Russian Federation

[RU] Privacy Protection, Libel and Defamation Incorporated in New Civil Code

IRIS 1995-4:1/13

Ad van Loon

European Audiovisual Observatory

On 1 January 1995, Part One of the new Russian Civil Code became effective. Article 152 codifies existing practice in regards to the right of plaintiffs to seek nonmaterial damages ("moral damages") for violations of honor and dignity ("defamation"). The Post-Soviet Media Law and Policy Newsletter reports on the basis of statistics published by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, that the number of civil defamation actions increased by 26% in the first half of 1994, over the year before. Article 150 (1) recognizes the "inviolability of private life", "personal and family privacy" as well as "other personal nonproperty rights and other nonmaterial benefits". This may have implications for media outlets when they are accused of invasion of privacy by the publication of facts on a person's private sphere, since the truth of the statement is not a defense.