The constitution in any country is called to protect not only the life and health of its citizens, their material values, but also allows to compensate for material damage. In this case, it does not matter, we are talking about a civil or criminal process. Recently, our citizens more and more often recall this right when they turn to the court. However, few people know how to prove moral harm in court, how to collect evidence so as not to lose.
What is non-material damage?
In civil law, moral damage is regarded as moral suffering that interferes with a citizen's normal existence, worsens his reputation, and so on. The main thing is that the victim can prove that he really feels psychological or physical discomfort due to the actions of a certain person.
What in normative acts is referred to moral damage:
- Physical suffering. You can prove the fact of such suffering by medical reports and certificates. It may be about dizziness, suffocation, nausea, and other symptoms.
- Moral suffering. Such suffering is most difficult to prove in court and in general in life. For example, if a car was damaged in a traffic accident, it’s even hard to imagine how to prove to the judge that the victim is worried about this, can’t sleep, and turned to the psychotherapist. It can also be a humiliation of dignity or infringement of personal freedoms, or a violation of the right to inviolability of the person.
Jurisdiction
How to prove moral harm in court? It is much easier to find an answer to this question, and where to turn to the court of which jurisdiction is a more complicated question.
Most often, such cases are heard in courts of general jurisdiction and with justices of the peace, because they arise from a variety of legal relationships. May appear against the backdrop of a conflict of non-compliance with consumer protection laws, are the result of personal conflicts or even relate to delicate relationships between people.
As a general rule, the victim may apply for damages at the place of residence or at the place where the defendant is. Also, at the level of legislation, it is possible to appeal to a district court in the following cases:
- if it is necessary to restore labor rights;
- recover damages for injuries or damage to health;
- if the nurse was lost;
- if the norms of the code of criminal procedure have been violated (unlawful detention, detention, imposition of an administrative penalty);
- protection of rights stipulated by law regarding the protection of personal data.
It should be remembered that it is possible to apply to a justice of the peace only if the amount of the required compensation does not exceed 50 thousand rubles.
To whom and how to prove?
Any example of how to prove non-pecuniary damage in court comes down to only one thing - this obligation lies with the plaintiff. Any process is based on evidence of guilt, on the testimony of the plaintiff, and the defendant proves his innocence.
Many people get lost while proclaiming a speech surrounded by a large number of people, therefore it is recommended to hire a lawyer.
What does not require evidence?
If we talk about examples of how to prove moral harm in court, it should be remembered that it is not required to prove the facts that were previously established. For example, if there was already a court and the husband was awarded community service for inappropriate treatment of his wife, then this fact does not require additional evidence.
If an accident occurs, confirmed by the relevant protocols, then this fact is not subject to proof.
What will have to prove?
How to prove non-pecuniary damage in a rights court? Will have to put a lot of effort. First of all, it will be necessary to convey to the judge that the really committed unlawful actions led to the suffering of the plaintiff, and it does not matter if it is physical or moral damage.
We will have to prove that it was at a particular time that the damage was caused, resulting in moral damage, its nature, the degree of guilt of the defendant.
How to do it?
But the most important question is how to prove moral harm in court? After all, such experiences have no material basis. The solution to the problem is simplified if bodily harm has been inflicted, which is confirmed by conclusions from a medical institution. But, if the problem lies in the plane of constant humiliation and insults that the neighbors did not even know about? Moreover, do not hide the fact that our judges pay little attention to the complaints of the plaintiffs. You can solve any problem, even this one.
First of all, the following may serve as evidence:
- testimonies of people who were real witnesses to the incident;
- audio recordings;
- video recordings;
- written confirmations (threatening letters, messages, notes).
If, however, certificates and conclusions are used as the evidence base, the most important thing is that the documents clearly show that suffering or illness is not a chronic problem, but appears against the background of a specific incident (crime).
What do lawyers advise in such cases? First of all, by contacting a medical institution, focus the doctor's attention on the fact that you have never had any sleep disturbances, and problems appeared only after an illegal action against you. This should be clearly stated in the medical report.
The order of treatment
How to prove moral harm in court? The first rule of recourse to the court is the argumentativeness of the arguments. The application must fully comply with all legal requirements. The main details of the statement of claim:
- full personal information about the plaintiff and defendant, including contact details;
- the correct spelling of the court where the plaintiff applies;
- amount of compensation required;
- full and detailed statement of the circumstances of the case, but without any lyrical digressions.
Be sure to attach documents that will determine the degree of responsibility of the defendant and the moral suffering of the plaintiff.
Several rules to enforce when writing a lawsuit
You should be aware that the right to compensation for non-pecuniary damage has not only citizens of the Russian Federation, but also stateless persons, foreigners.
If a claim for compensation for non-pecuniary damage is filed along with property requirements, then we should not forget about the limitation periods. On the other hand, when filing a lawsuit as part of a criminal or civil process, do not forget to state your claims for compensation for non-material damage, as it is unlikely that the judge will independently make such a decision or even suggest drawing up a separate lawsuit.
