Detective Services Contract

[Демитрий]

Contract for the provision of detective services.

The activities of private detectives are well known to all of us from books and films (mostly foreign), when private detectives solve crimes that professional police officers could not solve. Currently, we can face them in real life.
The first private detective agencies in Russia appeared in the early 90s during the period of radical breaking of the socio-economic formation in our country. Drastic changes in public life, political and economic instability, the emergence of new forms of ownership, and the rapid development of entrepreneurship have led to changes in the system of combating crime in Russia. To combat it, new organizational and legal forms have appeared. Among the new subjects of the fight against crime, we can also name private detectives, who simultaneously provided certain services of a very specific nature to the population (surveillance of unfaithful spouses, business competitors, etc.).
Their activities had to be directed to a certain legal framework, so one of the first laws adopted at that time was a special law regulating the activities of private detectives - the Law of the Russian Federation of March 11, 1992 N 2487-1 "On private detective and security activities in the Russian Federation". This Law has been repeatedly supplemented and amended. The latest amendments were made by Federal Law No. 391-FZ of December 5, 2017. However, as will be shown below, it has retained a number of significant shortcomings.
Since in this case we are talking about the paid provision of services (although very specific), the contract for the provision of detective services is subject to the general provisions of the Civil Code on the contract for the provision of paid services.
In addition to the laws, detective work is also regulated by bylaws. Of particular importance are the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of June 23, 2011 N 498 (as amended. of September 9, 2015) "On certain issues of private detective (detective) and private security activities" and Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 14, 1992 N 587 "Issues of private detective (detective) and private security activities", Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia of June 18, 2012 N 589 (as amended. of September 23, 2015) "On the approval of the Administrative Regulations for the execution by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation of the state function for the control of private detective (detective) and security activities in the Russian Federation".
Detective work is subject to licensing, so special legal acts that establish the procedure for such licensing are important. It is necessary to take into account the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia of September 29, 2011 N 1039 (as amended. dated 30.12.2014) "On approval of the administrative regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation on the provision of public services for the issuance of a license for private detective (detective) activities, a license for private security activities and a certificate of a private security guard".
Of particular importance are the Regulations on licensing of private detective (detective) activities and the Rules for maintaining the Register of Licenses for private security activities and providing information from it, approved by the aforementioned Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of June 23, 2011 N 498 (as amended. of September 9, 2015) "On some issues of the implementation of private detective (detective) and private security activities".
It is also necessary to take into account the provisions of the Model Law of the Russian Federation of March 11, 1992 N 2487-1 "On private detective and security activities in the Russian Federation".
As the name implies, this Law on Private Detective and Security Activities regulates not only security, but also private detective activities. It seems that combining security and detective activities into one legal act is hardly advisable, since they have significant differences. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that private detective and private security activities are two separate, although having some common features, types of activity. They differ in their content, nature, services rendered, and the legal status of the entities engaged in these types of activities. Obviously, for this reason, this Law contains two sections: section II "Private detective (detective) activity" and section III "Private security activity". It is interesting to note that earlier legislation (section IV of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities in the old version) allowed for the creation of mixed forms of private detective and security activities, but now this section has lost its force.
Security and detective work have little in common, which would give grounds to regulate them in one law. Security activities are mainly aimed at ensuring the safety of the property of legal entities and individuals, protecting the life and health of protected citizens, while detective work is a type of investigative activity, and its main task is to collect information within the framework of the detective services provided. It is also important to note that the legislation of the Russian Federation prohibits one person from engaging in both private detective and private security activities. Therefore, there was a need to adopt a separate law dedicated exclusively to detective work, which would preserve all the positive and withstood the test of time from the current Law.
The existence of a separate law on detective work is also advisable from the point of view of improving the legislative technique. The Law of the Russian Federation "On Private Detective and Security Activities in the Russian Federation" contains a lot of reference rules, the effect of which simultaneously applies to private detective and private security activities. However, given the significant differences between these activities, it is quite difficult to apply them in practice.
It should also be noted that to date, the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities in the Russian Federation is somewhat outdated, since it reflects the realities characteristic of the time when detective activity was in its infancy, there was no practice of its application, many topical issues of its application were theoretically not worked out. In addition, since its adoption, the legislation of the Russian Federation, which is more or less related to detective work, has changed significantly.
It is hardly advisable to solve the problem by making changes and additions to it, since this will not change the situation, but on the contrary, will create new problems, as it will introduce additional contradictions and inconsistencies between the newly introduced and existing norms, which, in turn, can give rise to serious difficulties in law enforcement practice.
It should be noted that the relevant draft laws have already been developed, but the law has not yet been adopted.
The Law on Private Detective and Security Activities does not have a separate definition of detective work. The attempt in Article 1 of the Law to give one general definition for detective and security activities does not look quite successful. In particular, this article states that " private detective and security activities are defined as the provision of services on a paid contractual basis to individuals and legal entities that have a special permit (license) obtained in accordance with this Law, organizations and individual entrepreneurs in order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of their clients." This definition applies to any other paid service that requires a license.
It is important to note that the detective work carried out by private detectives is not limited to the protection of private interests (that is, the interests of citizens and legal entities), but also extends to public interests. Thus, according to Article 3 of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities, private detectives assist law enforcement agencies in preventing and solving crimes, preventing and suppressing administrative offenses in accordance with the procedure established by the Government of the Russian Federation.
Moreover, in Appendix N 8 to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 14, 1992 N 587 (as amended. from July 25, 2017) "Questions of private detective (detective) and private security activities" it is said that in order to conclude an agreement on the prevention and disclosure of crimes, a private detective sends a corresponding written request to the law enforcement agency with the attachment of documents and materials describing the activities of a private detective, as well as a list of duties that he is ready to assume. Such an appeal is considered in the terms and procedure established for the consideration of citizens ' appeals. Based on the results of the review, the law enforcement agency decides on the expediency (inexpediency) of concluding an agreement on the prevention and disclosure of crimes, and notifies the private detective. At the same time, the agreement on the prevention and disclosure of crimes may provide for the procedure for the implementation of the following duties:
a) assistance to private detectives in the search for persons suspected of committing a crime or put on the wanted list for other reasons;
b) informing law enforcement agencies by private detectives about the facts that have become known to them about the upcoming, committed and committed crimes and administrative offenses. If necessary, the agreement on the prevention and disclosure of crimes provides for the procedure for law enforcement agencies to provide a private detective with information about incidents, the criminal situation in the relevant area, with the exception of information that constitutes a state or other secret protected by law.

