Moral Damage Compensation to Victims of Crimes in the Context of Contradictions Existing between Higher Courts

Abstract

The issues of applying the rules for moral damage compensation as a way to protect the rights of victims of crimes are traditionally among the most controversial. The problems of establishing the grounds for compensation, as well as determining its size, corresponding to the degree of fault of the offender, the nature of the victim’s suffering and other noteworthy circumstances, throughout the validity of the norms of the updated Civil Code of the Russian Federation, attracted the attention of not only representatives of civil doctrine, but also of higher judicial instances. In most cases, the conclusions formulated by the latter were in full compliance with the norms of civil legislation, they did not contradict each other and in their entirety ensured uniformity in the application of provisions on compensation for moral damage and due protection of the rights of injured citizens. However, an analysis of the acts of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts issued over the past two years indicate that there are significant contradictions in their approaches to determining the grounds for the admissibility of compensation and the specifics of its application, which is increasingly reflected in regional and appellate judicial practice. Thus, in contradiction with the established positions of the Supreme Court are the provisions formulated by the Constitutional Court in Resolution No. 45‑P of 26.10.2021, where the latter, in essence, defined the presumption of moral suffering in a person when the crime against him is committed, as well as in Resolution No. 7‑P of 02.03.2023, where the Constitutional Court provided for the possibility of compensation of moral harm in favor of a person who, by definition, is not able to bear these sufferings — a child who was not born at the time of his parent’s death. Such a narrative, of course, cannot be evaluated positively and needs a thorough doctrinal assessment.