Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation is a responsibility. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen. Reflection of concepts in the legislation of Russia

Each person has such benefits as honor, dignity, business reputation, and a legal entity has a business reputation.

Honour - it is a public assessment of a person from a socio-ethical point of view, a certain measure of spiritual, social qualities person.

Dignity - self-esteem, the idea of \u200b\u200btheir own value as a person. The dignity of the human person is recognized by the state in equal measure for all members of society, which does not exclude the recognition of great services of some to others.

Business reputation of a citizen is determined by the level of his professional qualifications, and legal entity - assessment of production or other activities in accordance with its legal status in the context of business and market relations.

In organic unity with the concept of "honor" as a certain social assessment of a person is the category of dignity, which is a certain reflection of this social assessment in the consciousness of the subject himself.

The meaning of the term "reputation" largely coincides with the concept of honor. However, in the reputation of a person, his business qualities are more manifested than ethical ones.

Under business reputation one of the aspects of reputation in general should be understood, which reflects the prevailing opinion about the qualities of the subject in the field of his professional activity.

The honor and dignity of the individual, the business reputation of the citizen and the legal lime are inextricably linked with law, since their restriction or loss entails a decrease in a certain status in legal relations with other subjects. Therefore, honor, dignity, business reputation are the most important social and legal values \u200b\u200bfor any state and society that need an appropriate legal protection.

The issue of legislative protection of honor, dignity and business reputation is, first of all, the issue of human rights, their real provision, and the possibility of their implementation guaranteed by the state.

In the civil law sense, the categories of honor, dignity and business reputation should be considered as social intangible benefits protected by civil law, and as special subjective rights.

Each subject of law is endowed with a certain set of political, property, personal non-property rights that determine its legal status. These include subjective rights to honor, dignity and business reputation. These rights are elements of the legal personality of a citizen or organization (legal entity). Legal personality is a special specific legal property of an individual. Due to this property, as a subject of law, from the moment of birth, he is endowed with a certain set of rights. Legal personality determines, to one degree or another, the position of citizens in society, expresses the relationship between citizens and the state.

The right to honor, dignity and business reputation is an absolute subjective character due to the fact that the subjective right of the authorized person corresponds to the duty of an indefinite circle of persons. The content of this universal duty is to refrain from infringing upon the honor, dignity and business reputation of an individual or legal entity. The state protects the honor, dignity and business reputation of citizens or organizations (legal entities), respectively, by establishing a general obligation to refrain from encroaching on these social benefits and by providing judicial protection in cases of their violation.

The right to honor, dignity and business reputation, as well as the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, are of real importance for subjects of law not only when it is violated, but also independently of it. Endowing this or that natural and legal person with certain rights, the state ensures the necessary system guarantees for their implementation and protection, for the implementation of legality in Russian Federation, as well as providing for the liability of the obligated persons.

Civil legislation establishes the provision that inalienable human rights and freedoms and other intangible benefits are protected by civil legislation, unless otherwise follows from the essence of these intangible benefits (clause 2, article 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Moreover, in Art. 150 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation determined indicative list legally protected intangible goods, divided into two groups:

  • intangible benefits acquired by citizens by virtue of birth and legal entities by virtue of creation;
  • intangible benefits acquired by them by virtue of the law.

To the benefits first group The Civil Code of the Russian Federation includes life, health, dignity of the individual, personal integrity, honor and good name, business reputation, privacy, personal and family secrets. They objectively exist independently of their legal regulation and need legal protection only in the event of an infringement on these benefits. At the same time, as noted, the right of citizens to honor, dignity and business reputation is their constitutional right, and the business reputation of legal entities is one of the necessary conditions their successful activities.

To intangible benefits second group includes the right to free movement, the right to choose a place of stay and residence, the right to a name, the right of authorship, and other personal non-property rights. They are the subjective rights of a specific legal relationship and thus are already regulated by the rules of law. In case of violation, these rights enjoy legal (legislative) protection.

