The legislation clearly states that all Russians have the right to a private and closed life, which is protected by the authorities.
Other persons or even representatives of government agencies do not have the right to interfere in the personal affairs of any person. Covert surveillance, use of photos or other similar actions are serious crimes against privacy, for which criminal liability is provided.
What laws regulate the protection and privacy of personal life?
The fundamental act regulating this issue is the Constitution of the Russian Federation, namely Article No. 23. This article enshrines the right according to which every citizen can protect his personal, private and family life. Violation of such an immunity law entails the imposition of various sanctions, both administrative and criminal.
Civil legislation also regulates this issue. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that collecting information about a person’s private or personal life is permissible only with his consent or by court decision. In case of violation of this legal norm, a citizen has the right to demand compensation for losses caused or compensation for moral damage.
The most severe responsibility in this area of legal relations is contained in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Here we are talking about the dissemination of data about a citizen’s personal secrets without his consent, including in a public manner.
On the content of the concept of “private life” in Russian constitutional and criminal law
Bibliographic description:
Kolchurin, I.V. On the content of the concept of “private life” in Russian constitutional and criminal law / I.V. Kolchurin.
— Text: immediate // Legal sciences: problems and prospects: materials of the I International. scientific conf. (Perm, March 2012). - Perm: Mercury, 2012. - pp. 120-121. — URL: https://moluch.ru/conf/law/archive/41/1946/ (access date: 12/21/2021). The right to privacy is one of the most important elements of the legal status of an individual, which largely determines a person’s relationship with the state and with other members of society. Accordingly, adequate legal regulation of this right is of fundamental importance to ensure the effectiveness of state power, the well-being of society and citizens, and the free development of the individual.
In accordance with Art. 23 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone has the right to privacy, personal and family secrets, protection of their honor and good name.[1] Emphasizing the importance of this right, the legislator establishes criminal liability for the illegal collection or dissemination of information about the private life of a person, constituting his personal and family secrets, without his consent, or the dissemination of this information in a public speech (Article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) [2].
However, there is no legal definition of private life, personal and family secrets, which complicates the application of these norms and leads to errors in investigative and judicial practice.
The currently available definitions are of a doctrinal nature, which makes it possible to take different approaches to resolving the issue of initiating a criminal case, which is unacceptable.
So, M.V. Baglay believes that private life consists of those aspects of a person’s personal life that, due to his freedom, he does not want to make available to others. This is a kind of individual sovereignty, meaning the inviolability of its “habitat” [3, 181].
G.B. Romanovsky clarifies that private life covers the circle of informal communication, forced connections (with lawyers, doctors, notaries, etc.), the actual inner world of a person (personal experiences, beliefs, everyday life, leisure, hobbies, habits, home life, sympathies) , family ties, religious beliefs [4, 63-65].
In a number of textbooks on Russian criminal law, in particular, ed. V.P. Revina or I.A. Sementsova’s definition of the concept of private life is bypassed [5, 167-168]. As a rule, the comments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation also do not say anything about private life [6, https://base.garant.ru/5857481/]. The few existing definitions characterize private life as a person’s behavior outside of work, outside of a work environment, outside of the public environment in a state of certain independence from the state and society and is regulated mainly by morality and ethics [7, https://advokatpf.ru/post_1290695090.html ]. In general, all the definitions presented by scientists are correct in their own way and meet the requirements and realities of the time.
However, it seems that in the definition of the Constitutional Court the most accurate and complete content of the category is defined as an area of human life that relates to an individual, concerns only him and is not subject to control by society and the state if it is not illegal in nature [8, https: //sutyajnik.ru/documents/278.html].
Based on the existing understanding of the term “private life”, I.L. Petrukhin made a conclusion about the essence of the category “privacy,” which he understands as a complex legal institution consisting of norms of various branches of law. Privacy is a continuously maintained state in which the legal status of a citizen is realized in this area of life [9, 13-14].
Chairman of the Constitutional Court V.D. Zorkin defines privacy as the opportunity granted to a person and guaranteed by the state to control information about himself, to prevent the disclosure of personal, intimate information [10, https://www.r-vd.ru/component/content/article/54-09/ 1736—2010].
However, when resolving issues related to the initiation or refusal to initiate a criminal case under Art. 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the law enforcement officer is obliged to refer to a norm of law that is absent, and therefore it is necessary to legislate the definition of the concept of private life. It is most appropriate to do this in a note to Art. 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The Russian legislator already has similar experience (for example, in Article 139 of the Criminal Code)[11, 181].
