Each person has honor and dignity. They are inseparable personal benefits. Citizens also have a business reputation. It is formed in the process of their economic activity. Legal reputation is also with legal entities. All these benefits are protected by law.
The concept of honor and dignity
For an individual, an assessment is established in terms of social and ethical standards. Honor is a certain measure of the social and spiritual qualities of a person. In addition, each subject has its own idea of its value. It is called virtue. It is recognized by the state for all members of society equally. The concepts of dignity and honor determine the attitude to the subject as the highest value. These categories exist in close interconnection. Dignity acts as a definite reflection of honor as an assessment of society in the consciousness of the subject. Together, these categories form an organic whole, an integral attribute of personality.
Business reputation
For people, it is determined by the level of professional qualifications, and for a legal entity, by indicators of production and other economic activities in accordance with its legal status in the framework of market relations. The content of the term “reputation” largely coincides with the definition of honor. However, the first reflects mainly professional, entrepreneurial qualities, and the second is more ethical.
Regulatory support
The above categories are closely related to legal provisions. Each subject has the right to protection of honor, dignity, business reputation. The restriction or loss of these benefits leads to a decrease in the established status in relations with other entities. In this regard, civil protection of honor, dignity, business reputation is the most important area of state social policy. Within the legal system, these categories are regarded as intangible goods and as special subjective opportunities.
Legal personality
It determines to one degree or another the position of persons in society, reflects their relationship with the state. Each subject is endowed with a specific set of non-property and property, political rights. They reflect his legal status. These rights act as elements of legal personality. She, in turn, is a specific property of each individual. The right to dignity, honor and other intangible benefits is recognized as absolute. This is due to the fact that its implementation is ensured by the obligation of an indefinite number of persons. It consists in abstaining from any encroachment on the honor, reputation, dignity of the subject. This obligation is enshrined in constitutional provisions, as well as other legislative norms. In case of violation of the requirements, judicial protection of honor, dignity and business reputation is provided.
Important point
The right to honor, reputation, dignity, as well as other non-property benefits enshrined in the Constitution, are of practical importance for subjects not only in case of violation, but also irrespective of it. When endowing one or another physical or legal person with opportunities, the state provides an appropriate guarantee system. It forms the conditions in which the implementation and protection of rights is carried out.
Classification
Civil law enshrines the provision that inalienable freedoms and rights, intangible goods are protected by legal norms, unless otherwise follows from their essence. Moreover, Art. 150 CC defines a list of such categories and divides them into 2 groups. The norm establishes intangible goods, which are acquired by virtue of:
- birth (for individuals) or creation (for legal entities);
- the law.
The first legislation includes health, dignity, personal integrity, life, good name, honor, family and personal secrets, business reputation. The indicated categories exist irrespective of their legal regulation. Protection of the dignity, honor and business reputation of the subject, as well as other benefits mentioned above, is carried out only in case of encroachment on them. The second group includes the possibility of choosing a place of residence and stay, freedom of movement, etc. They act as subjective rights in a specific respect. Accordingly, they are regulated by legislative provisions.
The specifics of the protection of non-property goods
There is a specific norm, the provisions of which govern the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation. The article in which they are contained determines the general procedure for implementing state guarantees ensuring the protection of these goods. For example, this concerns the dissemination of information that denigrates a person. According to Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the subject may require its refutation. At the same time, the person who released the information can avoid responsibility if he proves that the information is true. In essence, Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the possibility of demanding a refutation takes place exclusively in relation to denigrating data. It is worth saying here that it arises regardless of the way the information is made public. At the request of stakeholders, a rebuttal is possible even after the death of a person. Defamatory information should not cause damage not only to the person himself, but also to his relatives, as well as other participants in the relationship. The legislator provides for an indefinite circle of admissible plaintiffs, using the expression "at the request of interested parties" in the norm.
The specifics of the refutation
Information that does not correspond to reality may be published in the media. Accordingly, in them they must be refuted. If such information is contained in any document, it must be withdrawn or replaced. The determination of the procedure for refuting information in other cases relates to decisions of the courts. According to Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the subject in respect of which the media disseminated data that do not correspond to reality, has the opportunity to publish a response. An important point should be noted here. The specified norm refers to information denigrating honor, dignity, reputation, and data infringing on the rights and interests of the subject. In the first case, it was established that the refutation is published in the same media, and in the second case, the person has the opportunity to publish his answer.
General rules
According to Art. 208 of the Civil Code, claims for the protection of intangible rights are not covered by the limitation period, with the exception of cases specified by law. If it is not possible to identify the person who disseminated the slanderous information, the victim may file an application declaring it to be untrue. If the obligated entity fails to comply with the decision made in favor of the victim, the court may impose a monetary penalty. The size and procedure for collection is established in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure. The legislation also stipulates the possibility of compensation for material and moral harm to the victim arising from the dissemination of information that denigrates him.
conclusions
Thus, the protection of the honor, dignity and business reputation of a citizen can be carried out in several ways. First of all, it is he who can make a demand to refute the denigrating information. It involves bringing to the people among whom it was distributed, data on the recognition of its not true. In addition, the protection of dignity, honor and business reputation is carried out by collecting moral and material harm from the guilty. Under the first understand the recognition of emotional or physical suffering.