It is also necessary to take into account the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia of April 17, 2013 N 211 "On approval of standard forms of agreements on assistance of private security organizations to law Enforcement agencies in ensuring law and order and on assistance of private detectives to law enforcement agencies in preventing and solving crimes, preventing and suppressing administrative offenses".
This Order approved the standard form of the agreement on the assistance of private detectives to law enforcement agencies in the prevention and disclosure of crimes, prevention and suppression of administrative offenses (Appendix No. 2 to the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 211). Such an agreement provides for the assignment of a police officer to a private detective for the organization of interaction, who can coordinate joint actions with a private detective, if necessary, provide information about incidents, the criminal situation in the relevant area, with the exception of information that constitutes a state and other legally protected secret.
In addition, the Department of Internal Affairs has the right to involve a private detective in the search for persons suspected of committing a crime or put on the wanted list for other reasons.
Thus, any cooperation of private detectives with law enforcement agencies can not only be unilateral (in the form of assistance to a private detective by all means available to him, including the provision of information to law enforcement agencies), but also provide for obtaining within a certain framework from law enforcement agencies the information necessary for a private detective.
In some cases, the functions performed by private detectives coincide with the functions of law enforcement agencies, but there are significant differences between them. There are several signs that distinguish private detective work from the activities of law enforcement agencies:
- by its nature, private detective work is carried out on a contractual paid basis, while law enforcement officers must perform their work free of charge as part of the performance of their professional duties;
- private detective activity is based on contractual relations, where the limits and time of occurrence and termination of these relations are clearly defined, while the activities of law enforcement agencies are regulated by special regulatory legal acts;
- persons engaged in private investigative activities are not authorized by law enforcement officials and in case of violation of their duties are liable in a different manner than officials of state law enforcement agencies.
It should also be borne in mind that in accordance with paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Article 7 of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities, the ban imposed on private detectives to conceal information about crimes, in the latest version, applies not only to crimes being prepared and committed, but also to crimes being committed. This clarification is relevant in the current conditions, especially in the field of economic crimes, many of which are of a continuing nature, as well as in the areas of private (including family, housing) life of citizens.
Article 3 of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities specifies the types of services provided by private detectives, which can be considered as the subject of a contract for the provision of detective services.
In particular, according to this article, for the purposes of investigation, the following types of services are allowed::
1) collection of information on civil cases on a contractual basis with the participants in the process;
2) market research, collecting information for business negotiations, identifying non-creditworthy or unreliable business partners;
3) establishing the circumstances of the illegal use of trade marks and names in business activities, unfair competition, as well as the disclosure of information constituting a trade secret;
4) clarification of biographical and other personal data about individual citizens (with their written consent) when they conclude employment and other contracts;
5) search for missing citizens;
6) search for property lost by citizens or enterprises, institutions, organizations;
7) collection of information on criminal cases on a contractual basis with the participants in the process. Within a day from the moment of signing a contract with the client to collect such information, a private detective is obliged to notify the person conducting the inquiry, the investigator or the court in whose proceedings the criminal case is located;
8) search for a person who is a debtor in accordance with the enforcement document, his property, as well as search for a child under the enforcement document containing a request for the removal or transfer of the child, on the procedure for communicating with the child, a request for the return of a child illegally moved to the Russian Federation or held in the Russian Federation, or for the exercise of access rights in respect of such a child on the basis of an international agreement of the Russian Federation, on a contractual basis with the recoverer.
This list of types of services is exhaustive and is not subject to broad interpretation. It should be noted at once that the performance of some of the above actions by a private detective presents certain difficulties and may even lead to a violation of other legal acts. In this regard, certain types of services that can be provided by private detectives require additional explanations.
Thus, civil cases are understood as cases that are considered by the court in the framework of civil proceedings. According to Article 3 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, an interested person has the right, in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation on civil proceedings, to apply to the court for the protection of violated or disputed rights, freedoms or legitimate interests. Thus, the basis for initiating a civil case is always the action of the interested person, which consists in applying to the court for the protection of rights and legitimate interests.
The reference to the contractual basis of the relationship of a private investigator with the participants in the process means that a private investigator or a private detective agency must conclude a contract with them for the provision of paid services, the subject of which is the collection of certain information that is necessary for participation in the process and that the participant in the civil In this case, the information collected by a private detective, subject to compliance with the procedural rules of admissibility and relevance, can later serve as evidence in a specific civil case. Thus, in accordance with Chapter 6 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and Chapter 7 of the APC of the Russian Federation, written and material evidence, audio and video recordings are allowed as evidence, in particular. However, this is possible if the information contained in this evidence was collected by a detective in compliance with the law, including compliance with the restrictions on the activities of a private detective established in Article 7 of the Law. So, for example, according to Article 77 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a person who presents audio and (or) video recordings on electronic or other media is obliged to indicate when, by whom and under what conditions they were carried out. Subject to the constitutional rights of inviolability of the home, the rights to privacy, personal and family secrets, the secrecy of correspondence and telephone conversations, etc., the information collected by a private detective can act as appropriate evidence in a civil case. However, there is a certain internal contradiction here, since the activity of a private detective in some cases involves violating the right to privacy of other persons in order to obtain the information necessary for his client.
Paragraph 2, part 2, Article 3 of the Law also refers to the collection of information by a private detective, in particular on market research, on the collection of information for business negotiations, on the identification of non-creditworthy or unreliable business partners. In this case, we are also talking about collecting information, but we are talking about the target information specified in it.
The market is understood here as a certain economic category, and it follows from the meaning of this subparagraph that a private investigator should conduct a kind of scientific research, but it should be limited to very specific tasks. As correctly noted, market research involves collecting information about the market participants of a particular product, about which a transaction will be concluded or has already been concluded, about the features of the sale of this product in a particular territory and about the possible adverse consequences for the company associated with this. Thus, the information of a private investigator about market research, in contrast to marketing information, assumes a more specific nature, associated with the study of the individual characteristics of participants and the conditions of their activity in the market of a particular product in order to prevent misinformation of the organization about the real circumstances, taking into account which a transaction with potential partners will be concluded and executed <1>. Identifying non-creditworthy or unreliable business partners of a private investigator's clients involves examining their financial situation, as well as their credit history and the history of their relationships with other business entities.
Collecting information for business negotiations involves studying not only the activities of the company-a potential counterparty, but also the identity of its managers.
