Protection of the honor and dignity of the business reputation of citizens. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen. Who can be a plaintiff in such cases

26.05.2020

The constitutional rights of every citizen are guaranteed the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation, they are protected by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation reflected in article 23, in the Civil Code in article 152, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation article 128.1 slander. In case of violation of the human right to the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation, everyone has the right to apply to the court and law enforcement agencies to restore the violated right.
The legislation itself does not give a clear definition of what the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation is. But from practice, one can draw conclusions from what it is, honor, dignity and business reputation, and accordingly draw a conclusion how to protect and what to protect.

Dignity is, first of all, a person's self-esteem

Honor is an assessment on the part of the society of the person himself

business reputation is business qualities person or legal entity

Violation of human rights to protect honor, dignity and business reputation can be expressed for various reasons:

Civil Code of the Russian Federation Article 152. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation

1. A citizen has the right to demand in court a refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, if the person who disseminated such information does not prove that it is true. The refutation must be made in the same way that information about the citizen was disseminated, or in another similar way.
At the request of interested persons, the protection of the honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen is allowed even after his death.
2. Information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen and disseminated in the media must be refuted in the same media. A citizen in respect of whom the said information is disseminated in the mass media has the right to demand, along with a refutation, also the publication of his answer in the same mass media.

3. If information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen is contained in a document emanating from an organization, such a document is subject to replacement or revocation.
4. In cases where information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen has become widely known and in connection with this the refutation cannot be brought to public attention, the citizen has the right to demand the removal of the relevant information, as well as the suppression or prohibition of the further dissemination of the specified information by withdrawing and destruction, without any compensation, of copies of material carriers made for the purpose of introducing into civil circulation containing the specified information, if without the destruction of such copies of material carriers, the removal of the relevant information is impossible.
5. If information that discredits the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen becomes available on the Internet after its dissemination, the citizen has the right to demand the removal of the relevant information, as well as a refutation of the specified information in a way that ensures that the refutation is brought to the attention of Internet users.
6. The procedure for refuting information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen, in other cases, except for those specified in paragraphs 2-5 of this article, is established by the court.
7. The application to the violator of measures of responsibility for non-execution of a court decision does not relieve him of the obligation to perform the action provided for by the court decision.
8. If it is impossible to identify the person who has disseminated information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen, the citizen in respect of whom such information has been disseminated has the right to apply to the court for recognition of the disseminated information as untrue.
9. A citizen in respect of whom information is disseminated that discredits his honor, dignity or business reputation, along with the refutation of such information or the publication of his answer, has the right to demand compensation for losses and compensation for moral damage caused by the dissemination of such information.
10. The rules of paragraphs 1 - 9 of this article, with the exception of the provisions on compensation for moral damage, may also be applied by the court to cases of dissemination of any information about a citizen that does not correspond to reality, if such a citizen proves that the indicated information does not correspond to reality. The limitation period for claims made in connection with the dissemination of the said information in the mass media is one year from the date of publication of such information in the relevant mass media.
11. The rules of this article on the protection of the business reputation of a citizen, with the exception of the provisions on compensation for moral damage, respectively, apply to the protection of the business reputation of a legal entity.
The main concept for the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation is the dissemination of information about a person or company that does not correspond to reality.

To restore honor, dignity and business reputation, a person and a company have several ways to restore their right:

Civil law relations (court, claim, etc.)

Public refutation of information that discredits honor, dignity and business reputation

Moral injury

Criminal liability

Compensation or payment of non-pecuniary damage is made in court under Articles 151, 1099, 1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. To compensate for damage to protect the honor, dignity and business reputation, both a citizen and a legal entity can go to court at any time, since on the basis of Article 208 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, there are no deadlines for these actions.

