Everyone in the world has the right to preserve their honor and dignity. And the law of any state provides that the offender who insulted or humiliated another person can be punished. Russia is no exception.
Let's try to figure out what is meant by the terms “public humiliation” and “insult”, and what will threaten for the commission of such actions.
What should be understood by the term “insult”
The term “insult” should be understood as humiliation of a person. It can be verbal, expressed in writing, or in the form of audio and video recordings, publicly or privately. It does not matter if the person who was attacked is present at the time of the offense. If the fact of the act itself is recorded, it means that the humiliation of the dignity of man has taken place.
Insult should not be confused with slander. Private or public humiliation of a person means actions or words aimed at a negative assessment of a citizen, for example, unpleasant reviews about his appearance, character traits, intelligence, etc. Insulting leads to the fact that a citizen receives moral damage.
Slander is knowingly false information. They are aimed not so much at direct humiliation of a person, as at undermining his reputation.
Insults can be expressed in various forms, for example:
- Text - letter, note, article, etc.
- Verbally, through words of humiliation. You need to understand that not only obscenities can offend a person. Sometimes it is possible to humiliate by correct, competent, literary speech, if you select humiliating words and expressions.
- Inappropriate gestures or any actions.
- Through audio and video recordings. With the development of modern technology, such insults began to occur more often.
- Through online resources, social networks, blogs, instant messengers, etc.
In the Internet
Can insults on various Internet resources be considered a public humiliation of insults? This question is not as simple as it seems at first glance.
Initially, it was believed that all offensive statements on the network are a priori public, since information on the Internet is accessible to everyone.
However, recently, law enforcement agencies began to move away from such an interpretation. Today, they can be punished for insulting or slandering if the information was published on specialized news sites that claim to be reliable.
In other cases, if this does not concern insulting the feelings of believers, there is no corpus delicti. Although this does not prevent the injured citizen from seeking protection of his rights in a civil court.
The legislation of the Russian Federation on guard of victims
Previously affected citizens, in their defense, referred to Art. 130 of the Criminal Code. That is, insulting was a criminal offense, but not a serious one. Moreover, he had to be proved, which was also problematic. Also important was the fact of revealing the intention to insult. The offender could refer to the fact that he simply expressed his opinion in an accessible form.
In 2012, the legislation of the Russian Federation underwent some changes. Now criminal liability arises only in the case of libel, that is, with the dissemination of knowingly false information. Also, under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation there are facts of insulting certain categories of citizens, for example, military personnel or persons performing official duties.
All other facts of public abuse come within the scope of the Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO). The article for public humiliation (Article 5.61 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) provides for civil liability for the following acts:
- insulting the dignity and honor of a citizen, expressed in any form and form;
- public humiliation;
- non-interference and lack of action when they insult and humiliate someone else.
The last point can be interpreted especially widely. However, in judicial practice it is used in cases where the accused could interfere with the insult, but did not. For example, they can punish the editor of a print publication, who has missed a print article that degrades someone’s honor and dignity.
Public insult
It should be noted that the Administrative Code provides for different liability for non-public and public humiliation. What is the difference between these concepts in detail? In order for humiliation to be considered public, it must take place in the presence of people. It can be like strangers, for example, at a rally, in a crowd, at a meeting, in a store, or relatives and family members.
Insulting a person on the street is a public humiliation. It can also include insults in any print media and media. That is, all facts of degradation that occurred during witnesses are recognized as public, because of which the very fact of the act became known to a large number of people.
Responsibility
The punishment for this type of offense may be different depending on who, how and whom offended. The penalties are as follows:
- A simple citizen will have to pay 1-5 thousand rubles.
- The official who commits this offense will pay a fine of 50 thousand rubles.
- Legal entities (organizations, companies) will pay up to half a million rubles.
If humiliation is recognized as public, the punishment will be more severe. In such cases, not only the direct offender usually suffers, but also the company that contributed to this. That is, if insults appeared in the print media, then the publisher or the editorial board will also be liable.
It should be understood that when a fine is imposed on the offender, then we are talking about the amounts that the offender will pay the state. The victim may separately demand compensation for non-pecuniary damage. In the judicial practice of our country, the amounts recoverable for non-pecuniary damage are usually small and rarely exceed a couple thousand rubles.
How to punish the offender
Every person who has been subjected to public humiliation has the right to protection of his dignity. To do this, you need to take several steps:
- Apply to a civil court with a statement of claim against the offender, referring to the corresponding article of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
- Collect evidence base - material carriers with insults (articles, notes, etc.), audio and video files, testimonies of witnesses. The fact of insulting on the Internet can also serve as evidence, but it must be notarized.