Collecting moral harm is becoming a trend, partly the reason for this is the influence of Western culture. However, life is not so simple, and Russian legislation is a confirmation of this.
The value of intangible goods
All people, without exception, have a set of rights that no one has the right to restrict or ignore. Their violation entails serious consequences for both the victim and the perpetrator.
First of all, non-pecuniary damage is aimed at restoring, at least partially, non-property rights. Life, health, the right to privacy, and other similar benefits are considered the most important. They cannot be fully appreciated in monetary terms. There is no way to compensate for the loss of health or loved ones with money or other material assets.
Judicial practice today has developed certain criteria for the application of norms on moral harm and its compensation.
The meaning of the right category
Non-pecuniary damage - suffering of a physical and emotional nature caused to a person by a violation of his rights. They differ in severity. Why then are the difficulties?
The rules of law are vague. People react differently to the same situations, and the task of the court is to find out all the circumstances and the severity of human rights violations, to determine an adequate amount of compensation.
The law prohibits starting from the level of property losses in assessing moral damage; they cannot be linked directly. So, for example, a thing that is inexpensive in monetary terms can be of great importance for a particular person.
Legislative regulation
Articles No. 51, 52 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation are devoted to clarifying what intangible personal goods are. The legislator did not give an exhaustive list.
Articles No. 1099 - 1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation are devoted to the norms describing the compensation mechanism: the grounds and procedure, as well as the methods and amounts of compensation.
And one more thing: the law extends the effect of moral hazard standards to property relations where it is directly indicated. For example, the relationship of consumers and entrepreneurs. Recovery of non-pecuniary damage is allowed in many cases affecting property rights.
Judicial practice reflects the prevailing interpretation of the law. Despite the limited obligation to apply the findings of judicial practice, it is of serious importance. This also applies to the Decisions of the Plenums of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and reviews of practice, which formulate recommendations in resolving specific disputes.
Protection of Related Rights
The protection of the honor and dignity of the individual stands apart. They are included in the list of intangible goods subject to compensation, but the law provides for some features of their safety. Thus, an integral part of the protection of honor and dignity is compensation for non-pecuniary damage. However, we must remember that the first and second concepts are not identical things.
The state pays citizens for violation of reasonable time limits for the consideration of cases equated to moral damage. Why? Having received money for red tape, a person has no right to further seek compensation for non-pecuniary damage.
When considering a case of administrative violation, the judge has the right to decide on compensation and non-pecuniary damage. The resolution, which does not suit the victim, gives him the right to file a lawsuit. If it was considered earlier, in administrative cases the issue of causing non-pecuniary damage is no longer raised. How often happens in judicial practice? Claims for non-pecuniary damage are more common.
Case studies
Consider what causes the claims:
- disclosure of information about a person’s private life, other secrets protected by law (medical diagnosis, details of an intimate life, etc.);
- illegal actions leading the victim to the hospital;
- restriction of rights by unlawful actions of authorities or officials;
- disclosure of false information.
Claims for non-pecuniary damage are sometimes filed for completely outlandish reasons. Whether they are justified or not, the court decides.
Claim preparation
Drawing up a claim involves the fulfillment of two conditions:
- compliance with formalities not related to the essence of the claim;
- providing arguments that the court considers sufficient for a positive decision.
The case may be “clean” - the lawsuit affects only compensation for non-pecuniary damage, or additional requirements are included in it. For example, a consumer asks to return the amount of money paid for the goods, adding more funds for causing feelings.
External claim
The statement of claim for non-pecuniary damage is drawn up in a single form. The law divides it into the following points:
- name of court;
- information about the plaintiff (name, place of residence);
- information about the defendant (name, place of residence);
- statement of circumstances of the dispute;
- reference to evidence, regulatory documents;
- petitions to the court (to request documents, to appoint an examination, etc.);
- claims directly - to recover a specific amount for the purpose of damages.
