Drawing up a claim for compensation for moral damage

The right to intangible benefits of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

Our right to intangible benefits is established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, that is, it is a constitutional human right.

In accordance with Art. 150 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, intangible human benefits include:

• life and health,
• personal dignity,
• personal integrity,
• honor and good name, business reputation,
• privacy,
• inviolability of home,
• personal and family secrets,
• freedom of movement,
• freedom to choose place of stay and residence,
• citizen's name,
• authorship,
• other intangible benefits.

Grounds for compensation

Content

Damage caused by one person to another is a frequent occurrence in the daily activities of people. Damage can be expressed in various forms, for example, harm to health, flooding of an apartment, damage to a car as a result of an accident, as well as moral damage. The person who suffered the damage is considered the injured person, and the person who caused the damage is considered the cause of the damage. According to clause 1 of Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the injured person has the right to demand compensation for damage caused by the causer of harm. The basis for this may be the presentation of evidence of losses.

To compensate for damage, you will need to follow a certain algorithm of actions:

• Collect evidence of property deterioration.
• Present evidence of the guilt of the guilty citizen.
• Prove that there is a direct connection between the damaged property and the actions of the guilty person.

When making a claim for compensation for moral damage, before going to court, you need to understand the meaning of this term.

1) Article 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation interprets the concept of moral damage as the infliction of physical and moral suffering caused to a person as a result of the actions or inactions of third parties if they disturbed the person’s peace of mind. At the same time, it should be noted that actions are understood as illegal acts falling under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation or the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This may include:

• Beatings.
• Injuries.
• Murder.
• Sexual violence.
• Other acts that led the victim not only to physical suffering, but also to disruption of his psycho-emotional state.

Thus, the basis for compensation for damage, for example, may be the murder of a husband, as a result of which the wife suffered a violation of her psycho-emotional state, and she has the right to demand compensation for moral damage.

2) Also, a person can count on compensation for moral damage if he suffered as a result of attacks on his intangible benefits, the list of which is displayed in Part 1 of Art. 150 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. This list includes:

• Family or personal secret of a person.
• Honor and dignity of the individual.
• Health and life.
• Authority and business reputation.
• Inviolability of person and home.
• Freedom of movement and choice of place of residence.
• Personal copyright.
• Other intangible goods belonging to a person.

Violation of the listed intangible benefits may become the basis for compensation for moral damage.

Types of illegal actions involving moral compensation

According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the greatest value of a citizen is his freedom and rights. Morality refers to one of the types of human rights, which is not related to his property interests. Therefore, moral compensation is a guarantee of restoration of a citizen’s rights.

Unlawful actions that may lead to a claim for compensation for moral damages include:

1. Causing disability.
2. Causing suffering due to trauma and stress.
3. Receiving incapacity for work, with loss of work.
4. Causing damage to business image.
5. Publication of secrets from personal life.
6. Deprivation of livelihood.
7. Prohibition of movement.
8. Interference with privacy.
9. Illegal activity related to causing damage, with conviction for it.
10. Publication of false information discrediting the honor and dignity of a person.
11. Suffering associated with the death of a loved one.
12. Unlawful administrative measures.

Note : Moral damages can be claimed from an enterprise in the event of harm to health, due to harmful working conditions, or in the event of an accident at work.

You can also demand compensation from the company for moral damages if:

• Late payment of wages.
• Dismissal, illegal transfer to a low-paid vacancy.
• Disadvantage by age and gender.
• Refusal to provide leave at the employee’s initiative in case of a difficult family situation.
• Wrongful deprivation of property.
• Other circumstances that violate the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

In case of harm to a person included in the listed list, the victim has the right to demand compensation for moral damage.

The concept of moral harm

According to paragraph 2 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated December 20, 1994 No. 10, “ moral harm is understood as moral or physical suffering caused by actions (inaction) that encroach on intangible benefits belonging to a citizen from birth or by force of law (life, health, dignity personality, business reputation, privacy, personal and family secrets, etc.), or violating his personal non-property rights (the right to use his name, the right of authorship and other non-property rights in accordance with the laws on the protection of rights to the results of intellectual activity ) or violating the property rights of a citizen.”

In its Resolution, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation also indicated that moral harm consists of moral feelings, as well as:

• inability to continue an active social life,
• job loss,
• disclosure of family
• medical confidentiality,
• dissemination of untrue information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen,
• temporary restriction or deprivation of any rights,
• physical pain associated with the injury,
• other damage to health or in connection with a disease suffered as a result of moral suffering, etc.

Tips on how to prove moral damages in court

The court considers the claim only on the basis of the evidence presented that it was a specific crime or offense that caused the physical or moral suffering of the victim. Thus, the cause-and-effect relationship between the incident and the moral or physical condition of the citizen must be clearly visible.

According to Articles 60, 61, 63, 75, 78 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, evidence for a judicial investigation may be:

• explanations of the parties to the process;
• witness statements;
• expert opinion;
• evidence.

