attraction, due to the impossibility of the original defendant, to fully compensate for the damage or pay the debt.
Second Side Replacement
The judge, having accepted the lawsuit, can see that the wrong person was chosen as the second party. There is a choice of an improper defendant in a civil proceeding.
To agree or not to the proposal of the court to attract another defendant, decide the plaintiff. A judge is not entitled to make independent decisions in this regard. On the other hand, he can leave the lawsuit motionless, indicating the need to provide a set of documents for the other defendant and adjust the claims in this regard. The plaintiff is forced to correct the text of the claim by indicating an additional defendant and attaching an additional set of copies of documents.
The result of the claim in such a situation is a decision to satisfy it in respect of a part of the defendants.
What rights does the defendant have?
You must be aware that the status of a civil defendant is different, since the criminal and civil proceedings have certain differences.
Art. 35 GIC lists the basic rights and obligations of the parties to the process. An approximate list of them is as follows:
- to get acquainted with the case materials, copy or photograph them;
- make statements, file motions;
- ask questions to other participants in the case, witnesses, experts;
- provide evidence;
- appeal the decisions and decisions adopted on the merits of the dispute;
- invite a representative.
These are not all the rights that the defendant has in the civil process. The legislation provides a wide range of rights to a civil defendant, and their timely use will give a positive result in the form of a denial of a claim or only partial satisfaction thereof.
Representative participation in civil proceedings
A representative is a person who, by virtue of a position, law, or formalized power of attorney, represents another person or organization. By law, representatives are parents, guardians, or trustees.
In this capacity are not public servants, law enforcement officers. Investigators and prosecutors, in the case specified in the law, represent their bodies. All civil servants and law enforcement officials are not deprived of the right to legal representation of their children or wards.
The prosecutor's office represents citizens who need the help of the state due to low incomes, and the inability to protect themselves. Citizens whose place of residence is unknown is provided with a lawyer appointed by the court as a representative.
Along with prosecutors, the interests of citizens are entitled to be represented by other authorities, in particular guardianship authorities, labor inspectorates, etc.
The representative of a civil defendant has the same procedural rights and obligations. Some of them must be specified in a power of attorney, for example, the right to conclude a settlement agreement or sign a complaint to a higher authority. A complete list of such rights is set forth in Art. 54 GIC.
Usually, representation by state bodies is provided by the plaintiff, but it is not said anywhere that a citizen has no right to attract them if he acts as a defendant in the process.
Acquisition of defendant status
According to the law, the accused or defendant, after referral of the case to the court, is a civil defendant automatically, unless otherwise provided by law.
All other persons acquire the status of a defendant by issuing an appropriate decision of the investigator, interrogating officer or judge.
Who becomes the defendant
Civil defendant in a criminal case - an organization or individual who is responsible for the harm caused by the crime. Most often, parents are guardians and trustees.
Parents deprived of their rights are held liable in the same way if the crime is committed within 3 years after such a procedure. The investigator must prove that the behavior of the child is caused by the lack of education of such a parent.
It should be noted that the definition of family ties is based on the norms of the CPC. In Art. 5 gives an explanation of loved ones, which differs from the concept of relatives given by the Family Code.
The second example is the responsibility for committing crimes in transport. Citizens-drivers are involved as defendants. If the transport was not stolen or stolen, then the organization or individual owner is involved as a civil defendant.
The decision of the investigator or the court ruling on engaging as a defendant in a criminal case is justified if there is a connection prescribed by law. As a rule, we are talking about civil law.
Rights and obligations of the defendant in criminal proceedings
The list of rights granted by law is determined by the nature of the process and its features. And what is the defendant entitled to count on:
- get information about the claim;
- object to the claim, give explanations;
- collect and provide evidence;
- submit motions and applications;
- to get acquainted with the case materials, copy it in the part related to the civil lawsuit;
- take part in trials in all instances;
- get acquainted with the protocols of investigative actions, court hearings;
- complain about the investigator, prosecutor, court decision;
- Receive information about other complaints regarding a civil action.
The exercise of these rights should be aimed at protecting against a lawsuit. If the court or the prosecutor considers that the complaint does not affect the rights of the defendant, it is rejected.
The defendant, as well as in the civil process, is obliged to appear at the call of the investigator, interrogator and court, but his failure to appear has more serious consequences, in particular the forced drive by the police.
The civil defendant is liable for the disclosure of the confidentiality of the investigation, subject to prior receipt of a receipt from him.
As you can see, the complex of rights and obligations of a civil defendant in civil and criminal trials is significantly different.
Some nuances
Involvement as a civil defendant in a criminal case is impossible if the act is committed by persons whose liability is excluded for a number of reasons. For example, for citizens under 18 years of age, proceedings are instituted only in certain cases. If the criminal proceedings are excluded, the victim has the right to go to court with a regular lawsuit.
If for some reason a civil lawsuit has not been filed and not considered in the framework of criminal proceedings, it is allowed to file a lawsuit in the civil process. If the claim is denied by the verdict, the right to it in the usual manner still remains.
If the claim was examined in the usual manner before the end of the investigation or sentencing and it was denied, neither the investigator nor the judge conducting the criminal case have the right to accept a civil lawsuit.
Existing parents, guardians are involved as defendants at the same time and without exception. That is, you can not attract only one of the parents at its discretion.
At the same time, if the culprit has his own income, in particular, he was engaged in labor or entrepreneurial activity and was even emancipated, that is, recognized to be fully competent in court, the possibility of securing a claim primarily from his property and money, is considered, not parents or guardians.