The scheme of the construction of the claim
A positive decision requires the court to deal with the following points:
- the fact of causing harm;
- the fact of unlawfulness of the actions of the defendant;
- the relationship between the suffering of the plaintiff and the actions of the defendant;
- the presence of fault of the offender.
How is the evidence base built?
How to choose the right evidence for a claim for non-pecuniary damage? All actions related to causing harm are illegal. And each of them is also the basis for administrative or even criminal liability. So, referring to the beatings, facts of domestic violence, the plaintiff can prove them by submitting documents from the police - a protocol or a resolution on the commission of a violation in which the defendant was previously convicted.
If the case was dismissed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, the situation is more complicated. However, there is enough protocol to evaluate the actions of the defendant.
Instead of these documents, police officers often provide information that unlawful acts have taken place and a conversation has been held with the perpetrators. Although such papers confirm the fact of violence, they are not accepted by the court. Code of Civil Procedure states that the facts are proved in the manner prescribed by law.
Because of this, it is necessary to write a lot of complaints about the actions of the police or other officials responsible for considering the complaints. Otherwise, the absence of properly executed documents will oblige the court to refuse the lawsuit.
Extracts from the medical record, the conclusion of psychologists, psychiatrists are considered evidence. The case file should show a clear connection between the actions of the defendant and the condition of the plaintiff, his health. For example, he ended up in the hospital due to a nervous breakdown caused by the actions of the defendant.
An examination is appointed to study the depth and degree of human suffering, their impact on his condition. The specialist is not tasked with establishing the fact of harm; his conclusions should not concern legal issues.
In practice, judges almost do not order examinations in such cases - this area is still underdeveloped.
The degree of guilt affects the amount of compensation, especially if the plaintiff himself is to blame for the incident.
Where to look for help
Lawyers assist in drafting documents, and there are many forums on the Internet where they give tips. You can almost always find samples there.The collection of moral harm due to this becomes a more understandable procedure for citizens who do not have in-depth knowledge in the field of jurisprudence.
Statutes of limitations
The prerogative to apply to court for compensation for non-pecuniary damage is given without any time limit. It may arise from violations of property and other rights. Then the statute of limitations, limiting the period of time for compensation for property losses, extends to claims for non-pecuniary damage.
The difference between the individual categories of disputes
Often it exists in disputes of consumer citizens with entrepreneurs and disputes in the field of social insurance. In the second area, everything is more regulated.
Previously, normative acts were in effect on how and to what extent to compensate moral damage. Now the approach is changing, emphasis is being placed on a specific situation.
On the other hand, judges, although required to proceed from a specific situation, often take into account current practice. For example, harm caused by death is assessed in one framework (1 million rubles or more), harm due to the actions of the insurance company in others. It is approximately 20-30 thousand rubles.
The suffering of citizens caused by the actions of officials is even less evaluated; judges determine them at several thousand rubles. Separate conversation - payments for illegal stay in places of imprisonment. The calculation schemes are different.
What does the process look like
The judge listens to the parties, accepts and examines the evidence, offers to provide other information, call witnesses. The plaintiff and the defendant speak out regarding the documents provided by the other party.
A decision is made in the deliberation room, then announced to the parties in the meeting room.
If the decision to recover moral harm was made by the justice of the peace, you should write a statement on the issuance of a full decision with a reasoning. Since 2016, they have the right not to draw up such a document unless one of the parties asks for it.
An appeal is given a month from the moment the decision is announced or the day it became known about the judicial act.
Execution of the decision
The practice of collecting moral harm does not differ from the execution of decisions on other material disputes. An exception is actions, for example, to remove defamatory information from the media. Impacts must be exerted by bodies that monitor the implementation of legislation in the field of media and the Internet.
The rehabilitation of illegally prosecuted is regulated by the CPC. Citizens often apply on these grounds with civil lawsuits, which is incorrect.
Despite its apparent lightness, executing a solution can be challenging.