The right to protection of honor, dignity and business reputation is enshrined in Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. According to paragraph 1 of this article, a citizen has the right to demand in court the refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, if the person who disseminated such information does not prove that it is true.

From the content of this provision it follows that the right to refutation can only take place in relation to the dissemination of defamatory information. It is also important that such a right arises regardless of the way such information is disseminated, and not only as a result of publications in the media, as it was before. The same paragraph states that, at the request of interested persons, it is allowed to protect the honor and dignity of a citizen even after his death. Indeed, defamatory information regarding such a person should not diminish the reputation, good name of his family and other subjects of legal relations. At the same time, the legislator gives an indefinitely wide range of possible plaintiffs, using the phrase “at the request of interested parties”.

Information disseminated in the media that does not correspond to reality must also be refuted in the media, and if the specified information is contained in a document emanating from the organization, such a document must be replaced or withdrawn. As for the procedure for refuting other situations, it is established by the courts (clause 2 of article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

In accordance with paragraph 3 of this article, a citizen in respect of whom the media published information that infringes on his rights or legitimate interests, has the right to publish his answer in the same mass media. Attention should be paid to one significant circumstance arising from the content of Art. 152, which refers to the dissemination in the mass media of information "defaming the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen" (paragraph 2), as well as "infringing upon his rights and legitimate interests" (and. 3). In the first case, it is indicated that such information must be refuted in the same mass media, and in the second, the citizen is given "the right to publish his answer."

In accordance with Art. 208 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on claims for the protection of personal non-property rights and other non-material rights the limitation period does not apply, except as otherwise provided by law.

If it is impossible to establish the person who disseminated information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen, the injured person has the right to apply to the court with a statement that the disseminated information is not true (clause 6 of article 152).

In case of failure judgment the court may impose a fine on the violator. The fine is imposed in the manner and amount established by the civil procedural legislation, and is collected in the income of the Russian Federation. It also provides for the possibility of compensating the injured citizen for losses and moral damage caused by the dissemination of defamatory information (and. 5, Art. 152).

Thus, the ways to protect honor, dignity and business reputation in civil law are refutation and compensation (compensation) to the victim of moral harm. At the same time, refutation means bringing to the circle of persons among whom the information was disseminated, information about their recognition by the court as not true, and under moral harm (in accordance with Article 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) - recognition of the physical or mental suffering of the victim.

Compensation for Moral Damage as a Way to Protect Honor, Dignity and Business Reputation

In civil law under harm means unfavorable changes in a good protected by law. In this case, one should distinguish property and non-property (moral injury. However, this does not mean that the infliction of property damage does not entail the experience or suffering of the victim, and in this aspect, these concepts are in a certain sense interrelated and interdependent in their consequences.

It should be noted that as a result of belittling the honor and dignity of citizens, as well as the business reputation of citizens or legal entities, moral damage is inflicted on them, subject to compensation (Article 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). In other words, non-property (moral) harm presupposes, first of all, various moral, emotional experiences caused by an offense. Moral harm often makes the victim suffer more sensitively and sharper than property harm: without inflicting property damage on the victim, it causes severe moral suffering and mental anguish. Moral harm means, in particular, a violation of mental well-being, peace of mind personality.

Thus, moral injury represents the undergoing of physical or mental suffering, a restriction of personal freedom, and therefore it should not remain outside the sphere of law.

Moral harm is mentioned in Art. 12, 151, 152, 1099-1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Currently, the legal assessment of the essence of moral harm, by which the legislator understands the infliction of physical or mental suffering on a citizen, is enshrined in Art. 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Paragraph 2 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of December 20, 1994 No. 10 "Some Issues of the Application of Legislation on Compensation for Moral Damage" (as amended on February 6, 2007) states that moral damage is understood as moral or physical suffering caused by actions (inaction), encroaching on intangible benefits belonging to a citizen from birth or by force of law or violating his personal non-property or property rights. Further, it is noted that a person's moral experiences and suffering can be associated “with the loss of relatives, the inability to continue an active social life, loss of work, disclosure of family, medical secrets, dissemination of false information defaming the honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen, temporary restriction or deprivation of any rights ”.

