Responsibility for defamation is provided for by law, namely, the 128th article of the Criminal Code. For such a crime will have to answer both to the person and to the state. You can find out if you can sue libel by reading the article to the end. To initiate the process of bringing the violator of the law to justice, you must write a statement of crime to the competent authorities.
The concept of defamation
Not everything that is considered defamation in society is subject to criminal punishment, therefore, in order to understand whether a person can be sued for defamation, it is necessary to understand what significance this concept has in the Criminal Code.
Defamation is understood to mean the dissemination of information that is knowingly false, defaming the dignity and honor of others, or undermining their reputation and degrading rights.
Each of the words of this concept has its own meaning:
- Falsehood assumes that the disseminated information is not true.
- Curiosity means that the perpetrator knows that the information communicated to him in relation to another person does not correspond to the real state of affairs.
- Dissemination is the communication of information to at least one person in any way.
- Defamatory information is information about a person that characterizes him unflatteringly, puts it in a negative light.
If these signs are present in the deed, then there should be no doubt about whether to sue libel.
In addition, other conditions must be observed:
- The slanderer must be over 16 years old.
- Offenders and victims may be solely individuals.
- The presence of direct intent in the crime, when the violator of the law clearly realizes the wrongfulness of his act, knows what consequences may occur, and wants them to occur for the victim.
Responsibility for the crime
It is important to find out in advance whether it is possible to sue libel and which legal acts should be referred to.
In article 128.1 of the Criminal Code, there are 5 parts that define measures of responsibility depending on the content of slander and the method of its distribution.
The following penalties are provided for defamation:
- 60-480 hours of mandatory work.
- 5 thousand - 5 million rubles of a fine or the amount of income for 2 weeks - 3 years.
If the court finds guilty of the offender and fines him as a punishment, the latter will be sent to the account not of the victim, but of the state.
Authorities to apply for
Russian law provides for 2 varieties of liability for defamation:
- Civil law, when the perpetrator must compensate for the damage that arose as a result of the crime, in monetary terms by decision of the district court.
- Criminal law, when the perpetrator is brought to justice of a criminal nature, and he will have to serve the sentence imposed by the court. Responsibility of this type can be achieved in two different ways - by contacting a magistrate court or the police with a statement. The method of initiating a criminal case depends on the circumstances clearly defined by law.
That is, the authority to which the application should be addressed directly depends on the method of protection chosen by the victim. Before you write a statement, you must have a clear idea of whether it is possible to prove defamation in court. To do this, use audio recordings, correspondence and other means.
Police statement
Any territorial police unit must accept a statement of defamation, as well as reporting any other crime. This rule is supported by law.
But if we talk about slander, the police inquire not in every case should initiate and investigate the case. It all depends on a number of conditions and circumstances in which the crime was committed.
Simple slander
Defamation is considered simple if it is committed without aggravating circumstances. Responsibility for it is established by the first part of the aforementioned article. The criminal prosecution in this case takes place privately, and the cases relate to cases of private prosecution.
That is, the prosecution in the first part of 128.1 of the article of the Criminal Code is carried out by state bodies only if libel took place against a person who was not able to assert his own rights:
- Due to a dependent, helpless state, for example, in relation to a person with mental or physical disabilities, young or old.
- If defamation took place on the part of an unknown person.
In such circumstances, a statement from the victim is not mandatory. Verification and initiation of criminal proceedings will follow even after the police report such slander. If the act has no signs of crime, a refusal will follow. It would be logical to doubt whether I can sue a person for libel in this case.
In other cases, the police do not have the authority to initiate proceedings on the specified part of article 128.1. Magistrates are doing this. But going to court does not exclude the possibility of going to the police in order to collect the data necessary to go to court.
The received application assumes the beginning of the pre-investigation check in the usual manner. If there are all signs of slander, then the solutions may be as follows:
- The audit materials will be transferred to a magistrate’s court, where a case can be brought if the victim so desires.
