The term “moral harm” has long been used in the legislative system of most states. As for our country, they recently started talking about this concept quite recently. Today, every citizen can receive moral compensation, regardless of social status and status in society. It must be recognized that in recent years, the degree of legal consciousness has significantly increased. Any person who, through the fault of the offender had to experience moral suffering, is protected by the state.
According to law
Notwithstanding the foregoing, receiving compensation for non-pecuniary damage is not so simple. A citizen must have sufficient reasons for the court to admit that he is right. Let's talk about the legislative component of moral compensation. The Civil Code, namely, article one hundred and fifty-one, regulates the general norms of the concept under consideration. Detailed information is contained in separate acts:
- The unlawful attitude towards the employee, that is, illegal dismissal, is discussed in detail in the two hundred and thirty-seventh article of the Labor Code.
- As for the dissemination of information that spoils the reputation of a citizen and is unconfirmed, article sixty-two of the Federal Law “On the Mass Media” dominates here.
- The same category includes separate articles in the Laws "On Personal Data", "On the Protection of Consumer Rights", etc.
It must be understood that the final decision on compensation for non-pecuniary damage is made by the judge. Of course, it is governed by federal laws and other regulatory legal acts. The citizen needs to know that the damage is compensated in cash, and all other points are at the discretion of the judge. It is almost impossible to predict the outcome of the process, since there is no single practice on this issue.
the confirmation
As noted earlier, payment is made only after the submission of irrefutable evidence. The victim must disclose facts directly indicating that the damage was caused. Compensation for moral harm occurs when there are three main factors:
- The offender against the victim through action or inaction committed an unlawful act.
- Suffering is the result of the negative influence of the offender.
- The offender must be found guilty, which is proved during the trial.
Examples
A wrongful act means that the offender, according to the law, did not have the right to do so. For example, consider a typical situation: a seller in a hardware store was accused of theft and fired, but no arguments were presented in favor of the offense. The conclusion is based on rumors and biased attitudes. The bottom line is that the person was humiliated, deprived of work on illegal grounds. The employee has the right to recover moral compensation from the store.
Slander and subsequent dismissal can have a detrimental effect on the mental state, a high probability of a nervous breakdown and moral suffering. This example directly indicates an unlawful act on the part of the leader. If the dismissal occurred under the article and for no apparent reason, the victim is likely to win the trial. The situation is complicated when the employee writes a statement of his own free will, then it is almost impossible to prove the leader’s guilt.
Now consider an example of inaction. The employee goes on vacation, but the due benefits were not paid on time.As a result, the employee cannot pay for the voucher for which he previously made a deposit. Here is an obvious example of both material and moral damage, so the amount paid on the security bill will not be returned. The main thing in such cases is not to sit still and not be inactive. The employee has the right to apply to the court with a claim for compensation for moral and material damage. To prove the latter is not difficult. As for the moral component, things are different here. If management is to blame for delayed payments, then no questions will arise. However, often in practice compensation for non-pecuniary damage is not always carried out, as the delay may be due to lack of money or other circumstances beyond the control of the employer.
How much do they pay
The legislation to date has not defined clear methods and criteria for determining the amount of payments. Nowhere are the lower and upper payout thresholds spelled out. The amount of moral compensation directly depends on several factors:
- the nature of the suffering of the victim;
- justice and reasonableness;
- degree of guilt (intent or negligence);
- other important circumstances.
Unfortunately, there is no single judicial practice on this issue. This leads to the fact that a person who has lost vision due to someone else’s fault is paid a smaller amount compared to an author who has copyright infringement. That is, the amount of moral compensation varies greatly depending on the circumstances. If you are a victim, do not skimp on a lawyer who will help to realize your rights.
Documentation
As you know, to appeal to the court, you need to draw up an appeal in writing. A claim for non-pecuniary damage must contain the name of the court, the name of the victim and the address of residence. There are no restrictions on the text; it is compiled in free form. The main requirement is an adequate statement of the problem and evidence of the offender’s guilt. It is also necessary to indicate the purpose of compensation for moral and material damage.
The following official papers must be added to the application:
- receipt of state duty, usually it is ten percent of the plaintiff's salary;
- confirmation of facts that violate the rights of the victim;
- for a representative acting on behalf of the plaintiff, you need a power of attorney to sign the application.
The list is unlimited, if desired, you can add other papers, including a certificate from the hospital. Contacts of witnesses will not interfere. The desired amount of payment must be indicated in the application for moral compensation. It is worth noting the need to use the principle of reasonableness in calculating the amount.
Accident compensation
This is one of those cases when it is not required to prove the act of the offender. According to statistics, physical harm is caused by the source of greatest danger in most situations in a traffic accident. Often as a result of a car collision, victims receive serious injuries, sometimes not compatible with life. A person after an accident may remain disabled until the end of days. Of course, in such situations, one should not forget about moral damage, because mental illnesses form easily and quickly, especially considering the fact of the torment experienced. It is worth noting that moral compensation is paid to relatives who lost their loved ones as a result of the accident.
An accident in which only the car was damaged and both sides were unharmed will cause some controversy. Here it is already necessary to prove the guilt of the defendant. There are situations when third parties illegally seize a vehicle and have an accident. Then compensation is demanded from them. If the owner of the vehicle whose health is injured is found guilty, no payment is made.