The duty of the offender to compensate for the moral (moral) damage caused by him is a measure of certain responsibility that has a preventive value in protecting the rights of an individual, which does not allow impunity to diminish his honor, dignity, and business reputation. Compensation for moral damage is, in turn, one of the ways to protect civil rights (Article 12 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for the grounds, methods and amount of compensation for moral damage exacted by the court, in particular:

  • compensation for moral damage (physical or mental suffering) is carried out in case of violation of the personal non-property rights of a citizen or in case of an encroachment on intangible benefits belonging to him (including honor, dignity and business reputation), as well as in other cases provided for by law (Article 151) ;
  • provides for compensation for moral damage to a legal entity in respect of which there was a dissemination of false information discrediting its business reputation (paragraph 7 of article 152);
  • compensation for moral harm, in particular, caused by the dissemination of information discrediting honor and dignity or business reputation, is carried out regardless of the fault of the tortfeasor;
  • compensation for moral damage is carried out only in monetary form and is determined depending on the nature of the physical and mental suffering inflicted on the victim, as well as on the degree of guilt of the inflictor of harm in cases where guilt is the basis for compensation for harm (paragraph 1.2 of article 1101).

It should be noted that for the first time in relation to the amount of compensation for moral damage, the legislator established that when determining it, the requirements of "reasonableness and justice" (clause 2 of article 1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), as well as "the degree of physical and mental suffering associated with the individual characteristics of the person who has been harmed ”(Article 151).

The limitation period does not apply to claims for compensation for moral harm, since they arise from the violation of personal non-property rights and other intangible benefits (clause 1 of article 208 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

The impossibility of accurately determining the monetary or other property equivalent should not restrain the courts in making decisions on compensation for moral damage, in particular, in the form of monetary compensation. According to the law, the victim himself subjectively assesses the severity of the moral harm inflicted on him and indicates a certain amount in the claim.

Judicial protection of honor, dignity, business reputation

Civil legislation is based on the inadmissibility of arbitrary interference by anyone in private affairs, the need for the unimpeded exercise of civil rights, ensuring the restoration of violated rights, their judicial protection (clause 1 of article 1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Judicial protection is a measure of state coercion provided by law aimed at protecting rights and freedoms and eliminating the consequences of their violation, implemented in civil proceedings, one of the important means of initiating which is a claim.

Right to judicial protection should be considered as a constitutional subjective right of an individual or legal entity, which in civil proceedings is realized through a whole range of powers: the right to appeal to a court in general and to a specific court; the right to objective consideration of the claims made by the plaintiff; the right to make a lawful and reasoned decision, as well as the right to initiate cassation and supervisory proceedings and to enforce the judgment.

In accordance with the legislation, any interested person has the right, in the prescribed manner, to apply to the court for protection of the violated (or disputed) right or interest protected by law. A citizen whose honor, dignity and business reputation has been diminished, and an organization (legal entity), if its business reputation is discredited, have the right to file claims for the refutation of widespread untrue, defamatory information.

The communication of defamatory information to the person whom they concern is not recognized as dissemination. In such cases, a citizen who has been informed of offensive information for him has the right to apply to the court with a request to initiate a case on bringing the perpetrator to criminal liability under Art. 130 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Such insult is considered inflicted in the absence of dissemination of any information about the victim to third parties, "one-on-one" (for example, an obscene gesture, an insulting letter to the victim containing obscene expressions, etc.). The listed actions belittle the dignity of a person and give rise to the right not only to initiate a criminal case under the article, but also to compensation for moral damage (if the tortfeasor is guilty).