Characteristics of non-pecuniary damage
In civil law, harm is understood as an adverse change in the good protected by law. Damage may be non-property and property. Moreover, the appearance of the latter does not mean that the suffering and feelings of the victim do not appear. In this aspect, these categories are, in a sense, interdependent. As a result of the diminution of dignity and honor, as well as the reputation of individuals, there is moral harm, and it is compensable. This rule is established by Art. 151 CC. Moral damage involves primarily various emotional, moral experiences caused by the violation. This harm often causes suffering more than property damage. Without causing material damage, it entails heavy mental anguish. Moral harm is accompanied by a violation of mental well-being, emotional balance of the individual. From this it follows that it is accompanied by the undergoing of psychological or physical suffering, as well as the narrowing of the individual’s freedom and, therefore, cannot remain outside the legal sphere. Non-pecuniary damage is mentioned in various legislation. For example, it is indicated in Art. 1099-1101, 152, 12, 151 Civil Code. A legal assessment of the nature of this harm is enshrined in Art. 151. Clarifications on this issue are also given in the Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces No. 10. In paragraph 2 of this document, in particular, it is said that physical or moral suffering resulting from inaction / actions encroaching on the intangible benefits available to persons by virtue of law or from birth or violating its property or non-property (personal) rights. This condition can be caused by various reasons. For example, suffering can be caused by the loss of relatives, the inability to continue active participation in social life, the loss of work, temporary restriction / deprivation of liberty, disclosure of secrets (medical, family), dissemination of information that is not true.
Compensation Specifics
The offender’s obligation to compensate for moral damage caused by his behavior acts as a measure of responsibility. It has a preventive (warning) value in the field of personal protection. Protection of dignity, honor and business reputation by collecting moral harm can be carried out in various ways. The legislation, in particular, provides for compensation:
- For the dissemination of data that are not true, denigrating the legal entity. This method is provided for in paragraph 7 of Art. 152.
- For the dissemination of information that denigrates the subject regardless of the fault of the inflicter of harm.
- In case of violation of the non-property rights of a citizen or in an encroachment on the intangible goods available to him, as well as in other cases established by law.
Recovery of non-pecuniary damage is carried out exclusively in money. The amount is determined in accordance with the nature of the physical and psychological suffering that was inflicted on the person, as well as the degree of guilt of the offender in cases where it acts as the basis for applying this method of protection.
Nuances
Considering the features of protecting honor, dignity and business reputation, it should be noted that when determining the amount of compensation, the principles of justice and reasonableness, the level of emotional and physical suffering that are associated with the individual qualities of the subject who is the victim should be taken into account. The inability to accurately determine the amount of money or other equivalent cannot act as an obstacle to making decisions on compensation for moral damage. In accordance with the standards, the victim independently assesses the severity of the harm caused to him, and indicates the specific amount in his lawsuit.
Excitation of production
The legislation proceeds from the inadmissibility of an arbitrary invasion of one's private life, the need for free and unhindered implementation by the entities of their legal capabilities, and to ensure their restoration in case of violation. The protection of the rights of citizens acts as a fundamental principle and is guaranteed by the state. The legislation provides for certain measures of state enforcement. They are aimed at protecting the freedoms and interests of subjects, eliminating the negative consequences arising from their violation. These measures are implemented in civil proceedings. The norms establish the procedure in accordance with which the consideration of applications and complaints. To initiate proceedings, the injured person must file a lawsuit. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation acts as a constitutional subjective legal opportunity. It is implemented through a specific set of competencies. In particular, it provides for an appeal to the court as a whole and to a specific court, the possibility of counting on an objective review of the stated requirements, on making a reasoned and lawful decision. In addition, the protection of citizens' rights is carried out in the appeal and cassation proceedings. Of no less importance is the mandatory execution of the decision.
Specific Requirements
According to the norms of legislation, protection of dignity, honor and business reputation can be carried out by any entity for whose intangible benefits an encroachment was committed. It should be borne in mind that the message denigrating information to the person to whom it relates, will not act as the dissemination of these data. In such cases, the protection of dignity, honor and business reputation may be carried out in accordance with criminal law. In particular, the subject may be guided by the provisions of Article 130 of the Criminal Code. In this situation, there is an insult inflicted in the absence of dissemination of information about the victim to third parties. For example, the perpetrator showed an indecent gesture, sent the victim a letter with obscene expressions, and so on. These actions diminish human dignity and give rise to the right not only to institute proceedings, but also to compensation for moral damage.
Safeguarding intangible goods on the Internet
In the information space it is very easy to spoil the reputation, harm the dignity and honor of the subject. For this, a variety of means are used. This and a variety of forums, news feeds, message boards. Quite often on the sites there are mentions of dishonesty of various organizations, poor-quality services. As a result of discrediting the reputation of potential customers, financial losses occur. Currently, there are quite acute problems of protecting the honor, dignity and business reputation on the Internet. First of all, this is due to the lack of a clear regulatory regulation of relations in the information sphere. The dissemination of information on the Internet is considered a relatively new way of the publication of certain data. Therefore, there is no sufficient practice to consider disputes arising in connection with the publication of inaccurate, denigrating information. In addition, specialists who provide legal assistance to entities are often incompetent. For example, a civil lawyer has experience in upholding the interests of a person who has been violated by traditional means, but may not have sufficient practice in litigation related to the dissemination of denigrating data on the network. As a result, unlawful acts remain virtually unpunished.
Regulatory gaps
Protection of dignity, honor and business reputation on the Internet should be effective and based on legal norms. However, for this it is not enough to announce that the rules regarding the dissemination of information in traditional media are also valid for electronic platforms. When considering disputes, it should be borne in mind that if defamatory information was published on a resource registered as a media, you must be guided by the relevant rules. Namely, those provisions that regulate the activities of television and radio companies, print media. The list of "traditional" media is specified in Art. 2 Federal Law "On the Media". Thus, with a one-time dissemination of data that does not have a sign of periodicity, the provisions of this Law are not applicable. The Federal Law "On Mass Media" ties the permanent name of the publication to the mass media. Its change involves a fairly complex procedure. Everything is much simpler for the website - the "traditional" rules do not apply here. If we talk about the form of reporting, then strict requirements regarding this are not provided. , , " ". , . . , , .
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