You should not refuse compensation for moral damage, of course, if it was really inflicted.
How to describe the damage?
Do moral damages need to be proved in court? Of course, it is necessary and in great detail. The first stage of proof is a correctly written statement of claim. It is necessary to describe in it what the plaintiff suffered, perhaps, and in the process of writing the application he experiences. For example, this can be a constant visit to a doctor, whose services are often not free, even in state medical institutions. You can indicate that you are in a state of constant stress, there is no way to work normally and even raise children.
How to prove non-pecuniary damage in court in case of an accident, an example of a statement:
After the heading of the document may be the following text of the statement:
... I, FULL NAME, crossing the street ... date ... in the place where there is a traffic light and a zebra, to the green traffic light for pedestrians. But the driver, full name of the driver who drove the vehicle ... the car brand, state number ... violated the rules of the traffic rules and started driving at the prohibitory traffic signal for drivers - "red". As a result of this incident, the driver ... Full name ... hit me.
As a result of the accident, I received injuries that are expressed in ... (write what is indicated in the medical report) ... As a result of the accident, I suffered significant physical harm ... (the extent of the damage described in the medical report is indicated).
After undergoing a medical examination by doctors, I was recommended after a hospital ... (testimony from the conclusion, for example, spa treatment).
The defendant, ... full name ... admitted (did not admit) his guilt, which is confirmed by the results of the trial ... number of the case, where the date of the decision was examined. Documents that were drawn up at the time of the accident (traffic police protocol and other documents) are also attached to the lawsuit.
As a result of the incident and long-term treatment, I significantly lost in wages in the amount of ... (size, numbers and words) ... Huge amounts of money were spent on treatment and rehabilitation in the amount of ... (size, numbers and words) ... In addition, I suffered not only physically, but also morally. I have a moral trauma that is expressed in ... (reasons given).
In conclusion, you should indicate your requirements for the defendant to pay the amount that went to the services of a lawyer to pay the state fee.
criminal process
How to prove moral harm in a criminal court? Today, there is no specific methodology that can clearly assess the degree of human suffering and non-material damage. Nevertheless, in the criminal process, the fact that a court was sentenced and a sentence has been passed is very weighty evidence. And most importantly, even if the case is terminated with respect to the defendant after the statute of limitations has expired, or he is amnestied, the victim is still entitled to apply to the court for compensation for non-material damage. It is much more difficult to prove guilt in cases where the victim herself did not seek help and there is no sentence or order to terminate the proceedings on non-rehabilitating grounds. In such cases, the plaintiff will have to prove the fact of violent acts, beatings and so on.
Another point - it should always be remembered that the judge will certainly reduce the amount of compensation required for moral damage.
Disputes with the employer
How to prove non-pecuniary damage in a labor court? In such proceedings, a claim for non-pecuniary damage is only part of the basic claim. For example, if it comes to reinstatement, then the statement of claim may also include a claim for non-pecuniary damage. However, according to Article 237 of the Labor Code, there must be a moral and physical suffering for such a requirement. They can be confirmed, as in other cases, by medical reports and testimonies of witnesses. The most important thing is to prove the guilt of the employer that the person is suffering.
An exception is claims relating to injuries at work if they appeared while working at high-risk facilities.
How to prove moral harm in court in case of non-payment of salaries? As a rule, there are no problems with such claims. However, as practice shows, the courts rarely satisfy the plaintiff's claims in full in terms of compensation for non-pecuniary damage. The average size of "compensation" is 10 thousand rubles.
But in this case there is a lot of evidence. This may be shame for lack of funds, inability to pay off loans and, as a result, a spoiled credit history, worries that there is no way to pay utility bills and purchase medicines.
Conflicts in services and trade
How to prove moral harm in a consumer protection court? This is another urgent issue, as many people are constantly faced with a violation of their rights in stores, in markets, in consumer services and so on. According to the Resolution of the Plenum of the RF Armed Forces of 2012, the plaintiff does not have the right to make the amount of compensation for non-material damage dependent on the value of the goods or the amount of the penalty. The amount of compensation in such cases rarely exceeds even 50 thousand rubles.
If honor is tarnished?
How to prove moral harm in a court of defense of rights and dignity? In this case, non-material damage can be considered as worries about the dissemination of implausible information about a person, spoiled business reputation and the inability to continue an active public life, loss of authority at work. It is a misconception that such claims are more often brought to the courts by media representatives, in fact, they write lawsuits 4 times less often than ordinary citizens.
The Supreme Court indicates three mandatory conditions under which it is possible to protect your dignity and reputation:
- information must be truly discrediting;
- information should not be true;
- information must be publicly disseminated.
You can give an example, not so long ago the case was considered in court: a commercial organization filed a lawsuit against a newspaper that allegedly disseminated information that the legal entity had huge debts and an external manager was already appointed. During the trial, it was found out that the company did not have an external manager, but the fact of the presence of large debts was confirmed. Simply put, the plaintiff was unable to prove that the information was indeed untrue. So, turning to the court, it is better to have 100% evidence that moral damage has really been done.