According to paragraph 6 of Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, in circumstances where it is impossible to establish the person who disseminated information discrediting the honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen or the business reputation of a legal entity, the person in respect of whom this information is disseminated has the right to apply to the court with a statement recognizing the disseminated information as inappropriate reality.

An equally important prerequisite for the emergence of the right to bring a claim for a person applying for judicial protection is civil legal capacity. By endowing the subjects with the ability to have civil rights and obligations, the legislator also provides them with the ability to apply to a court or other jurisdictional body for the protection of their rights or interests, to be a defendant or other subject of the process and to have civil procedural rights and obligations.

Cases on claims for the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation under Art. 152 horny by general rules initiation of civil cases in court. Such a case can be initiated by filing a statement of claim by citizens or organizations (legal entities).

As noted above, in cases of protection of honor, dignity and business reputation, the burden of proving the validity of the disseminated defamatory information lies with the defendant, the plaintiff is only obliged to prove the fact of their dissemination by the person or organization against which the claim is filed.

It should be noted that the possibility of real execution of a court decision is provided even during the period of acceptance of a statement of claim, preparation and consideration of a civil case, including on the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation. Thus, the court may take measures to secure the claim, prohibiting the further dissemination of information discrediting the plaintiff until a final decision is made on the case. The court is obliged to take all measures, regardless of the stage of the process, to resolve the dispute, while preventing infringement of the rights and legitimate interests of each of the parties.

Bar exam

Question 84. Protection of honor, dignity, business reputation. Distribution of the burden of proof. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation (Article 152 of the Civil Code)

Question 84. Protection of honor, dignity, business reputation. Distribution of the burden of proof. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation (Article 152 of the Civil Code)

A citizen has the right to demand in court a refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, unless the person who disseminated such information proves that it is true.

At the request of interested persons, it is allowed to protect the honor and dignity of a citizen even after his death.

If information defaming the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen is disseminated in the media, they must be refuted in the same media.

If the specified information is contained in a document issued by the organization, such a document is subject to replacement or withdrawal.

The procedure for refutation in other cases is established by the court.

A citizen in respect of whom the mass media have published information that infringes on his rights or interests protected by law has the right to publish his answer in the same mass media.

If the court's decision is not executed, the court has the right to impose a fine on the offender, collected in the amount and in the manner prescribed by procedural legislation, to the income of the Russian Federation. The payment of the fine does not relieve the offender from the obligation to perform the action provided for by the court decision.

A citizen in relation to whom information has been 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 harm caused by their dissemination.

If it is impossible to establish the person who disseminated information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen, the person in relation to whom such information is disseminated has the right to apply to the court with a statement that the disseminated information is not true.

Rules of Art. 152 of the Civil Code on the protection of the business reputation of a citizen are accordingly applied to the protection of the business reputation of a legal entity.

Burden of proof.

By virtue of paragraph 1 of Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the responsibility to prove the validity of the disseminated information lies with the defendant. The plaintiff is obliged to prove the fact of dissemination of information by the person against whom the claim is brought, as well as the defamatory nature of this information.

At the same time, proceeding from paragraph 3 of the named article, in the case when a citizen, in respect of whom the mass media has published information that is relevant to reality, infringing on his rights and interests protected by law, disputes the refusal of the editorial office of the mass media to publish his response to this publication, the plaintiff is obliged to prove that disseminated information infringes on his rights and interests protected by law.

In accordance with Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Article 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which guarantee everyone the right to freedom of thought and speech, as well as to freedom of the media, the position of the European Court of Human Rights when considering cases of protection of honor and dignity and business reputation, courts should distinguish between statements of fact, the validity of which can be verified, and value judgments, opinions, convictions that are not subject to judicial protection in accordance with Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, since, being an expression of the subjective opinion and views of the defendant , cannot be verified for their validity

1.12. Cases on the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation The dignity of the individual is protected by the state, and nothing can be a basis for belittling it (Article 21 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). This guarantee is given to any person: the dignity of not only an adult and

Article 5.13. Failure to provide an opportunity to publish a denial or other clarification in defense of honor, dignity or business reputation Failure to provide an opportunity to publish (publish) a rebuttal or other explanation in defense of honor, dignity or

Article 152. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation 1. A citizen has the right to demand in court the refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, if the person who disseminated such information does not prove that it is true.