Civil Code Article 208. Claims to which the limitation period does not apply

The limitation period does not apply to:
requirements for the protection of personal non-property rights and other intangible benefits, except as provided by law;
requirements of depositors to the bank for the issuance of deposits;
claims for compensation for harm caused to the life or health of a citizen. However, claims filed after the expiration of three years from the moment the right to compensation for such damage arises are satisfied for the past time for no more than three years preceding the filing of a claim, except for the cases provided for by Federal Law No. 35-FZ of March 6, 2006 "On combating terrorism";
the demands of the owner or other owner to eliminate any violations of his right, even if these violations were not connected with deprivation of possession (Article 304);
other requirements in cases established by law.
The victim may also claim lost profits in connection with information that discredits honor, dignity and business reputation, under Article 15 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
Civil Code of the Russian Federation Article 15. Compensation for damages
1. A person whose right has been violated may demand full compensation for the losses caused to him, unless the law or the contract provides for compensation for losses in a smaller amount.
2. Losses are understood as expenses that a person whose right has been violated has made or will have to make to restore the violated right, loss or damage to his property (actual damage), as well as lost income that this person would have received under normal conditions of civil circulation, if his right had not been violated (lost profit).
If the person who violated the right received income as a result of this, the person whose right was violated has the right to demand compensation, along with other losses, for lost profits in an amount not less than such income.
In order to restore his violated right in honor, dignity and business reputation, a citizen has the right to apply to law enforcement agencies to initiate a criminal case under Article 128.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and bring the perpetrators to criminal liability due to slander.

Criminal Code of the Russian Federation article 128.1. Slander

1. Libel, that is, the dissemination of deliberately false information that discredits the honor and dignity of another person or undermines his reputation, is punishable by a fine in the amount of up to 500 thousand rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to six months, or by compulsory works for a period of up to one hundred and sixty hours.
2. Libel contained in a public speech, publicly demonstrated work or mass media, - shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to one million rubles, or in the amount of the wage or salary, or any other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one year, or by compulsory works for a term of up to two hundred and forty hours.
3. Libel committed with the use of one's official position, - shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to two million rubles, or in the amount of the wage or salary, or any other income of the convicted person for a period of up to two years, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to three hundred and twenty hours.

4. Slander that a person suffers from a disease that poses a danger to others, as well as slander combined with accusing a person of committing a crime of a sexual nature, is punishable by a fine in the amount of up to three million rubles or in the amount of the wage or other income of the up to three years or compulsory works for up to four hundred hours.
5. Libel combined with accusing a person of committing a grave or especially grave crime, Shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to five million rubles, or in the amount of the wage or salary, or any other income of the convicted person for a period of up to three years, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to 480 hours.
From the above norms it can be seen that the legislator clearly regulates the responsibility and rights to protect honor, dignity and business reputation.

At the request of interested persons, the protection of the honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen is allowed even after his death.

2. Information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen and disseminated in the media must be refuted in the same media. A citizen in respect of whom the said information is disseminated in the mass media has the right to demand, along with a refutation, also the publication of his answer in the same mass media.

4. In cases where information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen has become widely known and in connection with this the refutation cannot be brought to public attention, the citizen has the right to demand the removal of the relevant information, as well as the suppression or prohibition of the further dissemination of the specified information by withdrawing and destruction, without any compensation, of copies of material carriers made for the purpose of introducing into civil circulation containing the specified information, if without the destruction of such copies of material carriers, the removal of the relevant information is impossible.

5. If information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen becomes available on the Internet after its dissemination, the citizen has the right to demand the deletion of the relevant information, as well as a refutation of the specified information in a way that ensures that the refutation is brought to the attention of Internet users.

6. The procedure for refuting information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen, in other cases, except for those specified in paragraphs 2-5 of this article, is established by the court.

7. The application to the violator of measures of responsibility for non-execution of a court decision does not relieve him of the obligation to perform the action provided for by the court decision.

8. If it is impossible to identify the person who has disseminated information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen, the citizen in respect of whom such information has been disseminated has the right to apply to the court for recognition of the disseminated information as untrue.

9. A citizen in respect of whom information is disseminated that discredits his honor, dignity or business reputation, along with the refutation of such information or the publication of his answer, has the right to demand compensation for losses and compensation for moral damage caused by the dissemination of such information.

10. The rules of paragraphs 1-9 of this article, with the exception of the provisions on compensation for moral damage, may also be applied by the court to cases of distribution of any information about a citizen that does not correspond to reality, if such a citizen proves that the specified information does not correspond to reality. The limitation period for claims made in connection with the dissemination of the said information in the mass media is one year from the date of publication of such information in the relevant mass media.

