Liability for defamation is provided for in Art. 129 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. If the culprit who spread knowingly false information, undermining your reputation and defaming your honor and dignity, is known, you can go to court. If not, go to law enforcement agencies to establish it and prosecute it.
It is necessary
- - evidence of the dissemination of deliberately false information (documents or media where they are contained, notarized printouts with information posted on the Internet, testimony if libel was spread orally);
- - a statement of claim to the court or a statement to law enforcement agencies (police, prosecutor's office), if the culprit is unknown to you.
Instructions
Step 1
When considering a libel case, the victim's task is to prove the fact of its dissemination. This will require documentary evidence, unconditionally accepted in this capacity by the investigating authorities and the court.
All of them, if possible, should be attached to a lawsuit or a statement to law enforcement agencies.
The forms of evidence depend on the way in which the libel was disseminated.
Step 2
Recently, information posted on the Internet has become the subject of litigation. A simple printout is not enough to confirm its distribution. A notarized protocol of site inspection is required. This service is provided by many notaries. It is not cheap, but if you win the case, you can attribute these costs to the defendant.
Step 3
The easiest way to prove the spread of slander in the media. In this case, it is sufficient to present to the court a newspaper or magazine publication, an audio recording of a radio and video - television program.
It will not be superfluous to offer the editorial board to settle the issue out of court by sending a written proposal to publish the refutation.
Indicate in it when, in which issue of the print or Internet edition, in which publication (program, plot) the information was disseminated, what exactly, in your opinion, does not correspond to reality.
Send it to the editorial office with a receipt acknowledgment. If you ignore your appeal or refuse to satisfy it, you can safely sue the editorial office.
Step 4
Leaflets can be used to spread defamatory information. If they are pasted somewhere in a conspicuous place, photograph them so that the text is readable (digital photography technology allows this).
Also try to remove the leaflet with minimal damage to attach to the case as evidence.
If the leaflets are distributed in mailboxes or scattered around the streets, the testimony of those who found them will come in handy.
Step 5
If the slander was spread orally, one cannot do without the testimony of witnesses.
Get them to agree to testify in court and, if necessary, during questioning by law enforcement. Take their addresses and indicate in a statement of claim or an appeal to law enforcement agencies.
You can also file a motion for a witness at the beginning of the hearing in court, and in some cases during the process.
Step 6
When applying to the court, submit an application according to the jurisdiction (as a rule, at the location of the defendant - a legal entity and the residence of an individual) to the judge whose competence relates to the address of the location or residence of the defendant.
Pay the state fee (details and size can be specified in the court office). If you decide in your favor, you can collect it from the defendant, among other legal costs.
Step 7
In the lawsuit, state all the circumstances of the incident: when and in what way, who disseminated the information that you consider slanderous, what information (down to word-for-word quotes), what exactly does not correspond to reality.
Step 8
After accepting a claim, be prepared to attend all hearings in the case and defend your position. And when contacting law enforcement agencies - to cooperate with the investigation.