One of the areas of detective activity specified in Article 3 of the Law is to establish the circumstances of the illegal use of trademarks and names in business activities, unfair competition, as well as the disclosure of information constituting a commercial secret.

You should immediately point out the terminology error. The term "brand names" is a legally incorrect term. Obviously, we are talking about trademarks( service marks), commercial designations and names of places of origin of goods.
Trademark and service mark-designations that serve to individualize the goods, works performed or services rendered by legal entities or individuals.
According to paragraph 1 of art. 1516 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation the designation of the place of origin of the goods to which legal protection is granted is a designation that represents or contains a modern or historical, official or unofficial, full or abbreviated name of a country, urban or rural settlement, locality or other geographical object, as well as a designation derived from such a name and became known as a result of its use in relation to the goods, the special properties of which are exclusively or mainly determined by the natural conditions and / or human factors characteristic of a given geographical object (for example, "Vologda oil").
As for commercial designations, in Article 1538 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the legislator does not give a legal definition of a commercial designation, but emphasizes that it is a means of individualizing commercial, industrial and other enterprises as property complexes (usually it is indicated on signs). At the same time, commercial designations are not corporate names and are not subject to mandatory inclusion in the constituent documents and the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.
The exclusive right to a commercial designation arises from the very fact of its creation, and state registration of commercial designations is not required. Thus, a commercial designation is an unregistered, individualizing means of individualizing enterprises as objects of civil rights in the form of a verbal, pictorial, or combined designation.
Brand names are a means of individualization of commercial legal entities. They must be registered as part of their constituent documents when registering the organizations themselves. Currently, the Federal Tax Service is the executive body responsible for state registration of legal entities. From the moment of such registration, the legal entity has the exclusive right to use the firm name (the right to a firm). Accordingly, this right is valid as long as the legal entity itself exists.
The legislator does not give a legal definition of a brand name, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation contains only a list of conditions that it must meet. In particular, the brand name should be a verbal designation, should have an individualizing function, and should not be misleading. As follows from paragraph 2 of Article 1473 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the corporate name of a legal entity must contain an indication of its organizational and legal form and the actual name of the legal entity, which cannot consist only of words denoting the type of activity.
All of the above objects are called "means of individualization" and are widely used in commercial practice. There are frequent cases of illegal use of means of individualization that have become widely known for the purpose of obtaining benefits.
It is important to note that, as a general rule, the functions of a private detective do not include a legal analysis of the legality or, conversely, the illegality of the use of these means of individualization (unless otherwise provided by the contract). In this case, he will be responsible for the actual side of the case. In other words, it must collect the facts of their use and transmit these facts to the customer of the service.
As for the disclosure of information that constitutes a trade secret, the following should be noted. Commercial secret - a mode of confidentiality of information that allows its owner, under existing or possible circumstances, to increase income, avoid unjustified expenses, maintain a position in the market of goods, works, services, or obtain other commercial benefits. At the same time, information constituting a commercial secret is information of any nature (industrial, technical, economic, organizational, and other), including the results of intellectual activity in the scientific and technical field, as well as information about the methods of performing professional activities that have actual or potential commercial value due to their unknown to third parties, to which third parties do not have free access on a legal basis and in respect of which the owner of such information has introduced a commercial secret regime.
Disclosure of information that constitutes a trade secret without the consent of its owner is an unauthorized transfer by the owners of such information of information in any way to an outsider, regardless of the purpose of such transfer.
According to Article 10 of Federal Law No. 98-FZ of July 29, 2004 (as amended). of March 12, 2014) "On commercial secrets" measures to protect the confidentiality of information taken by its owner should include:
1) determination of the list of information constituting a trade secret;
2) restricting access to information constituting a trade secret by establishing a procedure for handling this information and monitoring compliance with this procedure;
3) accounting of persons who have obtained access to information constituting a trade secret, and (or) persons to whom such information has been provided or transmitted;
4) regulation of relations on the use of information constituting a trade secret by employees on the basis of employment contracts and contractors on the basis of civil law contracts;
5) affixing on material media containing information constituting a commercial secret, or including in the details of documents containing such information, the label "Commercial secret" indicating the owner of such information (for legal entities - the full name and location, for individual entrepreneurs-the surname, first name, patronymic of a citizen who is an individual entrepreneur, and place of residence).
In accordance with Part 2 of Article 10 of Law No. 98-FZ, the commercial secret regime is considered established after the owner of the information constituting a commercial secret takes all the measures specified in Part 1 of this article. Thus, failure to take any of these measures means that this information is not covered by the trade secret regime.
The owner of information constituting a trade secret is a person who legally owns information constituting a trade secret and who has restricted access to this information by establishing a trade secret regime with respect to it.
In addition to this person, access to trade secrets may be granted to other persons under the conditions specified by the owner of the information. These include, in particular,:
- an employee who has obtained access to information that constitutes a trade secret by virtue of their employment obligations on the basis of an employment contract and local regulations;
- a counterparty who has obtained access to information that constitutes a trade secret by virtue of the contract. The functions of a private investigator include establishing the very fact of disclosure of information. This fact can be established directly by the detective himself, or he can resort to the assistance of other persons (for example, to initiate an internal audit). It can do this by using technical means that identify users and their actions in the system that provides access to information that constitutes a trade secret - by printing out electronic correspondence that indicates its disclosure.
Disclosure of trade secrets is possible in various ways, including by copying the data and transferring it to third parties. For example, if a third party illegally copied information that constitutes a trade secret from a computer or through a computer network and passed it on to someone.
The fact of disclosure of commercial secrets by these persons can be confirmed:
- witness statements;
- other evidence that the procedural legislation refers to as permissible.
The concept of unfair competition is contained in the Federal Law of July 26, 2006 N 135-FZ "On Protection of Competition": according to paragraph 9 of art. 4 of this Law, unfair competition is any actions of economic entities (a group of persons) that are aimed at obtaining advantages in carrying out business activities, contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation, business practices, as well as the requirements of integrity, reasonableness and fairness, and have caused or may cause losses to other economic entities - competitors, or have already caused or may cause damage to the business reputation of these entities in the future. Unfair competition, as follows from art. 14 of the said Law, may constitute the following:
1) dissemination of false, inaccurate or distorted information that may cause losses to an economic entity or damage its business reputation;
2) misleading about the nature, method and place of production, consumer properties, quality and quantity of the product or about its producers;
3) an incorrect comparison of goods produced or sold by an economic entity with goods produced or sold by other economic entities; 4) the sale, exchange or other introduction of goods into circulation, if the results of intellectual activity and the means of individualization of a legal entity, means of individualization of products, works, and services were illegally used;
5) illegal receipt, use, disclosure of information constituting a commercial, official or other secret protected by law;

6) illegal acquisition and use of the exclusive right to the means of individualization of a legal entity, means of individualization of products, works or services.