11. The rules of this article on the protection of the business reputation of a citizen, with the exception of the provisions on compensation for moral damage, respectively, apply to the protection of the business reputation of a legal entity.

Commentary on Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

1. Civil legislation does not define the concepts of "honor", "dignity", "business reputation". These intangible benefits are protected in the manner prescribed by Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, although it should be borne in mind that.

In science, it is customary to consider honor as a public assessment of the individual, a measure of spiritual and social qualities citizen, dignity - as a self-assessment of one's own qualities and abilities, and business reputation - as a quality that manifests itself in professional activity. However, in judicial practice the listed concepts are almost not separated, in any case, honor and dignity are actually protected as a single non-material good.

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On this see: Anisimov A.L. Civil law protection of honor, dignity and business reputation under the law Russian Federation. M., 2001. S. 9; Maleina M.N. Decree. op. S. 136.

See, for example: Resolution of the Plenum Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 24, 2005 N 3 “On judicial practice in cases of protecting the honor and dignity of citizens, as well as the business reputation of citizens and legal entities».

Business reputation is considered as a property inherent not only to citizens, but also to legal entities. Claims for the protection of the business reputation of legal entities are very common (see the information letter of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated September 23, 1999 N 46 "Overview of the practice of resolving disputes related to the protection of business reputation by arbitration courts").

2. The commented article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation considers as an infringement on honor, dignity and business reputation only the dissemination of certain information, without mentioning such an offense as insult.

Meanwhile, value judgments, opinions, and beliefs are often expressed against citizens and legal entities, which are an expression of the views of the one who speaks. Such judgments may concern not only professional, but also personal, moral qualities of a particular citizen. In accordance with Art. 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and art. 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone is guaranteed the right to freedom of thought and speech, and therefore such statements are not prohibited in principle.

However, the form in which a value judgment was made against a particular person should not be offensive (“indecent” - see Article 130 of the Criminal Code). The appeals “scoundrel”, “scoundrel”, obscene expressions, etc. can be perceived as an insult.

As noted in paragraph 9 of the Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 24, 2005 N 3 “On judicial practice in cases of protecting the honor and dignity of citizens, as well as the business reputation of citizens and legal entities”, if the subjective opinion was expressed in an offensive form degrading the honor, dignity or business reputation of the plaintiff, the defendant may be required to compensate for moral damage caused to the plaintiff by insult (Article 130 of the Criminal Code, Art.,). Thus, judicial practice expands the limits of protection of honor, dignity and business reputation, allowing such protection not only in cases of dissemination of false and discrediting information. In essence, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation proposes to protect the good name of a citizen.

In addition, in accordance with clause 3 of the commented Article 152 of the Civil Code, a citizen in respect of whom information infringing on his rights or legally protected interests has been published by the media has the right to publish his answer in the same media. The right to reply (comment, remark) is also enshrined in Art. 46 of the Mass Media Law.

3. The basis for the application of the provisions of Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation measures is the dissemination of false information that discredits a citizen.

Thus, the first condition stipulated by the legislation is the fact of dissemination of the said information. As noted in the Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 24, 2005 N 3, the dissemination of information discrediting the honor and dignity of citizens or the business reputation of citizens and legal entities should be understood as the publication of such information in the press, broadcast on radio and television, demonstration in newsreel programs and other mass media, distribution on the Internet, as well as using other means of telecommunications, presentation in performance characteristics, public speeches, statements addressed to officials, or a message in one form or another, including oral, to at least one person. The communication of such information to the person to whom they concern cannot be recognized as their dissemination, if the person who provided this information has taken sufficient confidentiality measures so that they do not become known to third parties. Therefore, the dissemination of information is a message to a third party, and not to the one whom this information concerns.

The second condition stipulated by the commented article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is the discrediting nature of the information. It is about assessing the moral qualities of a person. The criteria that would be met by information discrediting a citizen are not established by law, and cannot be established by law, since public morality is an extremely dynamic category. An act that until recently caused public condemnation (for example, divorce, etc.) can be perceived at the moment in a team of people as something ordinary and quite acceptable.