Article 152. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation 1. A citizen has the right to demand in court the refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, unless the person who disseminated such information proves that it is true.

ARTICLE 152. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation 1. A citizen has the right to demand in court the refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, unless the person who disseminated such information proves that it is true.

Chapter 5. Cases on the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation According to Part 1 of Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a citizen has the right to demand from the court the refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, if the person who disseminated such information does not prove that they correspond

Article 5. 13. Failure to provide an opportunity to publish a refutation or other explanation in defense of honor, dignity or business reputation Failure to provide an opportunity to publish (publish) a refutation or other before the end of the election campaign period

Article 5.13. Failure to provide an opportunity to publish a refutation or other explanation in defense of honor, dignity or business reputation Failure to provide an opportunity to publish (publish) a refutation or other before the end of the election campaign period

3.3. Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation "On jurisprudence in cases of protecting the honor and dignity of citizens, as well as the business reputation of citizens and legal entities "(1) dated February 24, 2005, No. 3 In accordance with Article 23 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone has

Claims for the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states: “A citizen has the right to demand in court the refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, unless the person who disseminated such information proves that they correspond

Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 24, 2005 No. 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" In accordance with Article 23 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone has the right to

Chapter 6. Judicial protection of the honor and dignity of citizens, business reputation of legal entities A citizen or an organization has the right to demand from the court the refutation of information discrediting their honor and dignity, business reputation, unless the person who disseminated such information proves that

Statement of claim for the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation In the _____________________________ district (city) court of ______________________________ region (region, republic) Plaintiff: _____________________ (name of the organization or surname, address) Defendant: ________________ (name of the organization or surname and s. ,

1. A citizen has the right to demand in court a refutation of information discrediting his honor, dignity or business reputation, unless the person who disseminated such information proves that it is true. The refutation must be done in the same way in which information about the citizen was disseminated, or in another similar way.

At the request of interested persons, it is allowed to protect the honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen 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 specified information has been disseminated in the media has the right to demand, along with a refutation, the publication of his answer in the same media.

3. If information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen is contained in a document emanating from the organization, such a document must be replaced or revoked.

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

5. If information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen turned out to be available on the Internet after their dissemination, the citizen has the right to demand the removal of the relevant information, as well as the refutation of the said information in a way that ensures that the refutation is communicated to 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, shall be established by the court.

7. Application of measures of responsibility to the violator for non-execution of the 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 establish the person who disseminated information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen, the citizen in relation to whom such information is disseminated has the right to apply to the court with a statement that the disseminated information is not true.

9. A citizen in respect of whom information has been 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 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 information does not correspond to reality. The limitation period for claims in connection with the dissemination of the specified information in the media is one year from the date of publication of such information in the relevant 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, shall accordingly apply to the protection of the business reputation of a legal entity.

Expert comment:

In the legal framework of Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation occupies a unique place, since it is based mainly on subjective factors. Its norms are aimed at protecting honor and dignity, and each plaintiff is free to put forward his own versions of what, from his point of view, creates damage to them.

Comments to Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation


1. Honor, dignity, business reputation are similar moral categories. Honor and dignity reflect an objective assessment of a citizen by others and his self-esteem. Business reputation is an assessment professional qualities citizen or legal entity.

The honor, dignity, business reputation of a citizen together determine the "good name", the inviolability of which is guaranteed by the Constitution (Art. 23).

2. To protect the honor, dignity, and business reputation of a citizen, a special method is provided: refutation of widespread discrediting information. This method can be used if there are a combination of three conditions.

