The compensation for harm: problems and prospects for further legislative reform

Abstract

The compensation for harm is one of the most important legal ways to protect the violated civil rights and interests of the participants in civil relations. In modern market conditions, this method of protection is the main one for restoring the material condition or compensating for moral harm to the injured person. In the context of updating civil legislation and adapting it to EU legislation, there is a need for new approaches to the legal regulation of compensation for harm.
 The article examines the general terms of compensation for harm: the illegality of the behaviour of the person who caused the harm, the presence of harm, the causal relationship between the illegal behaviour and the harm, and the fault of the person who caused the harm.
 Special attention is paid to the issue of illegality (illegal behaviour) as a condition for compensation for damage. Here the theories of illegality are analysed: objective (normative) and objective-subjective.
 The definition of harm is investigated. The attention is focused on the ratio of the concepts of "harm" and "damages". Attention is drawn to the problems of legal regulation of the concept of moral harm. It is established that according to the practice of European Court of Human Rights, the content of moral (non-property) harm is determined differently in relation to individuals and legal entities. In addition, the methods of determining the amount of compensation for moral harm are analysed, in particular, the method of psychological research certified by the Ministry of Justice in Ukraine and registered in the Methodology of Psychological Research in Cases Involving the Infliction of Moral Suffering on a Person and Compensation for Moral Harm (registration number 14.1.75), which was put into effect from 18.01.2019.
 The article analyses the legal regulation of the causal relationship between illegal behaviour and harm in the Principles of European Tort Law (PETL).
 Based on the results of the research, it was concluded that in the future it is advisable to continue studying and improving the obligations to compensate for harm, in particular, the system of special torts provided for by Chapter 82 of the Civil Code of Ukraine is subject to revision.