Moral harm is an evaluation category that allows to determine the degree of damage caused by an act of a person who violates the law. Finding its monetary equivalent is not so simple as it seems: the human soul is too thin a category to measure its suffering.
What is moral harm?
The formulation of any legal definition is handled by the judiciary, since they specifically use it in practice. The Plenum of any Supreme Court of any country will confirm that moral harm is moral, and sometimes physical, suffering experienced by a person caused by actions or inaction and encroaching on the non-material benefits that rejoice to a citizen. Their list includes:
- a life;
- health;
- the dignity of the individual;
- family and personal secret;
- business reputation.
Moral harm and its types
Varieties of damage are closely related to the circumstances in which it was caused. Since the very concept of moral harm indicates the multiplicity of variants of its infliction, we can cite some of them:
- encroachment or threats to the life of the victim or his relative;
- violation of the privacy of correspondence or messaging in any way;
- disclosure of secrecy - personal or medical;
- slander (spreading false information);
- illegal deprivation of the right to freedom or other rights.
Grounds for compensation for non-pecuniary damage
In any country, the reasons for which the offender is obliged to compensate for the damage done to the victim are fixed in civil law. Compensation for non-pecuniary damage according to its interpretation is necessary in cases when:
- harm caused to the life or health of a citizen a source of increased danger;
- harm caused by the dissemination of information that casts a shadow over your personal and business reputation ;
- harm is caused by unlawful conviction of a citizen or by erroneous involvement in criminal and other liability.
How to assess the moral damage?
A fair assessment of the damage caused by misunderstanding in the family, slander or mistaken deprivation of liberty, it is important to implement on the principles of reasonableness and a sober assessment of what happened. Determine the amount of compensation for moral damage in monetary terms will help:
- revealing the extent of the offender's guilt;
- testimony of witnesses and the victim;
- the property position of the perpetrator;
- his attitude towards the perfect deed.
How to prove moral harm?
It is very difficult to gather the evidence base for causing moral damage. If only because moral damage, like the state of affect, is often of a short-term nature. It is necessary to take into account the initial state of the psyche of the victim, the duration and depth of the offensive effect. Proof process, which involves moral damage, consists of several elements:
- Tracking the link between actions and the consequences;
- the fact of moral and physical inconveniences;
- presence of a specific real wrongful act, followed by harm.
Compensation for non-pecuniary damage
If the inconvenience caused has been proven in the course of judicial proceedings or otherwise, the judge has the right to issue a resolution on their compensation, forcing the defendant to commit certain actions. The recovery of moral harm can occur in one of two ways:
- Cash payments . Their size is determined by the servant of the law in the order of civil proceedings. Their size can be small, medium, large or very large. When the defendant does not currently have the opportunity to pay the entire amount, the debt is restructured into several parts.
- Other elimination of the consequences of the suffering caused . Misunderstanding between people can lead to insults and libel, which it is not possible to make up for with financial goods. Respondent can act as a person, and the state - for example, if the suspect was accused of a crime that he had not committed.