This list, which contains the content of unfair competition, is not exhaustive and may be supplemented by other actions.
The functions of a private investigator include the establishment of these circumstances.
Finding out biographical and other personal data about individual citizens (with their written consent) when they conclude employment and other contracts is, as a general rule, the functional responsibilities of human resources departments and security services of legal entities. The need to attract the services of a detective arises in cases where there are doubts about certain information that is presented by the applicant for a certain position and which is difficult to verify by conventional methods (for example, there are doubts about the reliability of a positive characteristic provided from a previous job).
Recently, it has become common to study the identity of the applicant for a job on the social networks in which he is registered. Such activities may also be the subject of a contract for the provision of detective services.
It should be noted that the wording of such a service specified in paragraph 7, part 2, Article 3 of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities, as the collection of information on criminal cases on a contractual basis with the participants in the process, is not entirely successful, since it allows us to understand it in such a way that a private detective, along with an investigator, collects information on a criminal case.
In fact, a private detective collects information not on a criminal case and not along with the investigator, but for a specific participant in the criminal process, who submits it to the investigation bodies and the court for use in accordance with the procedure provided for by the criminal procedure legislation. In addition, it is necessary to change the specified norm and provide for the possibility of concluding a contract for the provision of detective services for the collection of information on a criminal case not only with participants in criminal proceedings, but also with the applicant for the commission of a crime, who does not have such a status before the initiation of a criminal case (from the moment of the application for the commission of a crime to the moment of initiation of a criminal case, a certain period of time passes). The information collected by the private investigator and transmitted by the applicant about the commission of a crime may serve as a basis for initiating a criminal case.
Therefore, it would be more correct to formulate this service as the collection of information under a contract with a participant in criminal proceedings and with the applicant about the commission of a crime until the criminal case is initiated. At the same time, not all participants in the criminal process can enter into such a contract. It all depends on whether or not they have authority and whether or not they represent law enforcement agencies.
All participants in the criminal process can be divided into two groups.
The first of them is made up of participants in the process who have authority and represent law enforcement agencies. These are the court, the prosecutor, the investigator, the head of the investigative body, the body of inquiry, the head of the investigation unit, the investigator.
A private investigator is not entitled to conclude a contract with any of the specified participants in the criminal process to collect information on a criminal case, since all of them must perform this work within the framework of their official duties.
Participants in criminal proceedings who do not have authority include the suspect, the accused, the defense lawyer of the suspect and the accused, the legal representatives of the minor suspect and the accused, the civil plaintiff, the civil defendant, the representatives of the victim, the civil plaintiff and the private prosecutor. This group includes citizens who defend their rights and legitimate interests in criminal proceedings, or those protected or represented by them.
In the services of a private detective to collect information on a criminal case, only the above-mentioned participants in the criminal process need. This is due to their procedural status, which is determined by the presence of their rights and legitimate interests. In the list of such rights, there is one general right - to present evidence. With this right, these participants in criminal proceedings correspond to the provision specified in paragraph 7, part 2, Article 3 of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities.
To collect information on a criminal case, the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities (Article 5) allows for an oral interview of citizens and officials (with their consent), making inquiries, studying objects and documents (with the written consent of their owners), external inspection of buildings, premises and other objects, surveillance to obtain the necessary information. This list is exhaustive. Private detectives are prohibited from carrying out operational investigative actions. Unlike many foreign colleagues, they do not have the right to conduct investigative actions.
The information collected by a private investigator should be understood as any actual circumstances of the commission of a crime. This can be information about the accomplices of the crime, their location; about eyewitnesses of the crime; persons affected by the crime, and the amount of damage caused to them; about the location of objects and tools of the crime; various kinds of information based on the results of an oral survey of citizens; documents received from citizens, organizations and institutions.
However, we are talking not only about information as a certain information, but also about objects or documents that can be discovered by a private detective personally during the inspection of the crime scene or transferred to him by citizens, officials, etc. This also includes materials obtained as a result of the use of video and audio recordings, photography, other technical means, etc. Therefore, appropriate changes should be made to art. 5 of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities, expanding it by indicating that the actions of a detective may include the collection of all materials related to the crime committed.
The actions of a private detective provided for in paragraph 8, part 2, Article 3 of the Law on Private detective and Security Activities (search for the debtor and his property, search for a child on an executive document containing a request for his removal, etc.) are the subject of a contract with him quite often. This is especially true for the search for persons who are obliged by a court decision to pay alimony. Although the internal affairs bodies are looking for such persons, they do not always consider it their first priority, and as a result, their search is delayed for many years.
It should be noted that the Federal Law of December 3, 2011 N 389-FZ " On amendments to certain legislative acts..."The Law of October 2, 2007 N 229-FZ "On enforcement proceedings" was supplemented with provisions that a bailiff conducting a search, at the request of the recoverer, has the right to use information obtained as a result of private detective (detective) activities.
In some cases, the territorial divisions of the Federal Bailiff Service themselves initiate the conclusion of such agreements between the recoverers and private detectives, as this facilitates their work. The search for missing citizens is one of the most common functions performed by private detectives. They are referred to in cases where either they do not apply to law enforcement agencies with a missing person report at all, or they believe that the latter do not perform their duties properly.
When carrying out detective work to clarify personal data, the question inevitably arises about a possible violation of the privacy of the person in respect of whom the private detective collects this or that information. In the Civil Code, Article 1 establishes the principle of the inadmissibility of arbitrary interference in private affairs. The Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 23) establishes the right of everyone to inviolability of private life, personal and family secrets, protection of their honor and good name. This principle applies primarily to State and municipal authorities, which may interfere in private affairs only in cases expressly provided for by law (for example, in cases provided for by law, wiretapping is allowed).
The provisions of this article are specified in Chapter 8 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which is devoted to intangible benefits and their protection. We are talking about the fact that the Federal Law of July 2, 2013 N 142-FZ "On amendments to subsection 3 of Section I of Part One of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation" in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation introduced Article 152.2, dedicated to the protection of private life. The article is called "Protection of the private life of a citizen". As indicated in p. 1 of this article, " unless otherwise expressly provided by law, the collection, storage, dissemination and use of any information about a citizen's private life, in particular information about his origin, place of residence or residence, personal and family life, shall not be permitted without the consent of a citizen.