Nevertheless, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation presented its interpretation of discrediting information in the Resolution of February 24, 2005: “... discrediting, in particular, are information containing allegations of a violation by a citizen or legal entity of the current legislation, the commission of a dishonest act, incorrect, unethical behavior in personal, public or political life, bad faith in the implementation of production, economic and entrepreneurial activity, violation business ethics or business practices that detract from the honor and dignity of a citizen or the business reputation of a citizen or a legal entity.

The proposed concept is largely reduced to the victim's subjective idea of his honor and business reputation. Taking into account the fact that for the application of measures of civil law impact, provided for in Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, it is required that the victim himself go to court, the legal understanding of honor, dignity and business reputation is largely formed by the applicants themselves.

And finally, the third condition referred to in Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, is the false nature of the information disseminated about a citizen. As the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation points out, information that does not correspond to reality is statements about facts or events that did not take place in reality at the time to which the disputed information relates. Information contained in judicial decisions and sentences, decisions of bodies of preliminary investigation and other procedural or other official documents, for appeal and contestation of which is provided for by another established by laws, cannot be considered as untrue. court order(for example, the information contained in the dismissal order cannot be refuted in accordance with Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, since such an order can only be challenged in the manner prescribed by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

The duty to prove that the disseminated information is true lies with the defendant. The plaintiff has the burden of proving the fact of dissemination of information by the person against whom the claim is brought, as well as the discrediting nature of this information.

4. The commented article provides for several ways to protect honor, dignity and business reputation, which can be applied, including at the same time.

The first way is to refute the information, which in turn is possible in various situations.

If information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen is disseminated in the media, they must be refuted in the same media. In accordance with Art. 44 of the Mass Media Law, the refutation must indicate which information is not true, when and how it was disseminated by this mass media. Refutation in periodical printed edition must be typed in the same font and placed under the heading "Refutation", as a rule, in the same place on the page as the message or material being refuted. On radio and television, a refutation must be broadcast at the same time of day and, as a rule, in the same program as the refuted message or material.

The volume of the refutation cannot exceed twice the volume of the refuted fragment of the disseminated message or material. A rebuttal cannot be required to be shorter than one standard typewritten page. A rebuttal on radio and television should not take up less air time than it takes for an announcer to read a standard page of typewritten text.

A rebuttal should follow:

1) in the mass media that are published (on the air) at least once a week - within 10 days from the date of receipt of the request for refutation or its text;

2) in other mass media - in the issue being prepared or in the nearest planned issue.

Within a month from the date of receipt of the request for a refutation or its text, the editorial office is obliged to notify the interested citizen or organization in writing of the expected period for distributing the refutation or the refusal to distribute it, indicating the reasons for the refusal. A refutation distributed in the media in accordance with Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, can be dressed in the form of a message about the accepted this case judgment, including the publication of the text of the judgment.

The second case of refutation is the replacement or revocation of a document emanating from the organization (service or other characteristics, etc.).

In other cases, the refutation procedure is established directly in the court decision, in the operative part of which, as explained in the Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 24, 2005 N 3, the term and method of refuting discrediting information that does not correspond to reality should be indicated and, if necessary, the text such a refutation with a mention of what kind of information is defamatory information that does not correspond to reality, when and how it was disseminated.

The court decision on the refutation, set out in the writ of execution, refers to the requirements of a non-property nature. Therefore, paragraph 4 of Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides that if the court decision is not executed, the court has the right to impose a fine on the violator.

In accordance with Art. 105 federal law dated October 2, 2007 N 229-ФЗ “On Enforcement Proceedings” in cases of non-fulfillment by the debtor of the requirements contained in the executive document within the time period established for voluntary execution, as well as non-execution of the executive document subject to immediate execution, within a day from the moment receipt of a copy of the decision of the bailiff-performer on the initiation of enforcement proceedings, the bailiff-executor issues a decision on the collection of the enforcement fee and sets the debtor a new deadline for execution. If the debtor fails to fulfill the requirements contained in the executive document, without good reasons within the newly established period, the bailiff applies to the debtor a fine, provided for by Art. 17.15 of the Code of the Russian Federation on administrative offenses, and sets a new deadline for execution.

