Press review for May 1-15, 2020

Who will be able to get a deferment on the loan?

RIA MO interviewed lawyers and found out which of the businessmen and citizens will be able to get relief. According to Nikita Filippov, Head of MCBA “Bureau of Lawyers “De jure”, Honorary Lawyer of Russia, for an individual entrepreneur, one of the conditions to get a deferment on the loan is a decrease in income for the month preceding treatment by more than 30% of borrowers’ average monthly income for 2019. (Average monthly income is determined as the result of dividing the total income for 2019 by 12 months. The loan amount for which a deferment is requested must not exceed 300 thousand rubles.) During the deferments days, interest is accrued at a reduced rate – 2/3 of the average market rate for consumer loans (except for loans secured by a mortgage). Interest accrued during the deferment period is paid by the borrower after the payment schedule has been fulfilled, and is not included in the amount of the principal debt, as provided for SMEs.

Individuals, including self-employed, may also require the bank to provide credit vacations. The conditions are as follows: decrease in income for the month preceding circulation by more than 30% of the average monthly income of borrowers (co-borrowers) for 2019 (Federal Law of 03.04.2020 N 106 of Federal Law “On Amending the Federal Law “On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)” and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation regarding the specifics of changing the terms of a credit agreement, loan agreement”). The loan agreement was to be concluded before the law on credit vacations came into force. This criterion was introduced to provide assistance only to those who really could not calculate the decline in their income in 2020, Nikita Filippov explains.

What will the code of ethics for police officers change?

The portal Pravo.ru analyzes the draft code of ethics for police officers, which was recently posted on the Internet.

The main task of such a document is to formalize requirements in order to differentiate employee behavior: what constitutes a disciplinary offense, and what is simply reprehensible. Knowing this document’s position will be useful for those who, at work or in life, encounter – or may encounter – the incorrect behavior of police officers, believes Nikita Filippov, Head of MCBA “Bureau of Lawyers “De jure”. “It’s good to know that a police officer must show respect for the interrogated, be intolerant of violations of the law and official discipline,”- Filippov notes.

Vouchers instead of money?

The Internet newspaper Moscow.ru refers to the draft law adopted by the state Duma in the first reading, which allows carriers not to return money for tickets in the conditions of a pandemic. Instead, it is proposed to legalize vouchers.

Nikita Filippov, Head of MCBA “Bureau of Lawyers “De jure”, notes that such a law cannot apply to contracts signed before its adoption. Article 57 of the Constitution enshrines the prohibition of the adoption of laws with retroactive effect if they worsen the situation of taxpayers, which include passengers. Since allowing carriers to issue vouchers instead of money certainly worsens the situation of citizens, vouchers can only be given to those who purchase tickets after the law comes into force.

“Regarding the lawfulness of the deduction of funds, it is currently necessary to note that unilateral refusal to fulfill obligations or their unilateral change is unacceptable if this was not originally proposed by the terms of the contract of carriage. In such cases, issuing vouchers is also illegal,” – the lawyer added.

Fines for redevelopment

The Banks Today portal reports that since May 2020, new types of fines for illegal redevelopment of premises have appeared in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Previously, there were no means of influence on businessmen, who often bought cellars or ground floor apartments for doing business. Only citizens were fined, although it is the reconstruction of residential premises that often carries the greatest danger to residents. It is enough to recall the case of the apartment building that collapsed in 2016 in Mezhdurechensk due to a redevelopment in a store on the ground floor.

Lawyer of “De jure” Yakov Bulut explains that now for the use of residential premises not for its intended purpose (i.e. not for living people, but, for example, for selling goods or providing services), officials (for example, General Directors of companies) will be fined up to 3 thousand rubles, and legal entities up to 30 thousand rubles. In addition, for unauthorized reconstruction or redevelopment of premises in an apartment building, officials may be fined up to five thousand rubles, and legal entities up to fifty thousand rubles.

Wherein, simply “paying off” by a relatively small fine and continuing their illegal activities will not work. “When a violation is detected, the competent authority will not only draw up a protocol on bringing to administrative responsibility, but will also issue an order to the violator to bring the premises back to their original form, corresponding to the project documentation, within a certain period . If the violation is not resolved within the indicated time period, the legal entity and (or) official will be re-fined,” – the lawyer explains.

Is there any benefit from spouses?

Experts of MCBA “Bureau of Lawyers “De jure” answered readers’ questions at the request of the Domofond.ru portal.

Will the future spouse be able to return the tax for an apartment bought on a mortgage before marriage and issued not on him?

Lawyer of “De jure” Yakov Bulut is categorical: “In this case, the apartment will not be a jointly acquired property, since it was purchased before the marriage. Accordingly, your husband will not have the right to receive a tax deduction for it.”

The former husband, when transferring the apartment to his ex-wife as a property, left a large debt for utilities and capital repairs. Are the actions of the Management Company requiring payment of the debt of the former owner legitimate?

The actions of the management company are illegal, lawyer of “De jure” Jacob Bulut considers. “In accordance with paragraph 5 of part 2 of Article 153 of the LCD RF, the obligation for payment for premise and utilities arises at the owner of the premises from the moment the ownership of such premise arises. Thus, debts for utilities should be paid by the owner to whom these services were provided,” – the expert explains. According to him, if the management company includes the debt of the former spouse in the receipts, you can go to court with a claim to oblige the management company to exclude this debt from the invoices.