First, the information must be defamatory. The assessment of information as defamatory is based not on a subjective, but on an objective sign. In the Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation of August 18, 1992 N 11 "On some issues arising when the courts are considering the protection of the honor and dignity of citizens, as well as the business reputation of citizens and legal entities", it is specially noted that "information that does not correspond to reality, containing allegations of a violation by a citizen or an organization of current legislation or moral principles (about committing a dishonest act, improper behavior in a work collective, everyday life and other information discrediting production and economic social activities, business reputation, etc.) that diminish honor and dignity. "

Second, the information must be disseminated. In the said Resolution of the Plenum of the RF Armed Forces, an explanation is also given about what should be understood by the dissemination of information: "The publication of such information in the press, broadcast on radio and television programs, demonstration in newsreel programs and other mass media (media), presentation in official characteristics, public speeches, statements addressed to officials, or communication in another, including oral, form to several or at least one person. ”It is specially emphasized that the communication of information to the person whom they concern in private is not considered as dissemination.

Thirdly, the information should not correspond to reality. At the same time, the article commented on enshrines the principle of the victim's presumption of innocence inherent in civil law: information is considered untrue until the person who disseminated it proves otherwise (see the Bulletin of the RF Armed Forces. 1995. N 7. P. 6).

3. For the protection of the honor, dignity and business reputation of the deceased, see the comment. to Art. 150 GK.

4. In paragraph 2 of the commented article, the procedure for refuting discrediting information that was disseminated in the media is specially highlighted. It is regulated in more detail in the RF Law of December 27, 1991 "On Mass Media" (Vedomosti RF. 1992. N 7. Art. 300). In addition to the requirement that the refutation must be published in the same media in which the defamatory information was disseminated, the Law established that it must be typed in the same font, in the same place on the page. If a refutation is given by radio or television, it must be broadcast at the same time of day and, as a rule, in the same broadcast as the refuted message (Articles 43, 44 of the Law).

In the commented article, the procedure for refuting the information contained in the document is specially highlighted - such a document must be replaced. We can talk about replacing work book, in which a defamatory entry was made about the dismissal of an employee, characteristics, etc.

Although in all other cases the procedure for refutation is established by the court, it follows from the meaning of the commented article that it should be made in the same way in which the defamatory information was disseminated. This is the position that the judicial practice adheres to.

5. From clause 2 of the commented article it follows that in all cases of attacks on honor, dignity and business reputation, a citizen is provided with judicial protection. Therefore, the rule established by the Law on Mass Media, according to which the victim must first apply for a refutation to the media, cannot be regarded as mandatory.

A special permission on this issue is contained in the Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation of August 18, 1992 N 11. It notes that "Clauses 1 and 7 of Art. 152 of the first part of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation have established that a citizen has the right to demand a refutation of defamatory honor, dignity or business reputation of information, and a legal entity - information discrediting its business reputation.At the same time, the law does not provide for a mandatory preliminary appeal with such a request to the defendant, including in the case when a claim is brought against the mass media that disseminated the specified above information ".

6. Clause 3 of the commented article establishes the procedure for protecting the honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen if information is disseminated in the media that is devoid of signs giving the right to refute it. We can talk, for example, about discrediting, but true to reality, or about non-discrediting information that does not correspond to reality, but at the same time, their dissemination to some extent infringes upon the rights and legitimate interests of a citizen, diminishes his business reputation. In these cases, the citizen has the right not to a refutation, but to a response, which must be published in the same media. Although such a method of protection as the publication of a response has been established only in relation to the media, it is possible that it can be used when disseminating information in a different way.

Failure to comply with these court decisions is punishable by a fine in accordance with Art. 406 Code of Civil Procedure and Art. 206 APC in the amount of up to 200 established by law minimum sizes wages.