It is not a violation of the right to privacy to collect, store, distribute and use information about the private life of a citizen in the state, public or other public interests, as well as in cases where information about the private life of a citizen has previously become publicly available or was disclosed by the citizen himself or at his will.
There is a general restriction in the activities of a private detective, which is that in the course of carrying out their activities, a private detective must comply with the legislation of the Russian Federation in terms of protecting information affecting the personal life and property of citizens (Part 3 of Article 5 of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities in the Russian Federation). We are talking about the protection of personal data, personal, family, banking, official secrets, etc.

The subject of collection and dissemination may be information about the private life of a person that is not objectively defamatory, but constitutes a personal or family secret. It should be noted that such a restriction casts doubt on the very possibility of carrying out detective work, since many of the actions provided for in Article 5 of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities in the Russian Federation just involve the collection of such information.
At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the concepts of illegal collection and dissemination of information are well known to criminal law, are interpreted quite widely and imply criminal liability (Articles 137, 138, 138.1, 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The collection of information can be carried out in any way: secretly, openly, with the use of deception or violence, etc. It can be expressed in the theft, acquisition, copying of documents or other material carriers of confidential information, in eavesdropping, peeping, in conducting photo, video or film shooting, in interviewing knowledgeable persons, etc. The illegality of these actions is determined by:
- lack of consent on the part of the victim;
- their commission by a person who is not authorized to collect confidential information in this situation;
- the use of means and methods prohibited by law when collecting information, for example, by violating the secrecy of correspondence, telephone conversations, postal, telegraph or other messages (Article 138 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) or by violating the inviolability of the home (Article 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The analysis of the practice of detective work shows that the list of detective services provided by the current Law on Private detective and Security Activities in the Russian Federation is clearly insufficient to protect the rights and legitimate interests of customers of these services. The need for its expansion is primarily due to the needs of practice.
The specified list can be supplemented with such a service as collecting information on the establishment of the circumstances of the occurrence of an insured event on the basis of a contract with the customer of the detective service. It should be noted that in other countries, insurance companies often resort to the help of private detectives when there are dubious, from their point of view, insurance cases.
It would also be possible to include in this list a service for the participation of a detective in so-called corporate investigations, which is quite often necessary for detectives in practice, when the heads of legal entities hire private detectives to identify offenses occurring within this legal entity, search on behalf of the customer of the detective service for lost property in the possession of other persons.
The parties to the contract for the provision of detective services are a private detective and his client (customer). According to Article 1 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Private Detective and Security Activities in the Russian Federation", a private detective is a citizen of the Russian Federation registered as an individual entrepreneur who has received a license to carry out private detective (detective) activities. Article 6 of this Law stipulates that a license for private detective work is not issued to persons under the age of 21. Therefore, a citizen can become a private detective no earlier than the age of 21.
The exclusive right to engage in detective work is based on the legislative prohibition "to individuals who do not have the legal status of a private detective to provide services classified as detective" (Article 3 of the Law of the Russian Federation). Thus, the right of all other persons to engage in these types of economic activities, which are considered as entrepreneurial, that is, aimed at the systematic extraction of profit, is limited. To obtain this status, private detectives must be registered as individual entrepreneurs with the Federal Tax Service.
Private detectives may have assistants, but their legal status is not regulated by law in any way. It seems that their rights and obligations should be specifically stipulated in the law.
Detective work should be the main activity of a private detective, combining it with the state service or municipal service or with the replacement of an elected paid position in a public association is not allowed (Article 7 of the Law on Private detective and Security Activities in the Russian Federation).
A citizen who has received a license to carry out private detective work is simultaneously issued a private detective certificate, which is not an identity card and as a document can only serve as a confirmation of the specialty of its owner.
The Law on Private Detective and Security Activities does not contain any restrictions on foreign citizens or stateless persons in order to engage in detective work, but it is necessary to conclude an appropriate international agreement. In accordance with art. 1 of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities foreign citizens, citizens of the Russian Federation who have the citizenship of a foreign state, foreign legal entities, as well as organizations whose founders (participants) include these citizens and persons, may carry out private detective and security activities and (or) take part in their implementation in any form, including in the management of a private security organization, only on the grounds and within the framework provided for by international treaties of the Russian Federation.
The Law on Private Detective and Security Activities does not explicitly prohibit legal entities and individuals who are subjects of private detective activity from engaging in other types of economic activities. At the same time, according to Article 7 of the Law, detective work must be the main activity of a private detective, combining it with the state service or municipal service or with the replacement of an elected paid position in a public association is not allowed.
As already noted, to engage in detective work, you must obtain a license. At the same time, the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in paragraph 89 of the Resolution of June 23, 2015 N 25 clarified that the transaction by a person who does not have the necessary license does not entail its invalidity, unless otherwise expressly provided by law. Therefore, if the contractor does not have a license to provide services under the contract, the customer cannot demand that such a contract be declared invalid. He has the right to unilaterally withdraw from the contract and demand that the contractor compensate for the losses caused (art. 15, item 3 of Article 450.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
The Federal Law of May 4, 2011 N 99-FZ "On Licensing of certain types of activities" is of great importance for the licensing of detective activities, in paragraph 4 of Article 1 of which it is stated that the specifics of licensing of private detective activities can be established by federal laws regulating the implementation of this type of activity.
The federal executive body authorized in the field of private security activity or its territorial body has the right to establish the accuracy of the information contained in the submitted documents and necessary for making a decision on issuing a license, including by interviewing a citizen applying for it, as well as to request the relevant law enforcement, licensing, controlling and supervisory authorities. Administrative Regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation on the provision of public services for the issuance and extension of a license to carry out private detective (detective) activities, registration, re-registration, issuance of a document (its duplicate) confirming the existence of a license, the issue of a private detective's certificate (its duplicate) (Appendix No. 2 to the Administrative Regulations) determines the terms and sequence of actions (administrative procedures) of officials of the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at the regional level for the provision of public services.
Private detectives are subject to the procedure established by the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities and by-laws for licensing private detective activities for the suspension of licenses and cancellation of licenses, registration and re-registration of documents confirming the existence of a license. The provisions of the legislation of the Russian Federation on licensing of certain types of activities shall apply to relations related to licensing and not regulated by this Law.
