graduate student
UDC 343.9
The historical process of changing the relations of the legal community and the public of a number of countries to the concept of "defamation" is researched in this article. Modern legal and public interpretation of the term "defamation" differs from its initial historical interpretation. It is limited by defaming information, that is not true (see: the decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation "On the application of generally recognized principles and norms of international law and international treaties of the Russian Fede-ration by the courts of general jurisdiction" dated October 10, 2003, No. 5). In the historical context, defamation is a synonym to "discredit", that, along with a lie, uses other methods to deliver information. Consequently, a modern interpretation of a "discredit" as a socially dangerous act means "slander / libel". This factor restricts the rights of citizens and legal entities to state protection of their honor, dignity and business reputation from discredit, committed in other ways. As a part of the research, the issue has been raised that any type of slander / libel is illegal, regardless of whether defamatory information is false or not. In order to reveal the unlawful nature of any type of discredit: a retrospective research of the mechanisms of state protection of honor, dignity and business reputation in various historical periods is done; inter-cultural and philosophical analysis to take in the considered phenomenon by participants in social relations, the purpose of which is a demonstration of the criminal nature of the actions of the subject of defamation is made; the consequences and danger to discredit a person by using a truth especially by using various types of secrets, are analyzed; a conclusion to underestimate (by public relations participants) the danger to discredit the person with certain types of truth is made; the concepts of "slander / libel" and "defamation" are proposed to differentiate, as well as determine the limits of the realization of rights to freedom and expressing opinions in the context of protecting interests of the individual and society.
honor, reputation, business reputation, defamation, discredit, defamation / libel, truth, lie, slander, presumption of honesty
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