On Compensation for Moral Damage in Cases of Protection of Honor, Dignity and Business Reputation: Theoretical and Law Enforcement Aspects

Relevance. The article examines the problem of compensation for moral damage as one of the ways to protect honor, dignity and business reputation in accordance with Art. 151 «Compensation for moral damage» of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Doctrinal approaches to the concept of moral damage and other categories of this institute have been studied, an assessment of the trends in law enforcement practice for resolving such disputes is given. The work reflected new explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in cases of recovery of compensation for moral damage, as well as the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, which recognized Article 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation as unconstitutional in part.

The purpose of the study is to deepen scientific knowledge of moral harm as a way to protect honor, dignity and business reputation and to develop theoretical and legislative proposals aimed at the uniform application of compensation for moral damage in such cases.

Objectives: to analyze reviews of judicial practice, decisions on claims for recovery of moral damage, legal positions of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts of the Russian Federation and to identify gaps in the methods of protection of these intangible benefits of a citizen.

The methodology was compiled by general scientific (deductions, induction, analysis and synthesis) and private scientific methods (formal-legal, logical, analysis of judicial practice, system-analytical) in their various combination.

The results contain original proposals of a theoretical, applied and legislative nature, contributing to the effectiveness of the institution of moral damage as a way of compensation for unlawful actions against the honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen.

Conclusion. The author's position is formulated on the inexpediency of the principle of "presumption of moral damage" and the need to modernize the version of Art. Art. 151 and 1099 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation in terms of excluding restrictions on the collection of moral damage caused to a person in relation to property damage. It is stated that there is judicial discretion in determining the amount of compensation for non-pecuniary damage, the limitation of which is possible taking into account the criteria outlined in the new resolution № 33.

1. Erdelevskij A. M. Moral'nyj vred i kompensaciya za stradaniya [Moral damage and compensation for suffering]. Moscow, BEK Publ., 1998. 173 p.

2. Erdelevskij A. M. Kompensaciya moral'nogo vreda [Compensation for moral damage]. Moscow, R. Valent Publ., 2007. 270 p.

3. Maleina M. N. Zashchita lichnyh neimushchestvennyh prav sovetskih grazhdan [Protection of the personal non-property rights of Soviet citizens]. Moscow, Znanie Publ., 1991. 126 р.

4. Maleina M. N. Lichnye neimushchestvennye prava grazhdan: ponyatie, osushchestvlenie, zashchita [Personal non-property rights of citizens: concept, implementation, protection]. Moscow, MZ Press, 2001. 244 р.

5. Belyavskij A. V., Pridvorov N. A. Ohrana chesti i dostoinstva lichnosti v SSSR [Protection of the honor and dignity of the person in the USSR]. Moscow, Yuridicheskaya literatura Publ., 1971. 208 p.

6. Pokrovskij I. A. Osnovnye problemy grazhdanskogo prava [The main problems of civil law]. 8th ed. Moscow, Statute Publ., 2020. 351 p.

7. Tarhov V. A. O vozmeshchenii moral'nogo vreda [On compensation for moral damage]. Vestnik Saratovskoj gosudarstvennoj akademii prava = Bulletin of the Saratov State Academy of Law, 1996, no. 1, рр. 13–19.

8. Fast I. A. Kompensaciya moral'nogo vreda pri prichinenii vreda zhizni i zdorov'yu: prakticheskie itogi 25 let sushchestvovaniya instituta v Rossijskoj Federacii [Compensation for moral damage in causing harm to life and health: practical results of 25 years of the institute's existence in the Russian Federation]. Evrazijskaya advokatura = Eurasian Bar, 2018, no. 5, рр. 58–75.

9. Shichanin A. V. Problemy stanovleniya i perspektivy razvitiya instituta vozmeshcheniya moral'nogo vreda. Avtoref. diss. kand. yurid. nauk [Problems of formation and prospects for the development of the institute of compensation for moral damage. Cand. legal sci. abstract diss.]. Moscow, 1995. 34 р.

10. Davydov R. H. Problemy zashchity chesti, dostoinstva i delovoj reputacii po zakonodatel'stvu Rossijskoj Federacii [Problems of protection of honor, dignity and business reputation under the legislation of the Russian Federation]. Ekonomika. Pravo. Obshchestvo = Economics. Right. Society, 2020, no. 1 (21), рр. 57–62.

