Personal assets – what are they and when to take care of them?

The catalog of personal property is broad. Its scope includes health, freedom, honor (good name), freedom of conscience, image, secrecy of correspondence, inviolability of dwelling, health, and even the right to live in a family.

In practice, violations of personal property most often occur in press publications or audiovisual programs, as well as on social networks. Importantly, violation of personal property cannot occur in other ways, such as in a direct conversation or letter.

What can be gained?

The law provides several options for removing the consequences of a violation of personal rights or even preventing the violation itself. The primary means of protection is to make a statement, commonly understood as an apology. The aggrieved party may also demand that the violations not be repeated.

In most cases, the removal of the consequences of the violation of personal property should be done in the same form and in a similar place as the violation. This will allow the message to reach a similar audience.

Example 1
If personal goods were violated in a newspaper, on page 4, a statement of apology should also be published there.

Example 2
If personal goods were violated on the “politics” subpage of a web portal, an apology should also appear on that subpage.

The court may also order the payment of compensation to the victim or award a sum of money to a social organization designated by the victim. Such measures are intended to facilitate the removal of the consequences of the violation. In some cases, the payment of reparations may also be the primary form of removing the consequences of the violation of personal property, such as in the case of loss of health.

How to fight an anonymous violator?

In practice, there are two types of anonymous violations. First, in the course of press activities, a journalist may reserve his or her personal information and sign an article with a pseudonym. Second, situations of maintaining anonymous accounts or pages on social networks are increasingly common.

In the first of these situations, the aggrieved party does not have to assert his rights against a particular journalist. The editor-in-chief and the publisher, who do not have the right to remain anonymous, are responsible for the overall activities of a particular press title.

In the case of a defamatory post on an Internet portal, the aggrieved party can take various types of action. Each social network has a dedicated form through which violations of the law should be reported. It should be borne in mind that the manager of the portal makes the final decision each time whether to leave or remove the content.

The victim may also attempt to establish the relevant data with the help of law enforcement agencies. The legislator has stipulated that crimes of defamation or insult – including by means of the mass media – are prosecuted by private indictment. Successful filing of a private indictment requires the indication of the perpetrator’s data. If they are unknown, as a result of filing a so-called complaint, this information should be established by the police. Officers, in some cases with the approval of the courts, can carry out basically any activity that allows them to establish the identity of the perpetrator in cases prosecuted ex officio. In particular, they can interview witnesses, or apply for an exemption from telecommunications secrecy.

Long-lasting footprint in public space

Nowadays, especially with the development of the Internet, information spreads very quickly. Even if they are untrue and defamatory, it is very difficult to completely remove the trace of them from the public space. That’s why it is so important to effectively nullify the effects of violations of personal rights.

Author: Jacek Salata