The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan allowed spouses to file moral damage claims against each other

The Supreme Court has for the first time provided clarifications on cases related to the violation of personal rights arising from family law relations and the compensation of moral damages caused by such violations.

As reported by BAKU.WS with reference to Report, the Plenum Resolution of December 24, 2025, "On the Protection of Personal Rights," clarified the essence of the personal rights of spouses as a special type of rights arising from family law relations, as well as the circumstances prohibiting interference with these rights.

The personal rights of spouses include: the right to enter into marriage, the right to divorce, equality of spouses, the right to mutual assistance and respect within the family, the right to freely choose a surname, occupation, profession, and other non-property rights established by family legislation.

Domestic violence, psychological and physical abuse, as well as detention under duress, leaving in a helpless state by showing indifference to the illness, surgical operation, treatment of a spouse, or the wife's pregnancy, disclosure of family secrets or a spouse's personal secrets, humiliation of honor and dignity, establishing the absence of biological paternity, abuse of the right to contest paternity, showing disrespectful attitudes (systematic or gross communication to oneself or third parties of disapproval in economic, physical, social, or emotional terms), entering into a fictitious marriage (invalid marriage), eviction from housing without legal grounds, and other actions contrary to family legislation — all of these violate the personal rights of spouses and constitute grounds for moral damages.

The dissemination by one spouse of information constituting personal or family secrets without any legal basis, including without the consent of the other spouse, is prohibited. For example, personal correspondence, information about the past, personal relations between spouses (emotional, intimate, etc.), intra-family behavior, information about the origin of children, about adoption, as well as other information of a confidential and sensitive nature for the family.

Establishing the fact that a person contesting paternity is not the biological father of a child whom they accepted as their own, cared for, and participated in their upbringing, education, and development, in addition to violating parental rights, may, depending on the circumstances of the case, lead to the humiliation of the father's honor and dignity.

Abuse of the right to contest paternity, filing such a claim in a biased manner, as well as filing a knowingly unfounded lawsuit in bad faith, depending on the circumstances of the case, may lead to the humiliation of the wife's honor and dignity, as well as the violation of other personal rights.

Showing a disrespectful attitude may be expressed in one spouse communicating to the other or to third parties their disapproval in a manner that degrades dignity. For example, mocking the spouse's appearance, statements about their uselessness, worthlessness, and other offensive expressions leading to the degradation of dignity.

When compensating moral damages resulting from an invalid marriage, the following are taken into account: the defendant's fault in entering into a fictitious marriage, the existence of circumstances eliminating the invalidity of the marriage, as well as the plaintiff's own awareness of the conditions of invalidity at the time of entering into marriage.

The desire of one spouse to separate or divorce, as well as the use of other legally provided options, is not considered a violation. For example, filing a lawsuit for the division of joint property during the marriage or proposing to enter into a prenuptial agreement and using other similar legal options is lawful.

Furthermore, a number of actions taken after the actual termination of marital relations are also not considered a violation of the personal rights of spouses and cannot constitute grounds for moral damages. For example, failure to provide financial assistance and care to the wife (husband), indifference to the state of health, and failure to fulfill other obligations arising from the marital relationship.

When determining the amount of moral damages, in addition to general criteria, the following are specifically taken into account: the duration of the marriage, the age of the spouses, the possibility of remarriage, the state of health, and other special circumstances.

It should be particularly noted that moral damage to a person can only be caused by the violation of their personal, that is, non-property rights. The violation of a person's property rights does not directly lead to the occurrence of moral damage; however, in some cases it may lead to it.

A spouse's right to receive alimony and additional expenses also pertains to property rights, and the violation of these rights will result in moral damage only if it leads to the violation of personal rights. For example, failure to fulfill the obligation to pay alimony by a spouse results in material damage; however, if due to the non-payment of alimony, a disabled party in need of financial assistance is unable to receive treatment and their health deteriorates, then grounds for moral damages may arise.