In case of refusal to issue a license, the federal executive body authorized in the field of private security activities or its territorial body is obliged to inform the citizen who sent the application in writing, indicating the reasons for the refusal. This decision or violation of the deadline for consideration of the application may be appealed to a higher management body (official) of the federal executive body authorized in the field of private security activities, or to a court. The granting of licenses for private detective work is carried out by the internal affairs bodies.
The federal executive body authorized in the field of private security activities or its territorial body exercises the following powers in the field of licensing of private detective activities: 1) granting a license and issuing a certificate of a private detective;
2) reissue of documents confirming the availability of a license;
3) suspension and renewal of the license in the cases established by this Law; 4) maintaining registers of licenses and providing information from them;
5) implementation of state control over the compliance of licensees with the license requirements;

6) appeal to the court with an application for suspension of the license or revocation of the license;
7) termination of the license upon receipt of a written application from the license holder.
A citizen who has received a license to carry out private detective work is simultaneously issued a certificate of a private detective.
The licensing authority is the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. The issuance of licenses for private detective activity in a certain territory of the Russian Federation is carried out by the relevant internal affairs body within its competence. Thus, the basis for licensing detective activities is based on the territorial principle: the internal affairs body of a particular region (subject of the Russian Federation) gives permission to conduct the above activities on the territory of a particular region.
The license is granted for a period of five years and is valid throughout the Russian Federation. The decision to grant or refuse to grant a license is made within a period of no more than forty-five days. The Government of the Russian Federation approves the regulation on licensing of private detective activities, which establishes the procedure for licensing this type of activity and a list of licensing requirements. A specific licensing procedure is established by the Administrative Regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation on the provision of public services for the issuance of a license for private detective (detective) activities.
A citizen applying for a license to carry out private detective activities must personally submit to the federal executive body authorized in the field of private security activities or its territorial body an application indicating his last name, first name and (if available) patronymic, the state registration number of the record on the state registration of an individual entrepreneur and the data of the document confirming the fact of making an entry about an individual entrepreneur in the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs, the proposed territory of private detective activity, and the following documents:
1) application form;
2) photos;
3) a medical report on the absence of medical contraindications to the implementation of private detective work;
4) documents confirming his citizenship, the presence of a secondary professional legal education or higher legal education, or the passage of professional training to work as a private detective, or work experience in operational or investigative units for at least three years;
5) information about the need for technical means and the intention to use them.
In accordance with the latest version of Article 6 of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities, the federal executive body authorized in the field of private security activities or its territorial body has the right to establish the accuracy of the information contained in the submitted documents and necessary for making a decision on issuing a license, including by interviewing a citizen applying for it, as well as to request the relevant law enforcement, licensing, controlling and supervisory authorities.
There are a number of restrictive requirements for those wishing to engage in detective work. So, a private investigator's license is not provided:
1) citizens under the age of twenty-one;
2) citizens who are registered with the health authorities for mental illness, alcoholism or drug addiction;
3) citizens who have a criminal record for committing an intentional crime;
4) citizens who are charged with committing a crime (until the issue of their guilt is resolved in accordance with the procedure established by law);
5) citizens dismissed from public service, from judicial, prosecutorial and other law enforcement agencies on compromising grounds;
6) former employees of law enforcement agencies who exercised control over private detective and private security activities, if a year has not passed since the date of their dismissal;
7) citizens who have not submitted the documents required to obtain a license;
8) citizens in respect of whom, based on the results of an inspection conducted by the internal affairs bodies and (or) bodies of the federal security service in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, there is a conclusion on the impossibility of admission to the implementation of private detective activities in connection with the increased risk of violation of the rights and freedoms of citizens, the emergence of a threat to public security, prepared in accordance with the procedure established by the Government of the Russian Federation, and approved by authorized officials of the federal executive authority, authorized in the field of private security activities, or its territorial body;
9) citizens who have not passed the mandatory state fingerprint registration.
There are certain requirements for the state of health of private detectives. The list of diseases that hinder the implementation of private detective work is determined by the Government of the Russian Federation. The procedure for conducting a medical examination for the presence of medical contraindications to the implementation of private detective activities, including chemical and toxicological studies of the presence of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their metabolites in the human body, and the form of a medical report on the absence of medical contraindications to the implementation of private detective activities are established by the federal executive body responsible for the development of state policy and regulatory regulation in the field of healthcare.
Private detectives are required to annually submit to the federal executive body authorized in the field of private security activities, or its territorial body that has issued a license to carry out private detective activities, a medical report on the absence of medical contraindications to the implementation of private detective activities.
The draft of the relevant Government decree, which contains a list of diseases that hinder the implementation of private detective work, has already been developed, but has not yet been adopted. It is mainly about mental illness, alcoholism and drug addiction.
One of the shortcomings of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities is the lack of instructions in it on the duty of a private detective to insure the risk of liability for violation of the contract for the provision of detective services, the risk of liability for causing harm to the life, health or property of other persons in the course of detective activities. Thus, the professional responsibility of private detectives is not established, although the very specifics of detective work implies the possibility of causing harm to other persons.
Speaking about the rights of a detective, we can note a general tendency to restrict their rights. In the Law on Private detective and Security Activities, there is not even a separate article in which the rights of a private detective in the provision of detective services would be clearly spelled out.
The absence of a clear regulation of the rights of a private detective in the legislation in the field of detective activity is a significant gap that does not allow distinguishing between private detective and operational-investigative activities. This leads in practice to the violation of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, creates difficulties in the provision of detective services, the creation of a civilized market for these services. This gap in the legislation in this area also creates difficulties for state bodies to exercise effective control (supervision) over this type of activity, since in the current situation in practice it is often quite difficult to distinguish between the legal actions of a detective from illegal ones. The need to amend this Law by supplementing it with a separate article on the rights of a private detective is due to the objective needs that have developed in the practice of a private detective.
Available in the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities Article 5 ("Actions of private detectives") it contains only a list of actions that are allowed in the course of private detective work, and does not say anything about the specific rights of a private detective. In addition, even these actions are in some cases set out in a legally inaccurate manner, which allows for a double interpretation of the provisions contained in it.
In accordance with this article, in the course of private investigative activities, oral questioning of citizens and officials (with their consent), making inquiries, studying objects and documents (with the written consent of their owners), external inspection of buildings, premises and other objects, observation to obtain the necessary information for the provision of services listed in Part 1 of Article 3 of the Law are allowed.
