It can be difficult to resist saying harsh words to a person. For example, in a parent chat, someone’s dad got upset. Or in a group at home, a neighbor speaks out. Or a user under a YouTube video in the comments - well, he writes nonsense - how can he remain silent! But it’s easy to answer for insults on the Internet...
Our legislators thought...
“An analysis of law enforcement practice shows that the existing mechanism for protecting the honor and dignity of citizens from humiliation, including that contained in publicly displayed works and the media, is not effective enough.”
From the explanatory note to the bill
... and adopted a new version of Article 5.61 of the Code of Administrative Offences:
Changes are highlighted in color. They come into force on January 15, 2022.
A different form that contradicts generally accepted norms of morality and morality - I especially like this place.
As a lawyer, I express my indignation at this formulation: it is broad and not specific, abstract and incomprehensible. Please note that I am not being rude to anyone now, because it would cost from 3,000 to 5,000 rubles.
Since the form of insult can also be “different,” a gesture with the middle finger, a smiley face, or even a contemptuous look is suitable. I probably went too far with my gaze, but who knows - there’s not enough imagination to compile at least an approximate list of insults.
- Be rude, boy! // Still from the film “12 Chairs”.
Offended on the Internet
If the insults were distributed on the Internet, then the fine is higher—up to 10,000 rubles for citizens. Therefore, my attitude towards the authors of the wording could be qualified under Part 2 of Art. 5.61 Code of Administrative Offenses:
Part 2 of Article 5.61 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Effective January 15, 2022
The same part also punishes righteous anger addressed to several persons, not even specific ones.
For example, a review on the website: “Only d...s work in this taxi” can cost up to 10,000 rubles. Or in the class chat, the leader will go through the poor students and truants, without even naming names.
And the salaries of warrant officers are not enough to educate their personnel // Still from the film “The Best Film”
The truth is, I don’t understand: who would write a statement about insults on the Internet? Most likely, any person who considers himself to be a member of any group of people. Let's see.
Actions upon detection of an insult
Not every person will go to investigate the fact of hearing offensive phrases, due to the fact that they consider contacting the competent authorities useless. Indeed, it is not so easy to prove the fact of insult if there is no evidence other than your own ears.
Therefore, it is worth trying to find at least some evidence when contacting law enforcement agencies. To confirm your words, you can provide audio or video recordings, messages with offensive messages saved in the phone’s memory or printed on a printer.
It wouldn't hurt to have a living witness. Having prepared the necessary tools, you can safely go to the police station to file a statement.
Rude official
Insults uttered by a state or municipal employee will cost him from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand rubles. This is also a new product, provided for in Part 4 of Art. 5.61 Code of Administrative Offences. He could also be disqualified for a year.
Parts 4 and 5 of Article 5.61 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Also effective January 15, 2022.
If the official does not calm down and continues to misbehave again, the fine will be from one hundred thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand rubles, or he will be suspended from service for up to two years.
Where can it be installed?
A sign prohibiting entry can be installed in the following places:
- when entering a road where traffic is one-way (the sign is in a prohibited direction);
- near the entrance to a road along which only public transport is allowed to move in the current direction, and for which a special lane has been allocated for this purpose;
- when entering any territory where entry is prohibited. (or enter specifically at a given location).
Scolded by the boss
By the way, according to the authors of the changes, in 2022 and 2022, more than 100 officials who were not civil servants were brought to administrative responsibility for insults.
The word of the leader is always significant, therefore, for officials under all elements of Article 5.61 of the Code of Administrative Offenses “Insult”, increased amounts of administrative fines have been provided:
- “simple” insult: from 30,000 to 50,000 rubles.
- public insult and insult on the Internet: from 50,000 to 100,000 rubles.
What is the punishment for insulting a person?
Since insult has moved from the category of crimes to the category of offenses, the punishment for committing it has accordingly become much easier.
According to the Administrative Code, the maximum that can be recovered from an offender for insult, if he is an ordinary citizen and not an official or legal entity, is 3,000 rubles (from the second 30,000 rubles or 100,000 rubles, respectively).