7. Special methods of protection - giving a refutation or a response are applied regardless of the fault of the persons who allowed the dissemination of such information.

Paragraph 5 of the commented article confirms the possibility of using for the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation in addition to special and general methods of protection. At the same time, the most common are named: compensation for losses and compensation for moral damage. Property and non-property damage resulting from violation of honor, dignity and business reputation is subject to compensation in accordance with the norms contained in Ch. 59 GK (obligation due to harm). In accordance with these norms, compensation for property damage (losses) is possible only with the culpable dissemination of information (Article 1064 of the Civil Code), and compensation for moral damage - regardless of the fault (Article 1100 of the Civil Code).

In addition to the above, any other general means of protection can be used (see the commentary to Article 12 of the Civil Code), in particular, the suppression of actions that violate the right or pose a threat of its violation (confiscation of circulation of a newspaper, magazine, book, prohibition of publication of the second edition etc.).

8. Clause 6 contains another special way to protect the honor, dignity and business reputation of citizens during the anonymous dissemination of information: the court's recognition of the disseminated information as untrue. The Code of Civil Procedure does not establish the procedure for considering such claims. Obviously, they should be considered in the order of a special procedure, provided for the establishment of facts of legal significance (Ch. 26, 27 of the Code of Civil Procedure). The same procedure, obviously, can be used if there is no distributor (death of a citizen or liquidation of a legal entity).

Cases of anonymous dissemination of information do not include publications in the media without specifying their author. In these cases, there is always a distributor, and therefore, this media outlet is the responsible person.

9. In case of violation of the business reputation of a legal entity, it has the right to demand refutation of widespread defamatory information, replacement of the issued document, publication of a response in the media, establishment of the fact that the widespread information does not correspond to reality, etc. The legal entity has the right to demand compensation for losses. As for non-pecuniary damage, in accordance with Art. 151 of the Civil Code is compensated only to citizens, since only they can endure moral and physical suffering.

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, unless the person who disseminated such information proves that it is true. The refutation must be done in the same way in which information about the citizen was disseminated, or in another similar way.

At the request of interested persons, it is allowed to protect the honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen 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 specified information has been disseminated in the media has the right to demand, along with a refutation, the publication of his answer in the same media.

3. If information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen is contained in a document emanating from the organization, such a document must be replaced or revoked.

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

5. If information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen turned out to be available on the Internet after their dissemination, the citizen has the right to demand the removal of the relevant information, as well as the refutation of the said information in a way that ensures that the refutation is communicated to 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, shall be established by the court.

7. Application of measures of responsibility to the violator for non-execution of the 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 establish the person who disseminated information discrediting the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen, the citizen in relation to whom such information is disseminated has the right to apply to the court with a statement that the disseminated information is not true.

9. A citizen in respect of whom information has been 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 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 information does not correspond to reality. The limitation period for claims in connection with the dissemination of the specified information in the media is one year from the date of publication of such information in the relevant media.

Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation is a fairly important civilian aspect. Despite the fact that the legislation does not define the concepts of "honor", "dignity", "business reputation", the observance of the rights of citizens in these categories is protected by Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Next, we will consider the procedure for protecting honor, dignity and business reputation.

The concept of honor, dignity and business reputation

The presented concepts belong to the same category and differ only in the subject and object approach. Honor is a personality assessment that determines the attitude of society towards an individual or organization. It implies a criterion moral qualities.

Dignity is an internal assessment of a person (self-esteem). It implies a person's awareness of his qualities, abilities and social significance. Honor and dignity as concepts have their own definite direction, therefore, when interpreting them, a clear differentiation is necessary.

The object of concepts is a person or a group of people.

Honor is also a public assessment of a person by society and practically does not depend on the person himself. Subject side this concept allows a person to self-assess their actions and suppress immoral intentions in themselves, to act in accordance with the requirements.