- The initiation of proceedings will be refused due to the lack of a statement from the victim (if he refuses to continue the process).
You need to know that a statement filed by the victims with the police will not be enough to initiate proceedings. The court, having received such material, will indicate its shortcomings and give a time limit for their elimination. To start the trial, you will have to prepare additional documentation.
If defamation was committed by an unidentified person, and during the verification they will establish it, then subsequent proceedings will take place privately.
In the case when the slanderer is being established already during the investigation, the inquiry will continue in the general manner. The case will be sent to court only after the inquiry ends.
Skilled Slander
More severe penalties are established by 2-5 parts of 128.1 of the Criminal Code. According to them, responsibility is provided for qualified libel, which includes:
- Defamation, which accuses of grave acts prohibited by the Criminal Code.
- Containing information about the victim's disease, which is dangerous for others, or accusing him of crimes of a sexual nature.
- Perfect using official position.
- In public works, speeches demonstrated by the media in public.
For defamation that was committed in the circumstances, criminal prosecution is carried out by prosecutors and police inquires in public.
Drafting a statement
Legislation does not have specific requirements for allegations of defamation to the police. It should summarize the circumstances of the incident, a request to start the audit, to bring the perpetrator to justice. The document should be written in the name of the head of the police department. The data of the applicant must also be indicated.
To save time, it is recommended to file a complaint with the police department at the place of the offense.
Deadlines
Crime is an act of minor gravity.In this regard, the statute of limitations for it is 2 years from the date of its commission. That is, the offender can be punished if you apply with the appropriate statement during this period.
Application to the court for initiating proceedings under the Criminal Code
If the statute of limitations has been met, then the answer to the question of whether it is possible to sue libel is positive. Private criminal cases, including simple slander, are held by justices of the peace at the place of the commission of unlawful acts.
Judicial authorities will be able to consider the submitted application in the following cases:
- If there is simple slander.
- If the offender is known.
- If the applicant is able to independently assert his rights.
- If the application complies with other provisions of Article 318 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Compilation rules
Many are interested in how to sue for libel. A sample application can be taken at the police station or in the courthouse. An application to a magistrate court must contain certain information:
- The name of the body.
- Information about the libel, circumstances, time, place.
- Request to take to the production of the case.
- Information about the victim, his passport details.
- Information about the alleged intruder.
- List of witnesses to be summoned.
- Signature of Applicant.
The application should be submitted with copies for persons whom the victim wants to bring to justice.
If the applicant has complied with all the requirements, the court will begin the proceedings. One week after applying:
- The alleged culprit is summoned to court.
- He is introduced to the case.
- Issue a copy of the application.
- Explain rights.
- Find out a list of witnesses who should be called in as a defense.
Drawing up a statement of claim to the judicial authorities
It is possible to defend business reputation, dignity, and honor in a civil process. In this case, how to attract for libel? The statement of claim is filed in court in accordance with the rules set forth in Article 152 of the Civil Code.
The first instance in the consideration of such cases is the district courts at the place of residence of the defendant. The victim of defamation in his lawsuit has the right to demand:
- Refutations of defamatory and false information distributed by the defendant.
- Indemnification.
- Compensation for non-pecuniary damage.
Claims in which the victim requires a rebuttal do not have a limitation period. For libel associated with the dissemination of false information in the media, the statute of limitations is 1 year. For claims for damages - 3 years.
For a claim to be satisfied, three conditions must be met:
- Information should be defamatory.
- It must be distributed.
- It should not be true.
If at least one of the indicated conditions is absent, the plaintiff can not be counted on for a favorable resolution of the case. It is worth noting that civil and criminal methods of protecting one’s honor do not exclude each other.
Many are interested in the question of whether it is possible to sue libel and humiliation. Before submitting a statement of defamation, the victim should weigh all the circumstances and also consider how he will prove the crime. Undoubtedly, if slander was spread through the media, then this will be quite simple. But in other cases, the proof of their own correctness in such cases can be quite complicated.