According to the legislation on commercial secrets, disciplinary, civil, administrative, and criminal liability may be applied for its violation.
Judicial practice in Russia does not contain many examples of prosecution for violations in this area. However, with proper execution of documents, it is not so difficult to achieve punishment for the culprit.
Criminal liability
It is established by Article 183 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The crime provided for by this composition is classified as minor. The article contains the following types of punishment:
Imprisonment for up to two years.
Criminal fine of up to 500,000 rubles.
Correctional labor for up to two years.
It also provides for the deprivation band database of the right to hold positions in commercial organizations related to handling confidential information.
Criminal liability for disclosure of commercial secrets is applied very rarely; in these cases, it is almost always associated with the occurrence of serious consequences, which may be expressed in the death of people, causing significant material damage, disruption of the work of socially significant institutions, etc.
Administrative responsibility
Article 13.14 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for appropriate liability for disclosure of information constituting a commercial secret. If the employer can prove the employee's guilt in court, the latter will be fined 1,000 rubles. If the employee holds a managerial position in the company, the fine increases to 5,000 rubles.
Responsibility for disclosure of commercial secrets
Civil liability
Liability for disclosure of commercial secrets is not regulated by a special section of the Civil Code. However, general provisions on compensation for damages may be applied to the relevant legal relations. These include both the actual losses of the company and the financial benefit received by the employee from such disclosure. The security service usually collects materials that prove the fact of damage, its cause (publication of a commercial secret), as well as the guilt of the employee.
To be subject to civil liability, two conditions must be met simultaneously.
The commercial secrecy regime in relation to the relevant information has been introduced and formalized correctly.
The employment contract and other agreements that provide for the employee's liability for disclosure of commercial secrets have been duly created. It is also subject to proof that the damages were caused by the publication of secret information and not by other reasons.
Disciplinary responsibility