On the basis of Article 17.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the non-fulfillment by the debtor of the non-property requirements contained in the executive document within the period established by the bailiff after the collection of the enforcement fee entails the imposition of an administrative fine on citizens in the amount of 1 thousand to 2500 rubles; for officials - from 10 thousand to 20 thousand rubles; for legal entities - from 30 thousand to 50 thousand rubles. Non-fulfillment by the debtor of the non-property requirements contained in the executive document within the time period newly established by the bailiff-executor after the imposition of an administrative fine, entails the imposition of an administrative fine on citizens in the amount of 2 thousand to 2500 rubles; for officials - from 15 thousand to 20 thousand rubles; for legal entities - from 50 thousand to 70 thousand rubles.

As stated in paragraph 4 of the commented article of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the payment of a fine does not relieve the violator of the obligation to perform the action provided for by the court decision.

As a special method of protection within the framework of the commented article, one should consider going to court with a demand to recognize the disseminated information as untrue. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation grants such a right if it is impossible to identify the person who disseminated information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen. At the same time, the legislation does not provide for the obligatory publication of a court decision that has entered into legal force on recognizing the disseminated information as false. Thus, a citizen who has achieved a positive court decision will only be able to present it in necessary cases in order to confirm the false nature of the information previously disseminated about him.

In addition to refutation, the commented Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation grants the right to the victim to demand compensation for losses and moral damage caused by the dissemination of false, discrediting information. In accordance with the law, a person whose right has been violated may demand full compensation for the losses caused to him, which means the expenses that the specified person has made or will have to make to restore the violated right, the loss or damage to his property (actual damage), as well as lost income, which this person would have received under normal conditions of civil circulation if his right had not been violated (lost profit).

The civil legislation of the Russian Federation does not know such a way to protect personal non-property rights as an apology, therefore, despite the fact that for many victims it would be desirable for many victims to apologize, the court is not entitled to apply such a method of protection.

At the same time, as noted in paragraph 18 of the Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 24, 2005 N 3, the court has the right to approve a settlement agreement, according to which the parties, by mutual agreement, provided for the defendant to apologize in connection with the spread of untrue discrediting information regarding the plaintiff, as long as it does not violate the rights and legitimate interests of other persons and does not contradict the law, which does not contain such a prohibition.

5. Legal entities, as noted, are the owners of such an intangible good as goodwill. All provisions of the commented article relating to the business reputation of a citizen are also applicable to the protection of the business reputation of a legal entity. However, a legal entity is not entitled to claim compensation for moral damage. This provision is universally recognized in the science of civil law and is associated with the essence of a legal entity - an artificially created subject that is not capable of undergoing physical or moral suffering. However, a different position is set out in the Ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of December 4, 2003 N 508-O “On the refusal to accept for consideration the complaint of citizen Shlafman Vladimir Arkadevich about the violation of his constitutional rights by paragraph 7 of Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation”.

The institution of protection of honor and dignity is not new in Russian civil law. There are references to it both in the Civil Code of the RSFSR (Article 7) and in the Fundamentals of Civil Legislation of the USSR and the Republics (Article 7). However, the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation is rightfully considered, along with compensation for moral damage, a milestone of the new time.

Honor, dignity, business reputation of a citizen in the aggregate determine the “good name”, the inviolability of which is guaranteed by the Constitution (Article 23).

Art. 150 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes that honor, dignity and business reputation are personal non-property benefits.

According to Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, "a citizen in respect of whom information is disseminated that discredits his honor, dignity or business reputation, along with the refutation of such information, has the right to demand compensation for losses and moral damage caused by their dissemination."

As follows from the above norms of civil law, there are several mandatory conditions for satisfying a claim for compensation for non-pecuniary damage. First, a claim can only be brought in connection with the dissemination of any information.

The peculiarity of the exercise of personal non-property rights is that the law does not determine the limits for the sale of intangible benefits by an authorized person, but establishes the boundaries for the invasion of unauthorized persons into the personal sphere and, if these limits are violated, it is allowed to apply coercive measures to restore them.

Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes liability in the form of recovery of moral and material damage in cases of encroachment on honor, dignity and business reputation. Civil law protection of honor, dignity and business reputation has the following features:

The fact of violation of the right under Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation can be recognized only when there has been a dissemination of information that does not correspond to reality, which relates to the plaintiff and is discrediting. The absence of at least one of these signs in the disseminated information indicates the absence of an offense under Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Claims for the protection of personal non-property benefits are not subject to statute of limitations (that is, they can be presented at any time after publication) (Article 208 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

The right to honor, dignity and business reputation is an absolute right due to the fact that the subjective right of an authorized person corresponds to the duty of an indefinite circle of persons. The essence of this universal obligation lies in the subjective right of an individual, work collective or organization to the opportunity to enjoy well-deserved respect in society and to refrain obligated persons from encroaching on honor, dignity and business reputation. According to Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a citizen (and in the case of protecting business reputation and a legal entity) has the right to demand in court a refutation of information that discredits his honor, dignity or business reputation, if the person who disseminated such information does not prove that they are true.

It is noted that the refutation itself can consist of two parts. Satisfying the requirement for a refutation, the court recognizes the discrediting information as untrue, and therefore the court decision itself contains a refutation. Then the court imposes the duty of refutation on the defendant, upon execution of which the second type of refutation is realized. The refutation is limited to judicial recognition of the information as untrue in cases where the decision is not executed by the debtor or is issued not in a lawsuit, but in a special proceeding (paragraphs 4 and 6 of article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Refutation is thus a special way of defending these goods. It can be used under three conditions.

First, the information must be damaging. The assessment of information as discrediting is based not on a subjective, but on an objective sign.

In paragraph 2 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of August 18, 1992 No. 11 “On some issues that arise when the courts consider cases on the protection of the honor and dignity of citizens, as well as the business reputation of citizens and legal entities”, it is said that “they are discrediting. .. information that does not correspond to reality, containing allegations of a violation by a citizen or organization of the current legislation or moral principles (about committing a dishonest act, improper behavior in work collective, everyday life and other information discrediting the production, economic and social activities, business reputation, etc.), which detract from honor and dignity.”

Practice notes that "freedom of opinion and belief does not give the right to disseminate discrediting and untrue information, including information about the personal life of a citizen."

L. filed a lawsuit against P., the Kamchatka state television and radio company Prichal and the newspaper AiF na Kamchatka for the protection of honor and dignity, referring to P.’s public statement that L.’s appointment as deputy head of the administration of the Milkovsky district was due to the fact that L. was allegedly the son of an alcoholic and thus became popular among the people. The regional court satisfied the claim, substantiating the decision by the fact that, despite being enshrined in Art. 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the right to freedom of opinion and belief, such freedom does not give the right to disseminate discrediting and untrue information, including about the personal life of a citizen (the fact that L.'s father is an alcoholic is absent in the case file, as well as evidence the relationship of information of this kind with the growth of the popularity of L.). In addition, by virtue of Part 1 of Art. 24 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the dissemination of information about the private life of a person without his consent is not allowed (and such consent is not indicated in the case file).

Secondly, information must be disseminated. Practice understands dissemination as “the publication of such information in the press, broadcast on radio and television and video programs, demonstration in newsreel programs and other mass media (mass media), presentation in service characteristics, public speeches, statements addressed to officials, or communication in another, including oral form to several or at least one person. The communication of such information to the person to whom they relate cannot be recognized as their distribution ”(paragraph 2 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of August 18, 1992 No. 11). At the same time, certain information, even real, is a secret and cannot be disclosed.

In practice, the question of the legitimacy of the publication was resolved. City Administration filed a lawsuit against the editorial office of the TV company for the recognition of untrue and discrediting the business reputation of the information that sounded on the air, as well as for the defendant to formally apologize and refute the messages. The information was that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic sent the head local government a letter in which it is recommended to postpone the appointment of the chairman of the committee on economics S. The arbitration court replaced the editorial office of the television company with the proper defendant (a company limited liability) and dismissed the claims. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision. The court of cassation confirmed the legality of the decision, pointing out that there was indeed an official letter, it was duly registered and was not secret. The TV company did not give any comments on the text of the letter. Freedom of information is limited only to the dissemination of information constituting a state secret. Therefore, the dissemination of such information corresponding to reality is not illegal.

Thirdly, the information must not be true. At the same time, the obligation to prove the validity of the disseminated information lies with the defendant (paragraph 7 of the Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of August 18, 1992 No. 1198.

Cases on the recognition of information not corresponding to reality are quite frequent. At the same time, the plaintiffs often dispute the factual data.