11. Kolesnikova M. M., Semenov A. V. Kompensaciya moral'nogo vreda kak sposob zashchity chesti, dostoinstva i delovoj reputacii [Compensation for moral damage as a way to protect honor, dignity and business reputation]. Leningradskij yuridicheskij zhurnal = Leningrad Law Journal, 2016, no. 2 (44), рр. 72–86.

12. Vlasov A. A. Problemy sudebnoj zashchity chesti, dostoinstva i delovoj reputacii [Problems of judicial protection of honor, dignity and business reputation]. Moscow, Izd. Im. Sabashnikovykh, 2000. 344 p.

13. Andreev Yu. N. Mekhanizm grazhdansko-pravovoj zashchity [Civil protection mechanism]. Moscow, Norma Publ., 2013. 463 p.

14. Klochkov A. V. Kompensaciya moral'nogo vreda kak mera grazhdansko-pravovoj otvetstvennosti. Avtoref. diss. kand. yurid. nauk [Compensation for moral damage as a measure of civil liability. Cand. legal sci. abstract diss.]. Volgograd, 2004. 24 p.

15. Golubev K. I., Narizhnij S. V. Kompensaciya moral'nogo vreda kak sposob zashchity neimushchestvennyh blag lichnosti [Compensation for moral damage, as a way to protect the immaterial benefits of the individual]. 2th ed. St. Petersburg, Yuridicheskii Centr Press Publ., 2001. 302 p.

16. Sidorova E. N. Processual'nye osobennosti zashchity chesti, dostoinstva i delovoj reputacii [Procedural features of the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation]. Evrazijskaya advokatura = Eurasian Bar, 2013, no. 3 (4), рр. 42–46.

17. Marusin I. S. Vozmeshchenie moral'nogo ushcherba v novom Grazhdanskom kodekse RF [Compensation for moral damage in the new Civil Code of the Russian Federation]. Izvestiya vysshih uchebnyh zavedenij. Pravovedenie = Proceedings of Higher Educational Institutions. Pravovedenie, 1997, no. 1, рр. 91–95.

18. Kuznecova N. V. Problemy kompensacii moral'nogo vreda v ugolovnom processe [Problems of compensation for moral damage in the criminal process]. Izhevsk, 1999. 174 p.

19. Yuzefovich Zh. Yu., Lukashov A. O. O kompensacii moral'nogo vreda v delah o zashchite chesti, dostoinstva i delovoj reputacii [On compensation for moral damage in cases of protection of honor, dignity and business reputation]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta MVD Rossii = Bulletin of the Moscow University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 2021, no. 4, рр. 77–79.

20. Barsukova V. N. Kompensaciya moral'nogo vreda kak sposob zashchity chesti i dostoinstva lichnosti [Compensation for moral damage as a way to protect the honor and dignity of the person]. Pravo i gosudarstvo: teoriya i praktika = Law and the state: theory and practice, 2019, no. 11 (179), рр. 90–93.

21. Pagava T. L. Stanovlenie i razvitie pravovogo instituta kompensacii moral'nogo vreda kak sposoba zashchity narushennyh imushchestvennyh prav grazhdan [Formation and development of the legal institution of compensation for moral damage as a way to protect the violated property rights of citizens]. Ekonomika. Pravo. Obshchestvo = Economy. Right. Society, 2019, no. 2 (18), рр. 33–38.

22. Erdelevskij A. Zashchita chesti, dostoinstva i delovoj reputacii v sudebnoj praktike [Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation in judicial practice]. Hozyajstvo i pravo = Economy and law, 2006, no. 1, рр. 135–139.

23. Alekhina E. E. Osobennosti zashchity prav grazhdan pri vozmeshchenii moral'nogo vreda v sudebnom poryadke [Features of protecting the rights of citizens in compensation for moral damage in court]. Problemy pravoohranitel'noj deyatel'nosti = Problems of law enforcement, 2021, no. 2, рр. 22–27.

24. Aleksandrova N. V. Problemy kompensacii moral'nogo vreda kak sposoba zashchity grazhdanskih prav v resheniyah Verhovnogo Suda Chuvashskoj Respubliki [Problems of compensation for moral damage as a way to protect civil rights in the decisions of the Supreme Court of the Chuvash Republic]. Oeconomia et Jus = Economia et Jus, 2016, no. 3, рр. 42–47.