In the course of private investigation activities, it is allowed to use video and audio recordings, film and photography, technical and other means that do not harm the life and health of citizens and the environment, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. So, in practice, private detectives often use video recorders. Article 5 of the Law on Security Activity excludes the previously existing provision that gives the right to a private detective to use in his activities the means of operational radio and telephone communication.
In this regard, the question arises about the possibility of using so-called special technical means for private detectives to secretly obtain information. Pursuant to the order of Part 8 of Article 6 of the Federal Law " On Operational and Investigative Activities"

The Government of the Russian Federation, by Resolution No. 770 of July 1, 1996, approved a List of types of special technical means intended (developed, adapted, programmed) for covert receipt of information in the course of operational search activities, which, based on the definition of common species characteristics, includes special technical means for covert receipt and registration of acoustic information, visual observation and documentation, and listening to telephone conversations., interception and registration of information from technical communication channels, control of mail messages and mailings, research of objects and documents, penetration and inspection of premises, vehicles and other objects, control over the movement of vehicles and other objects, receipt (modification, destruction) of information from technical means of its storage, processing and transmission, as well as for secret identification of an individual. Properties and indications that the purpose of such special equipment, specified in the List of species of special technical means intended for secret obtaining of information, import and export of which are licensed (approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated March 10, 2000, No. 214).
The definition of such tools are given in the order dated March 31, 2011 N 3-P of the constitutional Court, according to which:
1) special technical means intended for covert receipt of information include technical means that are camouflaged for objects (devices) of other functional purpose, including household ones; detection of which, due to their small size, camouflage or technical parameters, is possible only with the help of special devices; which have technical characteristics, parameters or properties directly indicated in the relevant regulatory legal acts; which are functionally intended for use by special subjects; 2) technical means (objects, devices), which by their technical characteristics, parameters, properties or direct functional purpose are designed only for domestic use by the mass consumer, cannot be attributed to special technical means for covert information acquisition, unless they are intentionally given the necessary qualities and properties, including through special technical refinement, programming for their non-obvious, covert use.
The problem is that at present, digital voice recorders, cameras, video cameras with high technical characteristics, small dimensions, integrated into other devices (computers, cell phones, watches, radio-controlled models of aircraft, etc.) are widely used.A person who does not have special knowledge, in modern conditions, it is difficult to decide whether, for example, a pen with a built-in voice recorder or a watch with a built-in video camera belongs to special technical means.
At the same time, there is a liability for the misuse of such funds, including in private detective work.
Thus, according to Article 20.24 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, which is called "Illegal use of special technical means intended for secret receipt of information in private detective or security activities", the use in private detective or security activities of special technical means intended for secret receipt of information and not provided for by the established lists, -
entails the imposition of an administrative fine on private detectives (security guards) in the amount of one thousand to two thousand five hundred rubles with the confiscation of illegally used special technical means; on the heads of private security organizations (associations, associations) - from one thousand to five thousand rubles.
Speaking about the rights of detectives, we should also talk about the possibility of using so-called special means and service weapons by private detectives. It should be noted at once that, unlike security guards, private detectives are not provided with the right to have official firearms.
As for special means, the previous legislation allowed its use by private detectives. A detailed list of the types of special tools used in private detective work and the rules for their use were set out in Annex 4 to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 14, 1992 N 587 (as amended). of July 26, 2000), which contained the rules for their application. So, as special means, rubber sticks, handcuffs, tear gas (special means "Cheryomukha-10", gas pistol), a protective helmet and a protective vest could be used. However, in accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 26, 2012 N 10, these rules have become invalid.
The professional activity of a private detective is subject to a number of restrictions provided for in Article 7 of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities. These restrictions include a ban:
- to conceal from law enforcement agencies the facts about the planned, committed or committed crimes;
- the private investigator's representation of himself as a law enforcement officer;
- collection of information related to the personal life, political and religious beliefs of individuals;
- making video and audio recordings, photos and films in office or other premises without the written consent of the relevant officials or individuals;
- committing acts that infringe on the rights and freedoms of citizens;
- committing actions that endanger the life, health, honor, dignity and property of citizens;
- falsifying materials or misleading the client;
- disclosure of information about the customer collected in the course of fulfilling contractual obligations, including information related to the protection of the life and health of citizens and (or) the protection of the customer's property, their use for any purpose contrary to the interests of the customer or in the interests of third parties, except on the grounds provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation;
- transfer of your license for use by others;
- use of documents and other information obtained as a result of the implementation of operational search activities by bodies authorized in this field of activity;
- obtaining and using the information contained in special and information-analytical databases of bodies engaged in operational-search activities, in violation of the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
It should be noted that the last two restrictions were not in the original version of this article, so we can talk about a certain tendency to increase the number of restrictions in the activities of private detectives.
Some of the above limitations require further clarification.
Cases where private detectives pose as law enforcement officers are not uncommon. The very demonstration of a private investigator's certificate in some cases creates the illusion that people are being approached by law enforcement officers.
The collection of information about the private life of a person can be carried out by private detectives in various ways: (by conducting surveys, photographing, covert surveillance of another person, for example, the customer's spouse to collect evidence of marital infidelity, etc.). To collect information about private life, special technical means can be used to conduct covert surveillance or listening.
It should be noted that a few years ago, a pseudo-documentary series was shown on television, dedicated to the surveillance of private detectives for unfaithful spouses (in fact, the roles were played by professional actors). The creators of this series did not even think that formally we are talking about illegal interference in private life, which, fortunately, was not.
The commission of actions that infringe on the rights and freedoms of citizens, as well as the commission of actions that endanger the life, health, honor, dignity and property of citizens, should be considered as an excess of the powers of a private detective. It is defined as the commission by a private detective of actions that go beyond the limits of the powers established by the legislation of the Russian Federation regulating the implementation of private detective activities. An example of such actions is the illegal deprivation of liberty or the use of violence to obtain the necessary information for a private detective.
One of the most difficult is the issue of interaction between private detectives and active law enforcement officers regarding the receipt of information of interest to private detectives contained in special and information-analytical databases of bodies engaged in operational search activities, which the latter have. In the latter case, we are talking about Article 11 "Use of the results of operational search activities" of the Federal Law of August 12, 1995 N 144-FZ (as amended. dated 06.07.2016) "On operational search activities", which lists the list of persons entitled to receive these results. Neither private detective agencies nor private detectives are entitled to receive this information.

