The lawyer warned about the responsibility for dumping water balloons from the balcony

Dumping water from a balcony, even in the form of an ordinary balloon, is an administrative or criminal offense, depending on the consequences. Veronika Polyakova, a criminal defense lawyer and managing partner of the Business Legal Group Bar Association, told Izvestia on July 6.

Every summer, videos appear on social networks where balloons and bags filled with water fly from the upper floors to passersby, cars or balconies of neighbors. Despite the apparent harmlessness, such an act qualifies as an offense.

According to the lawyer, administrative liability is imposed under Article 20.1 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation in the absence of serious consequences, and criminal liability is imposed under Article 213 of the Criminal Code ("Hooliganism") if a threat to life or health is created, even if only the car was damaged.

"If the culprit is a child (under the age of 14), the parents are responsible unless they prove that the harm was not their fault (art. 1073 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Even if the parents are divorced, both are responsible," Polyakova said.

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For teenagers aged 14-18, the perpetrator himself must compensate for the damage if he has income or property, otherwise the parents. In case of serious damage, parents may be held administratively liable under Article 5.35 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation for failure to fulfill parenting duties.

The expert advises collecting evidence for victims.: record witness information, use video surveillance recordings and photographs of damaged property. Then you need to contact the police, and if possible, file a lawsuit with the district court demanding compensation for material, physical or moral damage.

Ilya Rusyaev, a lawyer and founder of the Rusyaev Club business community, told Izvestia on May 5 that the government had approved a set of preventive measures among young people until 2030, which includes monitoring open activity on social networks to identify prohibited information. According to Rusyaev, the zone of acceptable monitoring includes open posts, comments, reposts, public communities and account IDs. Personal correspondence and private profiles are not included in this outline.