According to the Russian civil law, a legal entity or individual is entitled to demand compensation for any damage to his/her property or health, resulting from actions of other legal entities or individuals. This is stated in the Russian Civil Code, Art. 15 ("Compensation of Damages"), which stipulates the following:
"1. An aggrieved person shall be entitled to demand recovery of the full amount of damages inflicted upon this person, unless a smaller amount of such damages is stipulated by the law or agreement.
2.Losses are understood to be the expenses which the aggrieved person has incurred or will have to incur for reinstatement of infringed right, the loss or damage inflicted on his or her property (the actual damage), and the lost income, which this person would have received in normal civil turnover conditions if his right had not been infringed (missed profit). If the delinquent person has derived profits as a result thereof, the aggrieved person shall have the right to claim, in addition to other losses, compensation of the missed profit in the amount not less than such income”.
It is a common practice in Russia in the event of any damage caused to one’s property as a result of actions of any person or business entity to hire an independent appraiser in order to assess direct damages and uncollected (lost) income (missed profit). Independent appraiser conducts a separate valuation of the damages caused to the property, then estimates the missed profit (lost income) and issues an appraisal report. Appaisal report, issued by an independent appraiser, establishes a sound legal basis for reinstatement of one’s rights and indemnification of incurred losses, because in Russia it is regarded as an official document of evidential significance and can be presented in court.
A provision requiring obligatory engagement of an independent appraiser in the event of any property-related disputes is stipulated by Russian Federal Law “On Appraisal Activities in Russian Federation”, Art. 8, which reads as follows: “An appraisal … shall be obligatory … in the event of the onset of any disputes concerning the value of a property…”.
An independent appraisal also is the most efficient method of resolving disputes with an insurance company over the insurance indemnity payable for damages caused to the insured property.
Specific conditions of appraisal, related to assessment of damages, depend on particular type of property and nature of the damage. Please refer to the pages, dedicated to appraisal of particular type of property for further details.
We have significant experience in assessment of damages in Russia and should you require any assistance with this matter, please contact us by email info@koo.ru or Telegram