The above ban on obtaining information significantly complicates the work of private detectives. In practice, this problem is solved as follows. It is known that former law enforcement officers most often act as private detectives. They usually keep in touch with their former colleagues and therefore receive the information they need on an informal basis. There may be situations when a private detective asks his friend-an employee of the Department of Internal Affairs to help conduct operational surveillance with the use of technical means for the victim or witness, as well as to make inquiries about him through forensic records. However, formally, we are talking about a violation of the law.
This issue could be resolved in a certain way by securing the right of private detectives to have access to the information bases of the IC of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (with certain restrictions, without access to specific cases and agents) on a paid basis, as is practiced in many foreign countries. Detective work is carried out within the framework of a contract for the provision of paid services. However, it should be noted that the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities speaks about the contractual nature of relations between private security organizations and their clients rather sparingly. Thus, according to art. 1 of this Law, private detective activity is defined as the provision of services to individuals and legal entities on a paid contractual basis. The contractual nature of the relationship between a private detective and his client is also mentioned in Article 9 of this Law, which is called "Special requirements for the contract for the provision of detective services".
According to this article, a private detective is obliged to conclude with each of its customers a contract for the provision of detective services in writing, which must reflect information about the contracting parties, including the number and date of issue of the license, the type and content of the services provided, the period of their provision, the cost of services or the procedure for determining it. All of the above conditions are essential, that is, those conditions without which the contract is considered not concluded.
The specifics of the contract for the provision of detective services, which consists in the fact that this contract mediates public relations in such a sensitive area as detective work, are not taken into account in this definition. Meanwhile, the very definition of a contract for the provision of paid detective services is not included in it. There is no such definition in the Civil Code, which creates certain difficulties in law enforcement practice.
The contract for the paid provision of detective services to citizens in its content is of a consumer nature and has the characteristics of a public contract. The refusal of a private investigator to conclude a public contract, if it is possible to provide the consumer with the relevant services, is not allowed. This means that the contractor cannot cancel the contract on the basis of clause 2 of Article 782 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation if it is possible to provide the relevant services. The contractual nature of such activities means that the security activity falls under the regulation of the Federal Law of February 7, 1992. N 2300-1 "On consumer rights protection". However, it should be borne in mind that we are talking only about cases where the consumer of the service is an individual and the purpose of receiving the service is not related to business activities. This agreement can be considered as an accession agreement, when the acceding party accepts the pre-formulated conditions and cannot change them. At the same time, according to part 2 of art. 428 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a party that has joined the agreement has the right to demand termination or modification of the agreement, if the agreement of accession, although not contrary to the law and other legal acts, but deprives this party of the rights usually granted under contracts of this type, excludes or limits the liability of the other party for breach of obligations, or contains other clearly burdensome conditions for the joined party, which it, based on its reasonably understood interests, would not accept if it had the opportunity to participate in determining the terms of the agreement. If conditions that infringe on the rights of the consumer are included in the contract, the consumer has the right to file a claim for invalidation of the contract or part of it, or for modification or termination of such a contract.
The Law establishes special rules concerning the form of this contract (a mandatory written form is provided). However, nothing is said about the consequences of its non-compliance. Thus, the general rule will apply, according to which the parties are deprived of the right to refer to witness testimony, proving the very fact of the conclusion of the contract.
The procedure for concluding this agreement has certain features. Even before the conclusion of the contract for the paid provision of detective services, the contractor must provide information about himself and about the services provided by him. The contract for the provision of detective services is accompanied by copies of documents certified by the customer, which confirm his right to conclude such contracts.
The subject of this agreement is the provision of special services. According to paragraph 1 of Article 779 of the Civil Code, a service is understood as the performance of certain actions or certain activities (that is why we are talking about the provision of services). Thus, in relation to services, it is more correct to speak not about the material result, but about the effect of the service rendered, which in this case consists in obtaining certain information by a private detective.
For violation of the rights of customers under the contract of paid provision of detective services, liability is provided, which can be administrative, criminal or civil. Civil liability refers to the adverse property consequences for a person who has committed a civil offense, expressed in the loss of a part of the property by such a person. Thus, civil liability is always of a proprietary nature. It can take the form of compensation for losses (damage, including moral damage), payment of a penalty, or loss of a deposit. A special form of liability is the collection of interest for the use of other people's money (Article 395 of the Civil Code). All these forms of liability may arise in legal relations related to the performance of the contract for the paid provision of detective services.
The offender's performance of the obligation to commit these actions is ensured by measures of state coercion. It occurs regardless of whether the offender is brought to criminal or administrative responsibility.
As for administrative and criminal liability, it arises in cases directly provided for in the legislation.
Thus, according to paragraph 2 of Article 20.16 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, illegal implementation of private detective (detective) activities entails the imposition of an administrative fine on citizens in the amount of two thousand to two thousand five hundred rubles; on officials - from four thousand to five thousand rubles; on legal entities - from thirty thousand to forty thousand rubles.
Carrying out activities for professional training and additional professional education of personnel for the implementation of private detective or security activities without a special permit (license) or in violation of the requirements established by law entails the imposition of an administrative fine on the head of the institution in the amount of four thousand to five thousand rubles (paragraph 3 of Article 20.16 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).
The provision of private detective or security services, either not provided for by law, or in violation of the requirements established by law, entails the imposition of an administrative fine on private detectives (security guards) in the amount of one thousand five hundred to two thousand rubles; on the heads of private security organizations - from three thousand to five thousand rubles.
As for criminal liability, you need to refer to Article 203 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which is called " Abuse of authority by a private detective or an employee of a private security organization who has a certificate of a private security guard, in the performance of their official duties." According to p. 1 of the specified article commission by a private detective or an employee of a private security organization who has a certificate of a private security guard, actions that go beyond the powers established by the legislation of the Russian Federation regulating the implementation of private security and detective activities, and entailed a significant violation of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens and (or) organizations or the legally protected interests of society or the state, is punishable by a fine in the amount of one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of the convicted person's salary or other income for a period of one to two years, or by restriction of liberty for a period of up to two years, or by forced labor for a period of up to two years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of up to three years, or by deprivation of liberty for a period of up to two years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of up to two years.
The same act committed with the use of violence or with the threat of its use, or with the use of weapons or special means and entailing serious consequences, is punishable by imprisonment for up to seven years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years.

Author: S. P. Grishaev, Head of the Department of Civil Law Disciplines of IGUMO, PhD. yurid. of sciences, associate professor.