Thus, on March 17, 2009, a non-state cultural institution (NUC) filed a lawsuit against the Office of the Federal Tax Service Russia for the Kamchatka Territory on the protection of business reputation and the obligation of the defendant to refute the information discrediting the plaintiff about the underestimation of income contained in the inspection report of the Federal Tax Service for the Kamchatka Territory. By a court decision, the claim was dismissed, since the court came to the conclusion that the plaintiff did not prove the dissemination by the defendant of information discrediting his business reputation. By a decision of the appellate instance, the decision was canceled, and the proceedings on the case were terminated due to the lack of jurisdiction of this dispute to the arbitration court, since the dispute on the invalidation of the information contained in the acts of documentary checks that do not belong to the category of non-normative acts government agencies cannot be considered by the arbitral tribunal.

The cassation instance annulled the decision of the appellate instance, and left the decision of the court of first instance in force, arguing that, firstly, the plaintiff asks for such protection as stipulated in Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, and therefore the conclusions of the appellate instance regarding jurisdiction are erroneous; secondly, the plaintiff raises the question that his business reputation is affected both by the act of the tax audit and the article in the newspaper based on it. But the verification act was drawn up as part of the ongoing investigative actions in a criminal case, is the material of a criminal case and in itself cannot affect the business reputation of the plaintiff (it does not fall under Article 152 of the Civil Code). A newspaper publication is based on a tax audit act, and therefore cannot be considered untrue.

P. 2 Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for the procedure for refuting discrediting information published in the media: "If information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen is disseminated in the media, they must be refuted in the same media." The Law of the Russian Federation “On Mass Media” regulates this process in more detail.

According to part 2 of Art. 44 of the Law, a refutation in a printed periodical must be typed in the same font and placed under the heading "Refutation", as a rule, in the same place on the page as the refuted message or material. On radio and television, a refutation must be broadcast at the same time of day and, as a rule, in the same program as the message or material being refuted. Similarly, the issue of the right to publish a response by a citizen is resolved in the event of the publication of information that infringes on his rights and freedoms (part 3 of article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

If the court decision is not executed, the court has the right to impose a fine on the violator, collected in the amount and in the manner prescribed by the procedural legislation, to the income of the Russian Federation. Payment of the fine does not release the violator from the obligation to perform the action stipulated by the court decision.

Refutation is not the only defense. A citizen in respect of whom information is disseminated that discredits his honor, dignity or business reputation, has the right, along with the refutation of such information, to demand compensation for losses and moral damage caused by their dissemination.

If it is impossible to identify the person who has disseminated information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen, the person in respect of whom such information is disseminated has the right to apply to the court to recognize the disseminated information as untrue. Such a case is considered in the order of special proceedings in the absence of the defendant.

According to paragraph 1 of Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, at the request of interested parties, it is allowed to protect the honor and dignity of a citizen even after his death. Some authors argue that not including business reputation in this list "contradicts the concept of protecting the interests of the individual", with which we cannot agree. It seems that such a measure of protection is applied not to the deceased, who is not a subject of law, but to his heirs or other interested parties. This is due to the fact that public opinion, which has developed about the ancestors of a person, as a rule, is transferred to the person itself - a descendant. The business reputation of the ancestor, being questioned, does not affect the professional assessment of the descendant, since such an assessment depends only on personal qualities, but not on the prevailing opinion. But the business reputation of the deceased may affect the honor and dignity of the descendant. That is, by law, the business reputation of the deceased is included in the scope of his honor and dignity, which are subject to protection, in fact, relating to the honor and dignity of the person concerned.

In conclusion, we note that personal non-property rights in civil law are an independent type of subjective rights, they play the role of a legal means of ensuring the personal (individual) sphere of a citizen from the constructed interference and require the use of civil law instruments for their regulation.

The main feature of personal non-property rights is that their structure lacks one of the powers characteristic of other absolute rights. If the right of ownership implies the ability of an authorized person to exercise in the most comprehensive way the authority to own, use and dispose of property, then this is not typical for personal non-property rights. Here, the authorized person exercises his personal non-property rights by his actions outside the law.