And according to the previously effective provisions of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, for insult the following could be recovered from the perpetrator:
- a fine in the amount of 1 to 3 salaries or up to 40,000 rubles;
- impose compulsory or forced labor on him;
- restrict freedom for up to 1 year.
For public insult, a fine of up to six salaries or 80,000 rubles, forced labor or restriction of freedom of up to 2 years was provided.
Public insult to personality
Public insult is the demonstration in public, in an oral speech, in a printed work, or in the media of a message that humiliates another person. Maximum penalty for public insult in the form of a fine:
- 5,000 rubles per civilian;
- 50,000 rubles - from an official;
- 500,000 rubles – from a legal entity.
Only officials and legal entities, who will have to pay from 10,000 rubles to 50,000 rubles in the form of a fine, are liable for allowing the fact of public insult, that is, they should have stopped this behavior, but left everything to chance.
An insult expressed at a general meeting where a large number of people is present, on television, in books, newspapers and other publicly accessible printed publications will be considered public.
Insulting a person on the Internet and social networks
It is debatable whether personal insults posted on the Internet or social networks will be public. On the one hand, why not? It’s not for nothing that the Internet is called the “World Wide Web.” The information posted, including offensive information, is available to a very large number of people. And even more than just readers and viewers of the media.
Previously, courts, when considering cases of insults expressed via the Internet, classified them as public, equating all kinds of sites and pages of social networks with the media. However, recently this practice has been discouraged.
Russian legislation does not directly indicate that insult through Internet resources is public. The only exceptions are news sites that have official media status.
Let's say an insult to Ivanov I.I. – “a miser and a gossip” posted on his personal page on social networks will not be considered public. But the same information contained in one of the articles on a news site is very easy.
However, in light of recent news, online insults and trolling can now be recorded by a notary, which will make it easier to prove the insult in court.
Harassment in the workplace
It all depends where exactly the victim works. If he is a representative of the authorities, or a career military man, then his offender will have to answer for his actions according to the standards of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Provided that the victim at that moment was engaged in the performance of his official duties, that is, he was on duty, and not on a day off or on vacation.
Punishment under Article 319 includes a fine of up to 40,000 rubles, compulsory or correctional labor. Such an insult can only be of a public nature.
According to Article 336, military personnel can insult each other. Moreover, they can be in equal status or in the rank of superior and subordinate. The punishment for such an act is restriction on military service or detention in a disbat.
In other cases, liability for insult or public insult is administrative. It doesn’t matter who insulted whom: a subordinate’s boss or vice versa, colleagues - each other, a client - a service worker, the qualification of the offense will depend on whether the insult was public or not.
Sometimes it is difficult to understand qualifications.
For example, a dissatisfied customer wrote a review about the seller of a large store in a complaint book, entirely consisting of obscene and insulting words, humiliating him and undermining his business reputation. There is a victim, there is physical evidence, there are witnesses - all those who read this recording. It would seem like a common insult to personality. But an experienced lawyer can fight in court and prove that the insult is public. After all, a guest book is practically an official document accessible to any visitor.
Where to complain about online abuse
Only prosecutors can initiate administrative cases of insult. This follows from Article 28.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
The prosecutor will accept your statement and check the factual circumstances of the insult. Based on the results of the investigation, he will either refuse to initiate a case, or draw up a protocol and transfer the materials to the court.
The punishment for the offender will be assigned by a court of general jurisdiction, taking into account all the circumstances of the case.
Here is a sample statement of insult to the prosecutor's office.
What does this sign regulate in the traffic rules?
The road sign “Entry prohibited” is described in the traffic rules as Sign 3.1. It indicates that vehicles are prohibited from entering the section of road behind it. The meaning of a brick can extend from driving on a one-way road against the flow of traffic to prohibiting entry into certain surrounding areas. You also need to pay attention to the sign if there is a special dedicated lane on the road for public transport, since the movement of ordinary vehicles on it is prohibited.
