The current legislation provides for several types of legally significant circumstances that may become a reason for filing a claim with a court for compensation for moral damage. This kind of legal relationship is regulated by several legislative acts, which makes it difficult to decide whether a particular case falls within their scope.
When a citizen can claim compensation for moral damage
The basic definition of such cases is given in Art. 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. It says that compensation for moral harm in causing physical and mental suffering can be claimed by any citizen against whom actions have been committed that violate his personal non-property rights or encroachments on the non-material benefits belonging to him.
The law considers such intangible benefits, including: business and personal reputation; life and health; honor, dignity and good name; inviolability of privacy and home; freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation; authorship and other benefits that this citizen possesses from the moment of birth or according to the law, and which cannot be alienated or transferred in other ways. All these benefits are fully listed in Part 1 of Article 150 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
Separate laws stipulate cases when moral damage can be compensated for in the event of property damage. Such a law, in particular, is the law of the Russian Federation "On Protection of Consumer Rights". The Labor Code of the Russian Federation, Article 237, also stipulates cases when moral compensation can be claimed in case of damage caused in the course of labor relations. The general rules governing the procedure and method of compensation, as well as the grounds on which it can be awarded, are contained in Art. 1099-1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
How to prove that you have suffered moral damage
But it is not enough to declare to the court that you are experiencing moral suffering - it is necessary to bring an evidence base under this statement in all cases, except those when it comes to causing harm to health or encroachment on your life. The degree and nature of the physical and mental suffering caused to you in court will be assessed taking into account the factual circumstances, as well as taking into account your individual characteristics. The amount of compensation will directly depend on this. In this case, you yourself will have to prove the following facts to the court:
- by what particular person, and under what circumstances physical and mental suffering was caused to you;
- their degree and how they are expressed specifically;
- the existing causal relationship between these sufferings and the consequences to which they led;
- justification of the amount of compensation.
Please note that when determining the amount of compensation, the court will necessarily take into account the degree of your guilt, if it was your actions or your gross negligence that contributed to the occurrence or increase of the damage caused.