Court decisions based on the application of the norm of Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation

Arbitrage practice

Appeal ruling No. 1-144/2019 22-4284/2019 dated September 17, 2019 in case No. 1-144/2019

St. Petersburg City Court (City of St. Petersburg) - Criminal

Upon the occurrence of the possibility of fulfilling its conditions. This event took place in the maternity hospital No. ... in the Frunzensky district of St. Petersburg. In accordance with the provisions of h.6 Article. 152 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, the head of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the city of St. Petersburg, on the basis of the relevant resolution, determined that the proceedings in this criminal case were carried out by the SO for the Frunzensky District ...

Appeal ruling No. 22-5634/2019 dated September 16, 2019 in case No. 22-5634/2019

Samara regional court(Samara region) - Criminal

Harm, the court did not fully appreciate the severity of the moral suffering caused to them as a result of the crime committed. In view of the above, by virtue of Article.Article. 12, 15-152, 1099-1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the court of appeal, taking into account the degree of moral suffering of the victims, the specific circumstances of the case, the requirements of reasonableness and justice, taking into account also the financial situation of the convict himself, ...

Sentence No. 2-08/2019 2-8/2019 dated September 6, 2019 in case No. 2-08/2019

Ivanovo Regional Court (Ivanovo Region) - Criminal

Guardians from the moment of detention until arrival at the prison. Deciding the amount of compensation victim FULL NAME8 caused non-pecuniary damage, the court proceeds from the requirements of Article.Article.151- 152 and 1099-1101 of the Civil Code. As a result of the death of her daughter, who was a close person for the victim, FULL NAME8 deep moral suffering was caused. The court assesses the nature of moral suffering taking into account ...

Decision No. 2-1-4602/2019 2-4602/2019 dated August 30, 2019 in case No. 2-1-4602/2019

Engels District Court (Saratov Region) - Civil and Administrative

Reputation is an intangible good protected in accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and other laws in the cases and in the manner prescribed by them. On the basis of paragraph 1 of Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a citizen has the right to demand in court a refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, if the person who disseminated such information does not prove that it is true. AT...

Decision No. 2-1926/2019 2-1926/2019~M-1728/2019 M-1728/2019 dated August 30, 2019 in case No. 2-1926/2019

Miass city court (Chelyabinsk region) - Civil and administrative

On other intangible benefits belonging to a citizen, as well as in other cases provided for by law, the court may impose on the violator the obligation of monetary compensation for the specified harm. According to Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a citizen has the right to demand in court a refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, if the person who disseminated such information does not prove that it is true. Citizen...

Sentence No. 1-63/2019 dated August 30, 2019 in case No. 1-63/2019

Nyurbinsky District Court (Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)) - Criminal

Examined and attached to the materials of the criminal case as material evidence (case sheet 94.96-102.103-138.139.141-146.147-151, 152 2 v). From the conclusion of expert No. it is clear that the blood on the clothes may belong to Victim No. 2 himself, and cannot come from the victim's full name (case sheet 12-17 3 ...

Decision No. 2-3111/2019 2-3111/2019~M-2782/2019 M-2782/2019 dated August 29, 2019 in case No. 2-3111/2019

Nalchik city court (Kabardino-Balkarian Republic) - Civil and administrative

The plaintiff's evidence does not confirm the fact that the defendant disseminated information about Zhaboev FULL NAME15. discrediting his honor and dignity and not corresponding to reality, providing protection under Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), because firstly, the information indicated in the reference within the framework of the criminal case does not apply to information that discredits honor and dignity ...

Decision No. 2-3391/2019 2-3391/2019~M-2873/2019 M-2873/2019 dated August 29, 2019 in case No. 2-3391/2019

Ordzhonikidzevsky District Court of Ufa (Republic of Bashkortostan) - Civil and administrative

In addition, the disputed information is of an evaluative nature and cannot be assessed as a statement of facts that corresponds to reality or does not correspond to it. As stated in Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of February 24, 2005 No. 3 “On judicial practice in cases of protecting the honor and dignity of a citizen, as well as business reputation ...

... of the owner, can be acquired by another person on the basis of a contract of sale, exchange, donation or other transaction for the alienation of this property. In accordance with Article.Article. 152, 154 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, transactions are recognized as actions of citizens aimed at establishing, changing or terminating civil rights and obligations, to conclude an agreement (bilateral or multilateral transaction) it is necessary ...