Sign 3.1: “No Entry”
The obscenity of the form of insult will be assessed by the court
Each person is touchy in his own way: some see only constructiveness in any negativity, others use the credo: “Everything that doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. If I wanted to kill, I would kill.” The other one is ready to cry from the same disdainful look.
Therefore, in practice, not every offender is brought to administrative responsibility:
“The presence of humiliation of honor and dignity, its degree (depth) is assessed by the victim himself, while the obscenity of the form of the statement is assessed by the court”
Decision of the Supreme Court of the Altai Republic dated November 30, 2017 No. 21-81/2017
This means that you are not the only one who should be offended by the insult. First the prosecutor and then the court must agree with you. With the new edition of Article 5.61 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, this will be easier to do.
Public insult
For an insult to become public, it must be expressed in the presence of strangers. This could be a meeting, a rally, or a statement in the media (print, television, etc.). This means that the fact of insult becomes noticeable to a wide range of people.
Example 1. If the boss at a planning meeting, in front of all his colleagues, called an employee a stupid person, this is already a fact of public insult.
Example 2. A post posted on social networks with obscene language addressed to a specific person.
Let's draw conclusions
Insult is an indecent word, especially if written with a space.
Instead of drawing a conclusion, I would rather quote another phrase from the decision of the mentioned Supreme Court of the Altai Republic:
“From the case materials it follows that the applicant’s request for the need to conduct a forensic linguistic examination of the phrase expressed by A.A.B. addressed to K.A.V., was considered by the judge of the district court, and a reasoned ruling was made on the refusal to conduct this examination, since, according to the explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by S.I. Ozhegov. the expressed phrase “I wish you to die quickly” is not indecent, does not contradict generally accepted rules of behavior and the requirements of human morality, carries a disdainful attitude and does not require confirmation of this with the help of any special knowledge in this area of life.”
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Can you be held accountable?
If you can prove the guilt of the person who insulted you, you will have the opportunity to file an application with the prosecutor’s office on the basis of proven guilt.
If you have the intention to punish the offender and collect moral damages, you need to file a lawsuit in the magistrate's court.
To do this, you need to contact the police with the evidence provided and seek their transfer to the court. As part of this process, you need to write to the magistrate, to whom the case materials will be transferred, a claim for the recovery of a specified amount of money for moral damage.
If an official has been insulted, for example, a school director, against whom an initiator from among high school students or school graduates committed an offense, the case can be taken to court. It will be initiated by an official:
- If the perpetrator has reached the age of 16 years.
- If his guilt is fully proven and there is indisputable evidence regarding this.
- Subject to preliminary work with the perpetrator as part of the pre-trial settlement procedure.
However, such requests are extremely rare, since they are regulated by many conventions. Even rarer is the recognition of such claims by the court.
All users of the Internet resource need to understand that, if necessary, law enforcement agencies will always be able to find out personal information about the offender of communications on social networks.
So it’s not safe to risk your own name, which could be tarnished by a loud scandal. Before you insult or slander a person on social networks, think about the consequences that can lead to big trouble.
How to invalidate a marriage
If there is a need to annul a marriage, then the court must recognize its fictitiousness. This requires reasons. It will not be enough to simply write “He (s) did not want to start a family,” although this is the first sign of fictitiousness.
Signs of fictitiousness
In order for the court to recognize a fictitiousness, it is necessary to collect evidence:
- separate living;
- lack of communication between spouses;
- refusals to provide financial support.
It is necessary that these signs are confirmed by the testimony of witnesses.
Documents required to recognize fictitiousness
First, you need to draw up a claim in which the other half will be the defendant, and the third party will be the registry office that registered the marriage.
The application must describe the circumstances in detail, this will help when considering the case.
The claim must indicate that in addition to declaring the marriage invalid, you also demand that the registry office record of the marriage be annulled.