In other words, the personal and social side of the concept are closely related, since a person cannot evade the judgment of the people around him. Honor is a historical category that emerged with the rise of human society. In other words, honor is a category that reflects a person's basic dignity in the minds of other people.

The inextricable link between dignity and honor is manifested in the fact that being in society a mentally healthy person cannot but reckon with the rights of the people around him. From all this, an idea of \u200b\u200boneself is formed in the mind of a person.

Business reputation is associated with honor and dignity, but most often it refers to legal entities. This is a special case of the reputation of a team, organization, individual entrepreneur... Business reputation plays a significant role in the organization's position in the market, therefore the number of claims for the protection of business reputation has increased significantly over last years... This includes value judgments or insults as ways to lower business reputation. Of course, in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, such statements are not prohibited, but if the form of the statement is offensively indecent, then the offender may be held criminally liable under article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Types of attacks on honor, dignity and business reputation

The types of encroachments are reflected in the Codes, in accordance with criminal and civil law.

Today the following attacks are distinguished:

  • defamation is the dissemination of false information that tarnishes one's reputation. The methods of transmission can be the following: publications in print, broadcast on television, as well as posting information on the Internet;
  • an insult is an indecent derogation to the dignity of an outsider;
  • libel - the dissemination of information discrediting the reputation of others. If in the case of defamation, dignity is carried out through the dissemination of information, then in case of insult and slander it has a negative impact on personal qualities.
  • presentation in service characteristics, as well as in oral or written messages.

The foregoing allows us to conclude that it is the defamatory information that is the conditions for an attack on the reputation. At the same time, reputation and honor can be tarnished by publishing negative information in the media, by disseminating it via the Internet;

The strong character of information is the basis of the second condition. Here we can talk about the assessment of the moral qualities of a person. At the same time, the criteria for defamatory information have not been legally established and are unlikely to be established in the future, since morality is an unstable category and in society it can both be accepted and not accepted. but supreme court the definition was given: defamatory information means false information that citizens or an organization violated the law, committed an unethical act, were not conscientious or poorly conducted their activities and violated business ethics.

Among the main measures of restraint is going to court for the application of civil measures, which are provided for by Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Judicial power can be exercised only after the victim himself has filed a complaint about violations of his rights. The defendant may be subject to criminal and civil law measures, as well as dependence on the severity of the violation

Dissemination of false information discrediting a citizen, preventive measures

Before going to court, individuals can defend their rights on their own. There are the following methods for this:

  • refutation of information. Most often, these methods are used when working with the media; A refutation must necessarily contain an interpretation about which specific information is false, as well as correct information;
  • replacement or revocation of a document that is in the organization; If the company issued a characteristic to the employee that does not correspond to reality. The employee has the right to go to court with the recognition of this characteristic as invalid, since it is defamatory and may affect further employment. Moreover, if the company decides to issue a refutation, then it must draw up a true document, certify it with a signature and seal and hand it over to the employee. If the requirements are not met, then the court has the right to impose a fine on such a company, since this is a violation of the employee's requirements. And this, in turn, entails the imposition of a fine of up to 50,000 rubles.
  • going to court with a claim against the person who violated the law; In this case, cases are initiated by a court of the relevant jurisdiction and a legal decision is issued to impose an appropriate punishment on the person who disseminated the information.

The legislation gives the victim the right to claim compensation for damage.

The court has the right to approve an amicable agreement, according to which cases are resolved by mutual agreement and the defendant's apology in the courtroom. The peculiarities of protecting business reputation are that legal entities are the owners of business reputation.

Business reputation is considered by law as an intangible good. A legal entity, unlike a physical person, has no right to demand compensation for moral damage in court. This is due to the essence of the definition of a legal entity as an artificially created entity that cannot undergo any kind of moral suffering.

Thus, the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation is controlled by the legislation of the Russian Federation. Today, there are many ways to protect these subjective categories. The decision on the method of punishment for the dissemination of defamatory information shall be made by the court of the relevant jurisdiction.