Thus, it seems possible to define a person’s private life as a measure of a person’s possible behavior in the private legal sphere, or in an area that is not subject to direct legal regulation by the state, supported by state prohibitions on third parties intruding into this area.
Literature:
- Constitution of the Russian Federation of December 12, 1993 // Russian newspaper. 1993. 25 Dec.
- Criminal Code of the Russian Federation dated June 13, 1996 No. 63-FZ // Collection of legislation of the Russian Federation. 1996. No. 25. Art. 2954.
- Baglay, M.V. Constitutional law of the Russian Federation / M.V. Baglay. M., 2009.
- Romanovsky, G.B. Right to privacy / G.B. Romanovsky. M., 2001.
- Sementsova I. A. Criminal law: textbook / I. A. Sementsova. – Rostov n/d.: Phoenix, 2005.
- Commentary on the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation / Ed. prof. A.I. Chuchaeva
- https://advokatpf.ru/post_1290695090.html
- Determination of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated 06/09/2005 No. 248-O
- Petrukhin, I.L. Personal secrets: man and power / I.L. Petrukhin. M., 1998.
- https://www.r-vd.ru/component/content/article/54-09/1736—2010
- Commentary on the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation / resp. ed. V. M. Lebedev. – 5th ed. add. and corr. – M.: Yurait Publishing House, 2005.
Key terms
(automatically generated)
: private life, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, initiation of a criminal case, the Constitutional Court, immunity, family secrets.
Privacy: Definition
Regarding this issue, different theorists express different points of view. So, for example, Shershenevich argues that private life is those aspects of human existence that a person wants to make inaccessible to others. Baglay believes that private life is the inner world of a person.
Within the framework of legal realities, private life should be understood as the totality of the following information:
- Correspondence.
- Personal space.
- Family life.
- Information about work, family composition, etc.
Within the framework of various legal acts, other elements are included in the concept of private life. Within the framework of civil legislation, for example, honor, good name, etc. are also protected.
The principle of inviolability
This principle means that information included in this concept cannot be disseminated without the permission of the citizen.
In addition to the citizen’s permission, distribution will also be legal when it is prescribed, for example, in a court decision. The same applies to collecting information about a citizen.
Forms of implementation of privacy protection
The form is a set of organizational measures to protect the rights and interests of citizens relating to personal life. Today, the protection of rights is carried out in jurisdictional and non-jurisdictional forms.
The first form involves activities to protect subjective rights. The essence of this form is that violated rights are restored by the competent authorities: courts and higher authorities. Within the framework of this type of privacy protection, general and special procedures for the protection of rights are distinguished.
According to general rules, to protect their rights, a person must file a claim in a district, city or other court of general jurisdiction.
A non-jurisdictional form of protection is the protection of private property by citizens personally, without recourse to the courts. The Civil Code in this case speaks of self-defense of civil rights, which is a form of protection when the victim can independently resolve the dispute without resorting to court. Means of self-defense include means of defense and emergency measures (Articles 1066 and 1067 of the Civil Code, respectively).
Protection of personal space by law
Personal space is legally protected through the application of sanctions provided for in civil, criminal and administrative law.
The application of a particular normative legal act depends on the severity of the act committed. The main sanctions used are fines, damages, imprisonment, correctional and forced labor.
A specific way to protect personal space within the framework of civil law is also to comply with requirements to eliminate violations and refute defamatory information.
Ways to protect the privacy of citizens
The way to implement the protection of a person’s personal life is through measures for the free exercise of one’s subjective rights. In total, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes 12 methods of protecting rights, but the list can be supplemented. Protection methods can be used separately or in combination. The exception is cases when the law establishes the right of defense in only one way.
There are 3 ways to protect rights:
- used only by courts (recognition of rights, restoration of rights, suppression);
- used by the participant independently (self-defense);
- used by both the court and the participant (compensation for losses, penalties).
Recognition of a particular method as legal is carried out in court, since only a court can determine the right to a method of defense.
In accordance with the law, all decisions made by the court on the application of methods of protecting rights can be appealed in accordance with Art. 11 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
Correspondence Law
The right to correspondence, and in particular to maintain its secrecy, is enshrined in many regulatory legal acts, among which are:
- Constitution of the Russian Federation.
