Claim is the claim of one subject to another, drawn up in writing and sent to the court. The grounds are the information confirming the violation of the right. The subject of the claim is the content of the claims. The rules for applying are regulated by procedural law.
The Code of Civil Procedure provides for various rights of the parties in the framework of legal proceedings. In particular, the law allows for a change in the claim or resolution of a case by way of drawing up a settlement agreement without making a decision on the merits. Features of making adjustments to the basis or subject of an application, increasing / decreasing the volume of claims, rejection of claims or their recognition are regulated by Article 39 of the Code. Let's consider it in more detail.
The content of the norm
According to Part 1 of Art. 39 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, the applicant has the right to adjust the subject or basis of claims, increase or decrease the volume of claims, refuse them. The defendant’s side, in turn, may recognize the claims brought against it. The participants have the right to resolve the dispute by settlement.
These rights, however, may not always be exercised. According to part 2 of article 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, the waiver of claims, the recognition of claims by the defendant, as well as the approval of an agreement between the parties are not allowed if this violates the norms of the law or infringes on someone else’s interests (third parties that are not involved in the dispute).
If the lawsuit filed in court has been amended, claims have been increased / decreased, the course of the period of the trial begins anew from the moment the corresponding action is taken. This rule is enshrined in the 3rd part of the article in question.
Norm 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation: comments
When analyzing the norm, it is necessary to pay attention to the wording used by the legislator. The first part of rule 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation indicates that the applicant is entitled to adjust the subject or basis of the application. The union used in the wording indicates the limited ability of the plaintiff. Simply put, norm 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation provides him with the right to amend either the subject alone or the sole basis for claims. You cannot change them at the same time.
The specified restriction is due to the fact that in the case of adjustment of both the subject and the grounds, the lawsuit will be completely different. In this case, the production should begin anew according to all procedural rules.
Special category of cases
When considering disputes related to violation of the interests of military personnel, the scope of obligations and rights of participants is strictly defined by law. Parties cannot change it. Accordingly, in such cases, an agreement is allowed only when it meets the established conditions and does not violate other rules of law. Otherwise, the court must restore the applicant’s rights in full or refuse to satisfy the application, having found it unfounded.
Court duty
Before accepting a waiver of claims or approving a settlement agreement, the court must establish whether these actions are consistent with the law and whether they can violate the freedoms and interests of other entities. This obligation directly follows from the provisions of norm 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.
For example, it is not allowed to approve an agreement between the parties if its conditions infringe on the labor rights of citizens or, contrary to the law, are aimed at removing persons from financial liability for harm that occurred during the performance of their labor functions. The parties to the dispute also cannot, through an agreement, change the amount of compensation for damage resulting from an industrial injury. It is forbidden to change the amount of alimony, if it is fixed by law.
Recognition of Requirements
Its defendant may declare at the stage of preparing the case for trial. But accepting the recognition of claims and making a decision is allowed at the stage of the dispute. The relevant provision follows from Art. 173 Code of Civil Procedure.
Paternity Matters
Recognition of the claim may take various forms. For example, the defendant may agree to file an application with the civil registry office when considering a requirement to establish paternity.
It should be noted that in such cases the court cannot approve a settlement. If the defendant declares consent to the preparation of the application and its submission to the civil registry office, the proceedings are postponed for a period sufficient to complete the specified action. After the court receives the birth certificate of the child, drawn up on the basis of the relevant record, the court is obliged to terminate the proceedings by virtue of paragraph 1 of Article 220 of the Code of Civil Procedure. However, the plaintiff may file a claim for the recovery of alimony from the defendant.
Features of the interpretation of the norm
In some cases, the wording of the first part of Article 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation is misunderstood by the courts. For example, in some instances it is believed that a change in the subject / basis of an application is allowed only once. The courts explain their position by the fact that the legislator used the word "change" rather than "change." As a result, obstacles are created for the plaintiffs to exercise their rights.
Meanwhile, in norm 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation there is no indication of how many times a person concerned can use its provisions. The plaintiff has the right to adjust the subject or grounds of claims in general. Other norms of procedural legislation also have no restrictions.
In the wording of law enshrined in article 39, the verb is used in the initial form. According to the rules of the Russian language, the plural is not provided for it. Consequently, the meaning, content of the possibility established by Art. 39, does not change. The plaintiff, therefore, has the right to repeatedly change the subject or the basis of his claims.
Other examples
It is worth saying that the procedural legislation contains verbs in perfect form both in the second conjugation and in other norms. For example, Article 159 of the Code of Civil Procedure establishes the right of a court to remove an entity that violates the procedure for holding a meeting. This does not mean that an authorized person can sell it only once. After all, the judge will not tolerate violations from another participant in the process if he removes someone earlier.
The situation is similar with the right to adjourn the meeting if there are objective reasons. The court may use this opportunity repeatedly. For example, the 6th part of the 167th article of the Code enshrines the right of a judge to postpone consideration of a dispute at the request of a participant in case his representative does not appear for good reason.
In Art. 151, part 3, it is possible to separate the claims into a separate legal proceeding, and in part 4 - to combine several claims in one case.
The court has a lot of such rights. At the same time, no one raises the question that a judge can use his opportunities a limited number of times. Consequently, a narrow interpretation of the provisions of the 1st part of the 39th article also should not be. The only limitation is that the plaintiff has the right to adjust either only the subject, or solely the basis of the requirements.
Another illustrative example is the law enshrined in article 54. It refers to the appeal of the decision. In the wording, the word is used in the singular. If you literally interpret the norm, it turns out that a person can only challenge a judicial act once. However, this contradicts the essence of legal proceedings and violates the constitutional right to judicial protection. In practice, the person concerned has the right to appeal the decision more than once in the courts of second and third instance. This provides full judicial protection, the principle of legality is respected.