Criminal liability for slander and insult

Among the most common offenses aimed at humiliating the dignity and honor of a person, insult and slander play a significant role. This is one of the forms of moral and psychological violence. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, every person has the right to judicial protection aimed at refuting false information about a person and his family members. In addition to the Basic Law, human rights and dignity are enshrined in the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Does our country have criminal liability for slander and insult? The lawyers of our company Prykhodko and Partners will help us understand this issue.

Legislative framework of the issue

Let's start with the fact that back in 1960, the article on defamation was adopted for the first time (Article 125). With the adoption of the new Criminal Code of Ukraine in 2001, the legislator abandoned the criminalization of insult and slander. After some time, with a certain periodicity, draft laws aimed at the return of the criminalized element were introduced. The next stage of consideration of the issue took place in January 2014 (the so-called "dictatorial laws" of V. Yanukovych). At that time, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine was accused of being undemocratic and inconsistency of such laws not only with the Constitution, but also with international legislation. Then Article 151-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was proposed. Defamation was defined as the deliberate dissemination of frankly false information aimed at dishonoring the dignity and honor of another person. Fines of up to 50 NMDH, community service for a period of up to 200 hours or correctional work for a period of up to 1 year were provided for such actions.

Important: today there is no administrative or criminal liability for defamation. The only thing is that it is possible to force a person to refute false information in a court of law, i.e., defamation and collect moral damages that were caused by such actions. Professional lawyers will help you in this.

Assistance of lawyers in defamation and insult cases

To begin with, it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of "slander" and "insult". Let's start with the concept of "defamation".

Any slander is related to the spread of false information. This information can disgrace the honor and dignity of both one person and a group of persons. Thus, defamation can be characterized as false facts. As for an insult, it is certain actions or, for example, a derogatory statement directed against a certain person. Such actions, without a doubt, cause a feeling of mental restlessness and even prolonged depressive states.

What is the help of lawyers in defamation and insult cases? Specialists Prykhodko and Partners can prepare a lawsuit, according to which a person will be held liable for spreading false information. Damages caused by slander and insult can be caused to both a natural person and a legal entity.

In addition, you can write a statement to the police for prosecution under Article 173-1 of the Code of Ukraine.

As for the compensation of moral damage, it takes place exclusively in court. Its size is awarded individually, in each specific case.

Highly qualified lawyers of Prykhodko and Partners will help protect your reputation. Our services will be useful to you in cases when:

• You need to prepare and file a claim for defamation or insult.
• False information was spread about you.
• Your previous application for compensation for non-pecuniary damage was rejected.

Do you still have questions? We are waiting for a preliminary consultation! To calculate the cost of a defamation and insult lawyer, fill out the form below.