Personal rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen of the Russian Federation in 2021: what applies to them

The principle of marriage equality

The presence of equal rights vested in men and women who act as participants in family legal relations is a feature of family law, which is reflected in Art. 19 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as Art. 31 of the RF IC, and means equality of spouses in the family. Thus, the state recognizes the equality of the sexes, and their personal non-property rights are considered equal.

Thanks to the legally established equality of rights for participants in family relationships, equality of spouses in the family is achieved, which allows each spouse to be sure that the protection of these rights is not only their own task, but also an obligation of the state.

The provisions of the IC classify the personal non-property rights and obligations of spouses that are vested in spouses. These include: the right to choose the type of occupation, professional activity, place of residence and stay.

Thus, each of the subjects of family relations has the right to independently choose a specialty for employment. The place of residence must be determined between the spouses, which makes it possible to say that the husband and wife can live separately.

The sphere of rights also includes the right to be a mother and father, the right to raise children, to participate in their life and education. These issues are resolved by mutual consent of the spouses, as evidenced by the principle of their equality.

The construction of marital relations is carried out on the basis of mutual respect and mutual assistance, which contributes to a prosperous and strong union aimed at the well-being of the family and the development of children.

When do matrimonial relations arise?

Living together between a man and a woman is not a reason to consider them husband and wife, just as the birth of a common child and running a household is not such a reason.

The only basis for the emergence of matrimonial legal relations is marriage. The marriage takes place in the registry office, the presence of both parties and their consent is mandatory.

Being married is a citizen's right, not an obligation. But this right gives rise to a number of rights and obligations for spouses for which they are responsible.

A month after filing the application, the marriage is subject to state registration by civil registry office employees. It is at the moment of painting of the bride and groom that a marital relationship arises, which is expressed in the rights and responsibilities between the spouses.

Property and personal non-property rights of spouses

Throughout life, every person has a certain range of rights, which are both property and non-property in nature. With marriage, the range of rights expands. Thus, even before marriage, future spouses have the right to choose a surname. They have the opportunity to keep their own, change it to the surname of one of the spouses, or combine them into a double one.

Upon marriage, spouses have the right to choose their place of residence and the direction of their professional activities.

Among the personal non-property rights are:

mandatory joint decision-making regarding family life;
providing consent to the adoption process;
the right to dissolve a marriage.

The range of property relations that are typical for married persons is quite extensive. This includes all rights that may be associated with property, as well as relations that are associated with the occurrence of alimony obligations in relation to children, as well as mutual maintenance of husband and wife.

It should be noted that the existence of the right of common joint property among spouses arises regardless of the level of income of each of them individually. This means that the legislator does not make the emergence of rights dependent on the degree of material contribution of each spouse. Thus, a wife who is engaged in housekeeping and raising children has equal rights to property, which is recognized as joint property.

What rights do spouses have?

The rights of spouses are divided into personal and property rights. Personal rights do not have a material component and relate directly to the spouse, to his will, desire and opinion. On the contrary, property rights relate to the material component of each family member.

Personal rights of husband and wife

Personal rights of spouses are subjective rights related to intangible benefits and inextricably linked with the personality of their owners.

Since such rights are not associated with an economic component, they cannot be taken away and are valid as long as the marriage exists.

Article 31 of the RF IC states that husband and wife have equal rights in personal relationships. Marital equality is guaranteed by law, regardless of gender, skin color, nationality, etc.

The Family Code outlines the following personal rights of husband and wife :

Freedom to choose a place for permanent residence and location. Despite the fact that husband and wife almost always live together, they have the right to change their location and the spouse is not obliged to follow him.
Spouses have freedom in choosing their profession, occupation and place of work. This right is enshrined in Article 37 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Marriage is not a reason to ask your husband/wife for permission to choose a profession. In addition, spouses are obliged to support each other in every possible way in choosing their occupation and profession.
Equality in solving issues important to the family. None of the spouses has a preferential right to vote in deciding issues of paternity, maternity, raising children and a number of others.
The right to choose a surname when registering a marriage. According to the provisions of Article 32 of the RF IC, each of the newlyweds can remain with their own surname or take the surname of another. They also have the right to form a double surname and it can be taken by both spouses or one of them.