In addition to the application, you must prepare the following documents:
- copies of the application (for the defendant and third parties);
- marriage certificate;
- extract from the house register (if required);
- witness statements;
- power of attorney for a representative (if required).
How to prove fictitiousness after the death of a spouse
Only a spouse or a prosecutor can apply for recognition of fictitiousness. After the death of one of the spouses, this right remains with the prosecutor. But there are no guarantees that the prosecutor will want to do this, and if you are not an experienced lawyer, it is advisable to contact a lawyer with experience in such practice. His services will not be cheap, but since it is so important to prove something after the death of a spouse, this is the only reasonable option.
Who can be accused of libel
Today anyone can be charged with libel. For example, a person who gave false and defamatory information about a citizen or organization can be brought to justice. This also includes posts on the Internet containing unsubstantiated, unverified information.
Any citizen who has reached the age of 16 can receive liability under Article 128.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. However, slander should not be confused with ordinary insult or fake news. It is not possible to punish a citizen for just any unpleasant statement. Defamation has its own characteristics, the presence of which implies the emergence of criminal liability.
If the statement cannot be called slanderous, then the violator can be fined under the Code of Administrative Offenses. Amendments to the law will help those individuals who want to protect the reputation of a business or their good name. You can even be held accountable for a negative review if it contains defamatory unconfirmed facts.
Controversial situations in case of entry violation
A situation in which a driver violates traffic rules and drives through a brick sign does not always end in serious punishment. The situation is not always hopeless, and before agreeing to the punishment and signing the accusatory report, you should fully understand and clarify all possible factors of the violation - after all, there are circumstances when the punishment is not legal and it can be completely avoided, or at least significantly mitigated.
There can be only a few such situations:
- It follows from GOST requirements that the visibility of a sign prohibiting entry must be at least one hundred meters.
The same applies to the height of the sign, which depends on whether it was installed in a populated area or outside it. If, during the violation, the sign was blocked by any foreign objects, such as tree branches, then punishment can be completely avoided. But only if this fact is fully confirmed: if there is a recording from the DVR, or just a photograph from the place where the vehicle was moving. This will be enough to confirm non-compliance with GOST and remove the punishment from the driver. - If the brick sign was installed without the participation of government agencies.
Managers of various enterprises often sin with this. By installing such a sign at the entrance to their own territory, they are protected from the entry of foreign cars. But installing a sign without special permission from the traffic police is in itself a violation, and the owners may be held liable for this. And having driven under this illegal sign, the driver, of course, will not be punished, since in this situation this will not be considered a traffic violation. - In the case when there is one-way traffic on the road, but there are no information signs 5.5 and 5.6 on it. These signs indicate the beginning and end of one-way traffic. If you drive under a brick in the opposite direction of one-way traffic in the absence of these road signs, you can get a mitigation of the punishment - up to a fine of 500 rubles, since usually in this case the fine is up to 5 thousand rubles.
Sign 5.5: “One-way road”Sign 5.6: “End of one-way road”
- When leaving adjacent territories on a one-way road, special signs 5.7.1 and 5.7.2 must be installed, which notify the driver about entering a one-way road.
In such a situation, you can, similarly to the previous one, reduce penalties down to five hundred rubles. Signs 5.7.1 and 5.7.2: “Exit onto a one-way road” - Before turning right, there were no signs 3.1, 3.18.1 or 4.1.1, which in the traffic rules stand for “turn right is prohibited” and “Driving is directly prohibited”. In this case, also when driving under a white brick, you can get a mitigation of the punishment from the traffic police inspector.
Sign 3.18.1: “Right turn prohibited”Sign 4.1.1: “Move straight ahead”
Who can't be punished?
A white brick sign may not prohibit all categories of vehicles from passing - there are exceptions. Accordingly, these drivers will not be stopped and fined. The following categories of transport are allowed to travel under the brick:
- vehicles that are the property of an enterprise into whose territory entry is limited by a brick sign;
- public transport, if a special lane is provided for its use;
- vehicles of special government services. These include an ambulance, emergency vehicles, police cars, etc.
