The general grounds for liability for harm are enshrined in the Civil Code, in article 1064. They were first introduced in Roman law. For most countries applying the Romano-German legal system, the provisions on liability for damage are not new. We consider in more detail Art. 1064 of the Civil Code with the comments of lawyers.
Key provisions of the norm
Art. 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation as amended establishes that damage to property or the identity of an individual or the values of an organization must be fully compensated by the causer.
At the same time, the legislation allows the laying of responsibility for harm on a subject that is not its direct causer. The law or the contract may stipulate the obligation of the guilty person to pay the victims in excess of the established compensation for harm . Under certain circumstances, this provision also applies to entities that are not the causers of damage.
The nuances of the norm
Art. 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation as amended provides for the exemption of the causer of damage from the obligation to indemnify him if he can prove that there was no intent in causing the harm. Meanwhile, legislation may provide for liability in the absence of guilt of the subject.
Damage arising from the commission of lawful actions must be compensated in cases established by regulatory legal acts. If the damage was done with the consent or at the request of the victim, compensation may be refused. Moreover, the actions of the causer must not violate generally accepted moral standards.
Art. 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation with comments
The analyzed norm fixes the so-called "general tort". As mentioned above, the provisions of the article are not new to the domestic system of law.
Art. 444 Civil Code from 1964, art. 403 of the Code of 1922 repeated the rules enshrined in the first paragraph of paragraph 1 of Art. 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation .
The generally accepted conditions for the occurrence of liability for damage include:
- The wrongfulness of the actions of the subject who caused the harm.
- The onset of negative consequences.
- The relationship between the consequences and the behavior of the causer.
- The fault of the subject who caused the damage.
Specific cases
In par. 3 of the first paragraph of Art. 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, compensation for damage resulting from lawful actions is allowed in cases specified by law.
Such situations, for example, include compensation for damage caused by emergency. It is a matter of eliminating the threat to both the causer and others, if it could not be eliminated without causing damage.
It should also be said about the guarantees enshrined in federal law. In particular, in accordance with the provisions of Article 18 of the Federal Law No. 35 (“On Countering Terrorism”), in accordance with the procedure established by the Government, the state provides compensation to individuals and legal entities for damage caused during a terrorist attack.
Terminology features
In Art. 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation the concept of "harm" is not disclosed. There is no definition in other norms of the Code. The Civil Code discloses such concepts as “lost profit”, “losses”, “real damage”.
Meanwhile, in the theory of law there is a general definition of harm. By it is meant any derogation of tangible or intangible goods protected by law, any negative changes in them, which, in turn, may be property miles non-property. Simply put, harm is damage, loss, damage, loss, damage.
In the framework of the theory, harm is considered as a diminution (infringement) of subjective law, including including the destruction of the good.
Damage content
Harm under Art. 1064 of the Civil Code combines both property and non-property negative consequences.
The latter should be understood as moral damage, including moral and physical suffering (Article 151 of the Civil Code).
Property damage is usually expressed in cash. When evaluating it, the provisions of Article 15 of the Code are used. According to the norm, property damage includes lost income and real damage.
Occurrence of obligation
Causing harm creates the responsibility of the guilty entity to compensate for the negative consequences. A person whose subjective right has been violated may require full compensation for losses. However, contract or law may provide for lesser compensation.
Losses (losses) should be considered:
- costs of restoring the violated rights of the victim;
- income that he would have received if he had not suffered damage;
- damage or destruction of his property.
If the entity that caused the harm made profit from this, the injured person has the right to demand compensation for lost profits. Moreover, its size should be no less than such income. This right, however, does not exclude the possibility of the victim to claim compensation for other losses.
The fault of the causer
She acts, according to Art. 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation , as one of the grounds for laying the obligation on the person who caused the damage, the obligation to compensate it.
Unlike criminal law, in the Civil Code the guilt of the entity that caused the harm is presumed (assumed). Based on the provisions of paragraph 2 of this article, the causer of damage must prove the absence of intent.
As explained by the Constitutional Court, the presence of guilt is recognized as the universally recognized principle of legal liability in any branch of law. Any exclusion from this provision should be expressed directly and unambiguously and be fixed directly in the legislation. Given this, the Civil Code provides for subjective grounds for holding liable for damage. Moreover, for cases in which the basis is guilty, the question of the burden of proof is resolved unambiguously.
Special rules
As follows from the provisions of Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a claim for compensation for harm may be filed if the causer did not have intent to take actions entailing negative consequences. Compensation obligation arises in case of damage as a result of illegal:
- conviction;
- punishments under the Code of Administrative Offenses;
- application of the subject's detention in custody or taking a recognizance not to leave the place of residence ;
- application of arrest, suspension of activity (for legal entities).
The resulting damage must be compensated regardless of the intent of the employees of the prosecutor's office, inquiry, court, preliminary investigation.
The obligation of compensation for damage arises among citizens and organizations engaged in activities associated with increased danger to the population. To her, for example, include the use of:
- transport;
- mechanisms;
- atomic energy;
- high voltage electricity;
- potent poisons;
- explosives, etc.
The obligation is imputed if the indicated entities do not prove that the negative consequences arose as a result of the intent of the victim himself or the action of force majeure.
The legislation provides for the liability of the manufacturer or seller of products, the entity that provided the service or performed the work, in the absence of their fault for damage to property, health / life of a citizen, organization values due to:
- prescription, structural or other shortcomings of a work, product, service;
- providing incomplete / unreliable data on a product, service, work.
The obligation to compensate moral damage arises regardless of the fault of its causer in the cases enshrined in article 1100 of the Civil Code.
Additionally
It is necessary to distinguish between cases of prosecution of persons in the absence of their guilt and situations where the obligation to compensate for the damage arises from entities that are not its causers. The latter should include:
- The occurrence of the obligation to compensate for damage caused by emergency. Responsibility rests with the entity in whose interests the causer of the harm acted.
- The occurrence of an obligation to indemnify an organization or an individual for actions committed by an employee.
- Responsibility of the Russian Federation, region or municipality for damage caused by state and local authorities and their employees, including for damage caused by unlawful actions by bodies of the court, preliminary investigation, prosecutor's office, inquiry.
- Parents (guardians / adoptive parents) have an obligation to compensate for damage caused by a minor under the age of 14 .; by trustees, parents, adoptive parents - for damage caused by a child under 18 years old.
In addition, in accordance with applicable law, a guardian or organization supervising a legally incompetent person is liable for actions committed by the guardian. If the legally incapable person has done harm, they will compensate him.