Property rights of newlyweds

Unlike personal property rights of spouses, they affect legal relations relating to their common property and the provision of mutual material support. Since property is the topic of most interest to spouses, it makes sense to dwell on it in more detail.

Legislatively, there are 2 regimes of matrimonial property:

legal - Chapter 7 of the RF IC;
contractual - Chapter 8 of the RF IC.

Legal (Article 33 of the RF IC) is a regime of joint ownership. The bottom line is this: everything acquired by a husband and wife together after marriage is considered common.

Within the framework of property relations, spouses have the following rights:

The common property includes everything that each of them acquired after the wedding. This includes any income and property, except that received personally as a gift or by inheritance (Article 34 of the RF IC).
Equal ownership and disposal of common property. Even if only one spouse brought in income, and the other was engaged in raising children, the common property is still used equally.
Common property does not include everything that was acquired/received before marriage, as well as personal items - shoes, clothing, personal hygiene products, etc. The exclusive right to the result of intellectual work belongs to the spouse who was engaged in intellectual work (Article 36 RF IC).
Personal property becomes common property only if the spouse proves that the value of personal property has increased due to joint efforts/property (Article 37 of the RF IC).
You can divide joint property at any time without the need for a divorce (Article 38 of the RF IC) and you can receive half of everything that was acquired through joint efforts in marriage (Article 39 of the RF IC).
Spouses have the right to enter into an agreement on the division of property and can divide it in any proportions if they agree on this.
The common debts are divided between the spouses proportionally, in accordance with the shares received in the marital property.

Contractual is a regime in which the property rights of spouses are determined by the contract they have concluded.

By choosing a contractual form of property relations (Article 41 of the RF IC), spouses receive the following rights:

In a marriage contract, you can define the regime for all property or its individual types. It is allowed to consolidate property rights in relation to things that will be acquired in the future (Article 42 of the RF IC).
It is possible to tie a number of rights in a marriage contract to certain dates or events.
The contract can be changed or terminated by mutual agreement, or through the court, in the absence of consent (Article 43 of the RF IC).
Through the court, you can get a contract declared invalid if this document worsens the situation of one of the spouses or for other reasons (Article 44 of the RF IC).

A spouse has the right to maintenance provided by the other spouse. In certain situations, this also applies to ex-spouses. The law specifically enshrines such a right for citizens who need maintenance due to incapacity or because of raising common children.

Types of personal non-property rights

At its core, marriage is a legal fact that gives rise to a number of non-property rights among its participants. Spouses are equal bearers of them.

Personal rights of a non-property nature affect those interests that are limited to the personality of the spouse. They cannot be separated from the bearer, even if there is the will of their owner; in addition, transactions cannot be made in relation to them, and they themselves are not subject to monetary valuation.

The UK defines 3 types of personal rights of married persons:

the right to free choice of profession and activity, location and residence;
the right to make joint decisions on issues that relate to the family and living together in this status;
the right to choose a future surname, which implies the opportunity to leave the original surnames, take the surname of one of the spouses, or combine both surnames into a double one.

Such a small range of personal rights can be explained as a result of the specificity of marriage relations, which cannot be fully regulated by the state.

Disagreements or violation of these rights on the part of one or each spouse may cause divorce.

Legislation

Family law is not one, but a series of legal acts regulating legal relations between spouses. Here are the main ones:

Chapter 3 of the Family Code - describes the main conditions, the general procedure for concluding a marriage, the minimum age, obstacles to marriage, etc.
Title III of the Family Code - describes the rights and obligations of persons entering into marriage. Marital relations of both personal and property nature are stipulated.
Article 256 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation stipulates the regime of matrimonial property and regulates the personal rights and obligations of spouses.
Article 27 of the Federal Law “On Acts of Civil Status” determines the procedure for state registration of marriage ties, after which mutual rights and obligations of the spouses arise.

The rights and responsibilities of spouses are discussed further in the article.

Protection of personal non-property rights

Personal non-property rights and obligations that spouses have from the moment of marriage are determined by the legal norms that are in force today in the state. They are reflected both in the Constitution of the Russian Federation and in the UK.