Business on coronavirus

TV channel “Russia 24” addresses the topic of “marketing on coronavirus”. In recent weeks, many scammers have appeared, speculating on people’s fears, journalists say. The last example is the alcohol “Firewater”. On the labels – the inscription “anti-coronavirus” and a portrait of the Bulgarian soothsayer Vanga, who supposedly predicted salvation from infection by “fire water”. According to Nikita Filippov, Head of MCBA “Bureau of Lawyers “De jure”, there is “a whole set of criminal legal structures”. The manufacturer does not have a license for the production of alcoholic beverages, so it is, in fact, a counterfeit. According to the lawyer, there are signs of such offenses as illegal business, production and sale of unlicensed products, misleading customers.

Performer or employee?

The magazine “Labor disputes” publishes an article by Nikita Filippov, Head of MCBA “Bureau of Lawyers “De jure”, and Yakov Bulut, lawyer of the Bureau, ” Evidence of civil relations; how to convince the court that the performer is not an employee.”

Lawyers analyze a new trend: performers are trying to get rich at the expense of customers, demanding to recognize work under civil contracts as labor relations. Wherein, the risks for the Plaintiffs are minimal: there are no costs for the state duty, but if you win, you can get paid for holidays, sick leave and compensation for moral damage. How companies can protect themselves – experts give their prescriptions.

“In order for a civil contract to become evidence in favor of the company, write down the names of the parties and the subject of the contract as they are indicated in the Civil Code. Do not include to it conditions that are characteristic of an employment relationship; for example, on the subordination of the performer of the PTR, the obligation to follow the instructions of the management, the payment of remuneration every two weeks. When concluding the same type of agreements with the same contractor, it is safer if, at the end of each of them, there will be a period of time when there were no contractual relations between the parties. This will help to confirm that the relationship was temporary and did not have a stable nature,” – Filippov and Bulut advise.

Read more – https://e.tspor.ru/811039

Law market after coronavirus

Portal Rusbankrot.ru publishes the author’s column of Nikita Filippov, Head of MCBA “Bureau of Lawyers “De jure”, “Whether the lawyers themselves face bankruptcy due to the pandemic”, which analyzes the state of the law services market.

“It is obvious that in the new reality, many of the areas that previously brought stable income to law firms will be reevaluated,”- Filippov writes. – Some practices will become irrelevant (temporarily or permanently). Others, on the contrary, will sharply increase in price.” In his opinion, the appearance of new “anti-virus” changes in the law generates requests from the business community for their clarification.

“We forecast an increase in the number of disputes related to rental, tax relations, divorce and division of property. The number of labor and insurance disputes, as well as disputes related to non-fulfillment of certain agreements, will also increase. In addition, in six months (after the end of the six – month moratorium), an increase in bankruptcy cases is expected,” – Filippov is convinced. In addition, the number of requests and legal disputes on medicine will inevitably increase. So some law firms will create entire medical practices.

In general, today the business is trying to survive, and it needs qualified support, the lawyer notes. “In such circumstances, the crisis does not threaten law firms with fatal consequences, but requires the mobilization and modernization of available resources,” – Head of MCBA “Bureau of Lawyers “De jure” summarizes.

Free doesn’t mean bad!

The portal “Banks Today” publishes an article by the lawyer of “De jure” Nikolay Polusitov explaining who is entitled to a free lawyer and how often they win cases.

“A free lawyer is assigned to any detained person suspected of committing a crime. A statement by the investigative authorities on the impossibility of providing such a person with a free lawyer is unlawful. If the investigative authority evades the obligation to appoint a free defender you must immediately contact the prosecutor’s office,” – the lawyer writes.

According to the Judicial Department at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, in 2018-2019, every second criminal case was considered with the involvement of a lawyer on the court’s appointment. For example, in 2019, the courts considered 763 533 criminal cases, of which only 3 826 cases were acquitted, which is 0.5% of the total number of cases considered. “Obviously, the percentage of acquittals in these cases is negligible, but this fact does not indicate an insufficient level of assistance provided by free lawyers (in Russia, in principle, the percentage of acquittals is low, which is a consequence of the peculiarities of the judicial system),”- Polusitov said.

Haute cuisine under legal protection

The magazine “Modern restaurant” publishes an article by the lawyer of “De jure” Yakov Bulut, which analyzes the issue of protecting the rights to author’s dishes.

From the content of paragraph 1 of Article 1259 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, it follows that neither the dish nor its recipe may be copyrighted. Moreover, according to paragraph 5 of Article 1259 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, copyright does not extend to ideas, concepts, principles, methods, processes, systems, methods, solutions to technical, organizational or other tasks.

“The most optimal solution to the problem of protecting an author’s dish is to obtain a patent for an invention,” – the lawyer believes. – In accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 1345 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation intellectual property rights to inventions are patent rights. According to paragraph 1 of Article 1349 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the objects of patent rights are the results of intellectual activity in the scientific and technical field that meet established requirements.” Other ways to protect author’s cuisine may be agreements on trade secrets in the form of a secret to the production of a dish, as well as trademarks on the image and designation of the dish.

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Refund of air tickets-vouchers instead of money. Is it legal?

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