Brief conclusion: if the victim is sure that he has suffered moral damage, then he can and should bring a claim against the offender for compensation in monetary terms by going to court.

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Claim for compensation for moral damage

A citizen is entitled to compensation for moral damage if his intangible benefits and non-property rights are violated.

A citizen also has the right to go to court for compensation for moral damage in the event of a violation of his property rights, provided that this is expressly stated in the law.

More details in the article “Compensation for moral damage”.

Compensation for moral damage is possible in two ways: pre-trial, in court.

1. The first way to resolve the problem is based on mutual consent of the parties, that is, when the offender agrees to voluntarily pay such compensation.
2. The second method is that the victim files a claim for compensation for moral damage. And for this, first of all, it is necessary to draw up a statement of claim.

If time and nerves are valuable to you and you want to be more likely to receive compensation for moral damage, then for this you need to turn to specialists.

Action 1. Draw up a statement of claim for compensation for moral damage

A claim for compensation for moral damage must meet the requirements of the law.

These are contained in Art. 131 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. The claim must indicate:

• The name of the court in which the claim is filed.
• Information about the plaintiff: your full name, residence address, and, if desired, a contact phone number and email address. If the claim is filed by a representative, similar information about him is also indicated.
• Information about the defendant: his full name, address of residence (if the defendant is an organization - its name and location), and also, if desired, the telephone number and email address of the defendant.
• Information about the violation of your rights, including the circumstances substantiating your claims, as well as evidence of the existence of these circumstances.
• Request for compensation for moral damage, indicating its amount. You can specify any amount, but the court will determine the amount of moral damage taking into account the requirements of fairness and reasonableness, the degree of guilt of the harm-doer, the degree of moral and physical suffering, etc.
• List of attached documents: number of copies equal to the number of participants in the case

The statement of claim for compensation for moral damage must be signed by the applicant or his representative, accompanied by copies of documents certifying such authority of the representative.

A claim for compensation for moral damage can also be submitted electronically.

This method is possible when all technical conditions exist in court for accepting applications in electronic form.

This can be found on the court’s website; if this is possible, you need to scan documents into electronic format (PDF) in good quality (at least 300 pixels).

Accordingly, documents should be sent to the court after they are signed with an electronic signature.

Action 2. Collection of documents attached to the statement of claim

According to Art. 132 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, the following must be attached to the statement of claim:

• copies of the statement of claim for the defendant and third parties;
• power of attorney or other document certifying the authority of the representative;
• documents confirming the circumstances on which you base your claim (if any), and copies of them for the defendant and third parties. If you have documents confirming moral or physical suffering, they must be attached. In this case, such evidence is the most obvious for the court. For example, such evidence may be a sick leave certificate, discharge summary, conclusions of medical institutions about the state of your health, court decisions that have entered into legal force, which establish the guilt of the perpetrator of harm, etc.
• a document confirming payment of the state duty - unless you are exempt from paying it. The state fee for a claim for compensation for moral damage is 300 rubles. The law contains exceptions to the rule of paying state fees, these include: cases related to violation of consumer rights,
• labor relations,
• causing harm to health,
• criminal prosecution.

Action 3. Filing a claim for compensation for moral damage

Jurisdiction for claims for compensation for moral damages lies with magistrates and district courts.

The magistrate considers the case in cases where the claims do not exceed 50,000 rubles, the district court - in other cases.

As a general rule, a statement of claim is filed at the defendant’s place of residence.

If there are several of them - at the place of residence of one of the defendants, which is determined at the choice of the plaintiff.

Filing a statement of claim is also possible at the choice of the plaintiff, such a right is established by the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, as a rule, this is a certain category of subject composition or specially protected rights of citizens:

• rights related to the protection of human life and health,
• illegal conviction and criminal prosecution,
• rights of the subject of personal data,
• restoration of labor rights,
• consumer protection cases.

After the hearing has taken place and the court has made a decision in your favor.

You must wait until the decision comes into force, after which you are entitled to the satisfied portion of compensation for moral damage.

What to indicate

To increase your chances of winning a dispute, be sure to include a description of the factual circumstances in your statement of claim for compensation for damage caused to health. State them without judgment and accurately, in full accordance with supporting documents. Legal justification is also necessary. The basic rules are contained in Chapter 59 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on obligations arising as a result of causing harm. Depending on the specific circumstances of the incident, it may be necessary to refer to special rules of law.

List of required documents

By understanding how to file an application in court, you can protect your rights and legitimate interests. The claim must be accompanied by a list of documents confirming the information specified in the claim.

Required documents:

1. Evidence confirming the circumstances of the case. These include:
   witness statements;
2. expert opinions;
3. description of physical evidence, etc.

If you tried to resolve the dispute pre-trial and sent letters to the defendant, then attach copies of them and receipts to the claim. These circumstances must be taken into account when making a decision.

You will learn about the rules for drawing up a claim for compensation for moral damages from the video below.