Yuri Shevchuk thanks Maxima Legal for understanding and assistance

In the past month, Vladimir Kilinkarov and Natalia Zelentsova, Maxima Legal lawyers, celebrated their yet another professional success. On 13 November, the Dzerzhinsky court of St. Petersburg gave judgment in the notorious honour case of the Bryansk oblast Governor vs Yuri Shevchuk, the DDT lead singer.

Maxima Legal professional team sought to defeat the claim filed by a high-level official against Yury Shevchuk, and as a result of their efficient work, the court resolved that the claim was unfounded and released Yuri Shevchuck from the liability to pay a compensation of 250 thousand rubles under the claim.

We earlier informed you that this May, Maxima Legal (formerly Maxima Consulting and Law) has been engaged in protecting the interests of a famous musician and singer Yury Shevchuk, on a pro bono basis. The singer was sued on behalf of the Bryansk Oblast Governor, Nikolay Denin, in relation to the protection of honour and dignity of a statesman (See the News section)

Defence strategy was based on the assertion that in the publication that was the subject matter of the dispute, Yuriy Shevchuk only expressed his personal opinion of evaluative nature, which thus may not be used as a remedy in accordance with Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In addition, the position in defence was justified by the principle of freedom of thought and expression as enshrined in the Russian Constitution and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms adopted on 4 November 1950, which has been successfully employed in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. Under this principle, any statesman must exercise a high tolerance towards any criticism, including of sharply negative or even shocking nature.

The Court accepted the defence case, having concluded that Mr. Denin as a statesman would have to face criticism again and again, if he was truly committed to “building a democratic society”.
“I would like to thank everyone, those who sympathised with me and those who helped me. Thanks to my lawyers. Very good guys, conducted my case professionally. The most important thing is that justice has prevailed”, said Yury Shevchuk in his interview with the Fontanka.ru

This case was not the first in Maxima Legal's practice in intellectual property and information protection law. The Company actively supports people of art and cultural institutions, as well as active civic-minded people who are not indifferent to the future of our country.