Practice · 04
Reputation
and cross-border
matters
I protect honour, dignity and business reputation – from recording the publication as evidence to court. I help with requests and claims from abroad. Entrepreneurs, company executives and private individuals turn to me.
What the work
covers
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01Assessment
Assessing the situation and the evidence
I examine the publication: where it appears, who wrote it, what in it is a statement of fact and what is opinion. I help secure the evidence: screenshots, a notarial inspection record of the web page and, where necessary, a linguist’s expert opinion.
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02Pre-action
Pre-action demands
I prepare demands to the author, the editorial office or the platform to retract or remove the information. A media outlet can be required to publish a retraction or a reply under the Law “On the Mass Media”. An individual also has the right to require a search engine to stop showing links to inaccurate information about them.
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03Court
Claim for protection of reputation
I prepare a claim under Article 152 of the Russian Civil Code for retraction and removal of the information and compensation for losses and, for an individual, also for compensation for non-pecuniary damage. The claimant has to prove that the information was disseminated and is defamatory; the person who disseminated it has to prove that it is true. If that person cannot be identified, an application can be made to the court to declare the information untrue.
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04Abroad
Cross-border matters
I review requests and claims from foreign authorities and counterparties, and publications on foreign websites. I assess the consequences under Russian law and prepare responses. If protection is needed in another country, I help build a position together with a lawyer from that country.
When people come to me
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01
Untrue information has been spread
Something has been written about you or your company in the media or on social networks that is untrue and damages your reputation. You can defend yourself with a demand to the author or the platform and with a claim under Article 152 of the Russian Civil Code. If knowingly false information has been spread about a person, a report of criminal defamation (Article 128.1 of the Russian Criminal Code) is possible – we decide on this route after assessing the evidence.
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02
Threats of publication and demands for money
Demanding money under the threat of spreading discrediting information may constitute extortion (Article 163 of the Russian Criminal Code). Do not pay and do not delete the correspondence: we will prepare a report to the police and a plan of action in case the material is published after all.
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03
A text or video needs expert examination
Under Article 152 of the Russian Civil Code, a statement of fact can be refuted, but an opinion or value judgement cannot. A linguistic analysis helps determine where the line lies; for video and audio, an examination of the recording for signs of editing. I help put precise questions to the specialist.
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04
A request or claim from abroad
You have received a request from a foreign authority or bank, or a claim from a foreign counterparty. Before responding, we will work out what information may be disclosed under Russian law and how the response might be used later. I will prepare the response and the documents.
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05
Restrictions affect business abroad
Foreign restrictive measures prevent you from performing contracts, making payments or taking part in a dispute abroad. We will examine the consequences for your contracts. If the measures have been imposed on you or have given rise to the dispute, in some cases it can be heard by a commercial (arbitrazh) court in Russia (Article 248.1 of the Russian Commercial Procedure Code).
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06
The judgment has already entered into force
The judgments have entered into force and appeals have not helped. I will check whether a cassation appeal, supervisory review or review on new or newly discovered circumstances has been overlooked. If there is no such route, I will say so plainly.
If the information
has already
been published
- 01
Record the publication: take screenshots that show the page address, date and time. A notarial inspection record of the website is more reliable – have it made before the material is changed or removed.
- 02
Do not get drawn into a public row: a sharp reply draws attention to the publication and may itself give grounds for claims against you.
- 03
Do not pay for removal under pressure: payment does not guarantee that the material will not appear again.
- 04
Keep your correspondence with the author, the editorial office or the platform, and any threatening messages: they will be needed as evidence.
- 05
Call a lawyer: +7 999 085-85-99.
How the work is organised
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01Call
Briefly tell me what has been published and where, or what is being demanded of you. I will tell you what to record straight away and which documents to gather for our meeting.
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02Consultation
We go through the publications and documents and discuss the options and the risks of each.
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03Agreement
We set out the scope of work, timescales and fees in a legal services agreement.
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04Representation
I prepare demands, responses and claims, attend hearings and keep you informed at every step.
FAQ
Can a publication be removed without going to court?
Sometimes, yes. The author, the editorial office or the platform may remove the material after a well-founded demand. At an individual’s request, a search engine must remove links to inaccurate information about that person from its search results, but the material itself will not disappear from the website. If the demand is not complied with, court remains the option.
How much does the work cost?
The fee depends on the number of publications, whether an expert examination is needed and whether the matter goes to court. We set it after the consultation and fix it in the agreement, so the terms are known in advance.
Other practice areas
All practice areas
Let’s discuss
your situation
If untrue information about you is already being spread or someone is threatening to publish it, do not put off talking to a lawyer. Call, and we will work out what to do now.
The information on this page is general and does not constitute legal advice.