In addition to the rights that are inherent to every person, spouses have the right to choose a surname, type of activity and place of residence, as well as to make decisions regarding the further development of marital relations, including their dissolution.

This type of rights is directly connected with the personality of the spouses, and therefore is not subject to separation, monetary valuation, or transfer under various types of transactions.

And, although the range of personal non-property rights of spouses is quite narrow, which is caused by the specificity of family relationships based on making joint decisions, the state establishes, regulates and protects them.

The protection of such rights is carried out by providing the opportunity to protect them within the framework of the administration of justice.

Thus, a spouse who believes that his rights have been violated by the second spouse has the right to file a lawsuit with a demand to stop the violation of his rights and restore them.

Legal proceedings in such cases are carried out not in a general manner, on the basis of the norms of the Criminal Code, but in a procedural sense, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure.

In cases where the principle of equality between spouses is violated, divorce may occur.

Features of the implementation of family legal relations

The law gives spouses the opportunity to independently decide how they will manage their rights.

However, taking into account the provisions of civil law, the exercise of personal and property rights and obligations of spouses is limited to the following points:

The freedoms and interests of other spouses/third parties, including children, must not be violated. For example, if a husband leaves the family citing his right to choose a place to live, he violates the right of his child to live with his parents.
It is unacceptable to abuse marital rights. For example, a wife, having learned that she is pregnant, interrupts her pregnancy despite her husband’s disagreement. Thus, she uses her right to resolve family issues to her detriment.
The implementation of the rights and obligations of spouses must take into account moral requirements and compliance with the law.

The personal rights and obligations of spouses, as well as property ones, must be exercised taking into account a number of features:

The personal rights of spouses cannot be delegated to a third party.
They exist and operate within the framework of a marital relationship.
Some rights are also duties and must be unquestioningly implemented.
And etc.

Responsibility for violation of rights in the family

The equality of spouses in the family gives grounds to say that the volume of personal non-property rights that spouses are entitled to are equal for each of them.

The provisions of family law, as well as civil law, which is inextricably linked with the regulation of family relations, determine the general rules for liability for violation of such rights.

Those rights that are associated with the concept of “honor”, “dignity” and are established by the norms of the Civil Code are on the same level with those rights that arise for spouses from the moment of marriage and are established by the Civil Code.

The IC itself does not define the procedures for protecting rights, referring to the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code, in accordance with which the protection of rights is carried out in court. Violations of the equality of spouses in the family, which are inextricably linked with their personality, are subject to restoration in court. It may be noted that the Insurance Code, Civil Code and Civil Procedure Code do not establish liability for violation of the non-property rights of spouses.

Violation of such rights is the cause of moral distress.

In the course of judicial consideration of this category of cases, the court can only restore the person’s rights and consider the issue of collecting compensation for the moral suffering suffered.

Author of the article

Legal relations of cohabitants

“Civil marriage”, in its popular concept, is not regulated by law. It is impossible to call marriage when a man and a woman live together.

In order for a relationship to be legally called a “marriage,” it must be registered in the registry office (Part 2 of Article 1 of the RF IC). Only then will the rights and responsibilities described above apply to the couple.

In accordance with Art. 292 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, ordinary cohabitants do not have the rights that spouses are entitled to:

A “common-law” wife does not inherit from her deceased “husband”;
If such a wife becomes unable to work, she cannot count on support from her common-law husband;
Such a wife does not have the right to use residential premises, unlike family members;
The father does not have rights to the child in the event of the birth of joint children until he submits a joint application to the registry office;
The child has rights, regardless of whether the parents are registered or not.

In general about rights and freedoms

All our freedoms and rights are manifested every day in our relationships with other people, organizations and the state. Legal doctrine has conventionally divided what people are entitled to into types. We are entitled to the following types of rights:

personal;
cultural;
socio-economic;
political;
environmental.

Often, some rights are intertwined with others. Much depends on from what position the individual is viewed: as a person or as a citizen.

Most of the rights of Russian citizens can be found in the Constitution. All of them (the main selection) are reflected in Chapter 2 of this document.

The main articles of Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation on “the rights and freedoms of man and citizen”