- Law "On Communications".
- Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
- Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
The fundamental regulatory legal act in this matter is the Law “On Communications”. It is there that the concept called the secret connection is contained. It means that secrecy is ensured both during correspondence and telephone conversations, including those using the Internet. The protection and security of citizens is respected by mobile operators. Violation of such a right is permitted only by a court decision.
Violation of this right is subject to the imposition of large fines, the amount of which is determined depending on whether the act relates to administrative or criminal liability.
How the law protects citizens
There are several regulations that ensure the immunity of Russians. Therefore, information from the following documents is taken into account:
- Art. 23 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation;
- Art. 152.2 of the Civil Code, containing data on the protection of personal information;
- Art. 137 of the Criminal Code, which provides for the main measures of liability applied to persons who commit any illegal actions that violate the integrity of another citizen.
According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, every Russian has the right to secrets. If necessary, you can defend your good name and positive reputation. This even includes the secrecy of correspondence and telephone conversations.
The restriction is lifted only if there is a court decision, if a criminal case has been opened against a person, therefore information obtained from correspondence or telephone conversations acts as evidence of a person’s crime or innocence.
Responsibility when using official position
Violation of the right to privacy, interference with privacy or illegal dissemination of information about citizens using official position is considered and punished under the criminal code.
In this case, the following types of liability can be applied:
- fine;
- deprivation of liberty;
- deprivation of the right to hold certain positions, etc.
The fine in this situation starts from 100 thousand rubles and up to three hundred thousand rubles.
What does the concept mean?
People often encounter such violations, although they are not aware that they are protected at the legislative level.
Therefore, the state guarantees protection in the following areas:
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- prohibition on the use or any illegal actions related to the use of a person’s personal data;
- the right to secrets, which can be both personal and family, as well as to a positive reputation;
- inviolability of housing.
Attention! Additionally, this includes medical confidentiality, so representatives of health care institutions or psychologists do not have the right to present to anyone information obtained during various sessions and treatment.
People are confident that their personal experiences and secrets will never become public knowledge, but sometimes entries appear on the Internet that violate the privacy of any person. A particular danger is the transfer of personal data, which leads to negative material consequences. Typically, the culprits of such incidents are banking organizations, notaries, lawyers or medical institutions, to which people voluntarily transfer important information about themselves.
Article 23 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation: punishment for violation
Liability for violation of this article of the constitution can be of three types: civil, criminal or administrative. It all depends on the severity of the act committed and on other circumstances that are significant. For example, within the framework of the administrative code, fines are imposed on citizens in an amount not exceeding three thousand.
In criminal law, the fine cannot exceed two hundred thousand rubles if there was no abuse of official position.
Article 23 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. ⇐
Article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “violation of privacy”
You can download article number 137 by clicking here. ⇐
The concept of civil secrets, types
Legal secrets are protected by the legislation of the Russian Federation. These include the secrets of personalized data, the secrets of images, etc. In other words, violation of integrity means violation of a person’s personal privacy.
The Constitution of the Russian Federation establishes the main condition for working with secret information. The use of any private information requires the consent of the individual.
Today, the following types of secrets are distinguished:
- personal secret: not revealed to family, friends, or professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc.). The right to dispose of such information is assigned to the citizen individually. These types of secrets include the secret of image, creativity, relationships;
- professional secret: trusted to doctors, notaries, etc.
Personal information can be transferred, if necessary, to professionals and then it becomes the subject of professional secrets. This happens if a citizen finds himself under criminal liability or in a closed medical institution.
All types of secrets are protected by law. At the same time, personal secrets are regulated by administrative legislation, as well as criminal law. Professional secrecy is controlled by the Criminal Code and includes medical secrecy, secrecy of notarial acts, secrecy of confession, secrecy of images, etc.
Article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: comments on the law
Like any other offense, this crime has its own composition, which includes subjects, objects, as well as subjective and objective components. Let's look at the comments to the article.
The subject of this act may be a person who was already 16 years old at the time of the crime. He must be capable and fully sane. Only direct intent can be used as guilt. The object in this case is the citizen’s constitutional right to immunity.
As for possible penalties, it all depends on what qualifying feature is present. Dissemination in a public manner, using one's official position, in relation to a minor is permitted.
Thus, collecting information or illegal surveillance violates the legal guarantee of privacy. Such a right can be limited only by a court order, which states why the right is subject to restriction and why it is necessary.