Compensation for offenses
Any offense entails the infliction of moral or material damage, but payment is made only in those cases, non-property rights are violated. For example, moderate injuries are detrimental to health. In this case, the rights to life and liberty are violated, so the victim may receive compensation.
A fairly common situation is when a person is slandered and he wants to restore his reputation and authority. The main thing is to prove the fact of slander in court, and moral compensation will not take long to wait.
The Criminal Code regulates offenses related to the personal integrity of the home. This means that you can’t rush into someone else’s house without a search warrant, and holding in custody for forty-eight hours is illegal. Delays in payments of various kinds, especially pension ones, may become a reason for going to court.
Agreement between the parties
Compensation for moral harm in the Russian Federation is carried out only after the decision of the authorized body. In our country, the judicial system is such that not everyone wants to get involved with this. Firstly, the case has been considered for quite some time. Secondly, the costs of filing a lawsuit and a lawyer may not be justified in the event of a lost process. Based on this, we conclude that both sides benefit from a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Not always the offender and the victim manage to find a common language and agree, but it's still worth a try.
If you are the accused, first of all, you need to protect yourself and conclude an amicable agreement. Otherwise, the victim has the right to sue. Compensation for non-pecuniary damage in this situation will be recounted not in your favor. Therefore, in the process of signing a peace treaty, you should make sure that the amount of payment fully meets the requirements of the victim.
State duty
As noted above, when applying, you must attach a receipt for the payment of tax (state duty). A claim for compensation for non-pecuniary damage is not included in the list of requirements for material wealth. However, payment to the state is made according to general rules, as for property risks. If we are talking about individuals, the state duty price is 300 rubles. If legal entities are disassembled, then the plaintiff needs to pay six thousand rubles.
How to behave in court
The trial always goes quite hard. When it comes to the death of a loved one or a lost reputation, the degree only rises. Therefore, before the trial, it is necessary to gain strength and patience. The practice of moral compensation shows that not all plaintiffs and defendants withstand stress. To make the process as profitable for you as possible, we recommend that you take note of the following tips:
- We need quality evidence. Remember: there are not many facts, the more the better. Often, against the background of experiences, the victim ends up in a hospital or at a psychiatrist appointment. In this case, be sure to provide the relevant information. If you have loved ones and friends who have been witnesses, feel free to invite them to the process.
- Moral training. No matter how hard it was for the victim, the court will re-examine what happened, and you need to be prepared for this. Recently, judges have demanded to personally appear to the plaintiff and tell what happened, in what exactly the suffering of a moral nature was manifested.
- Settlement cannot be discounted. If the defendant offers a deal for a decent amount, do not rush to refuse. The amount of payment may be significantly higher than the court will offer.
Payout amount
I must say that multimillion-dollar payments for causing moral damage are Hollywood tales. In fact, moral suffering is not so expensive. Russian realities are such that they do not exact much for moral suffering.For example, on average, moral damage from a person’s death in monetary terms is about one hundred and fifteen thousand rubles.
As for the offended honor, humiliation of dignity and damage to reputation, the figure here is even lower. Therefore, it is not surprising that most citizens simply do not want to waste time and nerves for a penny. In a year according to statistics, the court considers approximately twenty thousand cases of moral compensation. Although there are many times more moral damages. To determine the amount of payment, the court is guided only by its own discretion. The decisive role is played by the principles of justice and rationality. Of course, everyone has different concepts, so the process is rather subjective.
Arbitrage practice
If you look at the archive of practices for all time, there are many noteworthy cases. Here we will consider one interesting case when an elderly resident of the city of Orekhovo-Zuevo had to prove that she was alive. The trial took place in the Moscow Regional Court.
In June 2002, the woman was disconnected from the phone, and then they ceased to calculate pension. It turned out that she was considered dead, and this was the source of all ills. The woman spent more than six months on restoring her status.
In the fall of 2003, she filed a claim for non-pecuniary damage against the Department of Internal Affairs. Due to the mistake of civil servants, a death certificate was issued, the woman was deregistered, she lost benefits as a labor and pension veteran. Her death was documented, so the desired amount as compensation was one hundred thousand rubles.
As a result, the court ruled that the woman was supposed to pay thirty thousand rubles for harm, as well as reimbursement of legal expenses. A resident of Orekhovo-Zuevo was unhappy and filed a cassation appeal. The Ministry of Finance, which was charged with redress, also filed a cassation appeal. As a result, the court double-checked the case, and carefully examined all kinds of evidence. Found that a pensioner actually has the right to receive moral compensation. However, the court ruled that her suffering was not related to what had happened and reduced the amount of payment to five thousand rubles.
To date, there are many shortcomings on the issue of compensation for moral damage. We must not forget about the human factor in making decisions. No one knows how much time will pass until moral compensation in Russia approaches the size of the payment to Western standards. However, this does not mean that you just have to give up and do nothing. You should be able to assert your rights. If you are injured, do not hesitate to go to court. Sometimes it is better to turn to narrow specialists like lawyers or lawyers so that the likelihood of a favorable completion of the process increases.
Life and health are the most precious thing a person has. Various situations may arise, and not always the most pleasant ones. In any combination of circumstances, one must be able to restrain oneself and not succumb to emotions. It is no secret that any nervous breakdown or upheaval adversely affects the physical and psychological states of a person. It is necessary to learn to “hold the blow” and not to lose heart, even in the most difficult situation. And then your life will be long and happy.