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rutland ježek, a Czech law firm in Prague on special liability for damage according to Czech Civil Code

 

In previous article we discussed a general liability for damages under the Czech civil law. Now we look closer on more specialized types of liability for damages such as damage resulting from operational activities, protection of an entrusted thing, damage caused by the means of transport or protection of things brought in and left in the premises. For special liability the typical attribute is that the fault of the defendant is not a necessary condition of liability for damages. This kind of legal construction most often transfers the risk of damages to the entrepreneurs for the benefit of their customers or other persons who can be threatened by the operation of entrepreneurs' businesses. 

 

Damage Resulting from Operational Activities (Section 420a of the Czech Civil Code) 

 

 

Under this provision, only an artificial person or an individual operating certain activities may be a liable entity. As this is a no-fault liability, it is not important who caused the damage (whether the operator in person or an authorised person or another entrepreneur to whom the operator assigned certain work on his business premises). However, this does not exclude liability of the person causing the specific damage.

 

Beside the fault, neither an unlawful act is a prerequisite for liability under this provision. It is rather a certain event causing damage due to operational activities that resulted in the damage as a consequence. Contrary to liability under section 421a (see below), it is not important whether there was any contractual or another legal relationship between the operator and the injured.

 

A. Operational Activities 

 

Operational activities mean a set of operations in connection with a pursued business activity organised by an artificial person or an individual. Operational activities need not be defined in the entrepreneur's registered fields of business activities, but it must Involve actually performed activities. It may also be an unauthorised activity. 

 

B. Grounds for Exemption from Liability 

 

Entrepreneur's exemption from liability (so called liberation) is limited only to two reasons:

 

                a) event not originating from operations (e.g. unexpected natural calamity) which had been inevitable (could not had been prevented even with all efforts and averted); and

                b) acts by the damaged person.

 

Ad (a): An Inevitable event not originating from operations means a natural disaster (calamity) that could not be prevented even with all efforts and averted.

 

The existence of the grounds for liberation shall be proved by the operator.

 

 

Protection of an Entrusted Thing (Section 421 of the Czech Civil Code) 

 

 

This is a special case of no fault liability for damage. Unlike liability for damages resulting from operational activities, this type of liability presumes existence of an obligation (contractual relationship) under which certain performance is provided to the entity handing over (physically) a thing.

 

Section 421 reads as follows: "Anyone accepting from another a thing to form a subject of his obligation shall be liable for its damage, loss or destruction unless the damage is caused otherwise."

 

The Civil Code does not give an express definition of a thing, nonetheless, the legal theory understands it as tangible objects that can be controlled and that serve human needs. 

 

A. Entity of the Liability Relationship 

 

Entities are the respective parties to the contractual relationship. It is irrelevant whether or not the injured from whom a thing was accepted is its owner.

 

The entrepreneur (contractor, operator) shall be liable; not his employees or persons pursuing business activities for him. Damage must occur in the meantime between acceptance of a thing by the obliged person and its return delivery to the obligee (or until the moment the obligee was obliged to accept it). 

 

B. Exemption from Liability 

 

The only ground for liberation is the evidence that damage would have otherwise been caused, i.e. also if a thing would not have been accepted. The grounds for liberation are to be proved by the person accepting the thing to perform an obligation.

 

 

Damage Caused by Operation of Means of Transport (Section 427 of the Czech Civil Code)

 

 

Under this provision can be held liable

 

a) artificial persons or individuals operating transport services (typically bus lines, railways or taxi, but also elevators and escalators); and
b) other operators (owners) of motor-powered vehicles (cars, motorcycles), motor-powered boats and all airplanes.

Such person is liable for damage induced by the special nature of the operation (e.g. by high speed of the motion, car accident, necessity to climb the stairs into the wagon etc.)

 

An unlawful act and fault are not prerequisites for liability under this provision. The three necessary components are only the damage, event caused by the nature of the transport operation and the causal connection between them. 

 

A. Grounds for Exemption from Liability 

 

 

Exemption from liability is limited only for situations where the damage could not have been avoided even "by all effort that may be required"; simultaneously the situation could not have originated from the transport operation. The possibility of liberation is therefore very limited (e.g. in case of rapid wind blast sweeping away the car out of road).

 

The existence of the grounds for liberation has to be proved by the defendant.

 

 

Damage Caused by an Extremely Dangerous Operation (Section 432 of the Czech Civil Code) 

 

 

For the liability for damage caused by an extremely dangerous operation the same rules as for the previous type of liability (from operation of means of transport) apply.

 

As extremely dangerous operation the courts understand handling of things, natural powers or processes which are not fully under the control of the operator. It can be typically power plants, facilities of heavy industry or chemical industry.  

 

 

Protection of Things Brought in and Left in the Premises (Section 433 of the Czech Civil Code)

 

 

Apart from things accepted (Section 421) three more categories of things are expressly protected by the Czech law.

 

First group are the things which the customer brings with him/her into the accommodation facility or are there brought for him/her by another person or are handled to the employee of the facility operator for such purpose. This is most typically the luggage the guest takes into the hotel room or handles it to the bellboy.

 

The same protection is provided also to things which have been left in a place destined to it or in a place where things are usually left in the facilities which operate for its costumers the service during which the putting off such things is usual. Here the typical situation is the coat put off in the restaurant.

 

Third group of protected things are vehicles and their accessories placed in the garage and other similar facilities. However, this provision concerns only the guarded garages.

 

For the liability basically only two conditions are to be met: the situation of placing the protected thing on the place foreseen by the Civil Code and the damage to the thing (most commonly the loss of the thing) occurring while the thing is on such place. The liable person is the operator of the respective facility. 

 

A. Exemption from Liability 

 

The only possible liberation in all cases is the fact that the damage would have arisen even otherwise. This can mean the usual deterioration of the thing itself for natural reason (rotten food) or cases of natural disasters which affect not only the facility but the usual place of the thing as well.

 

The Civil Code expressly states that this kind of liability for damages cannot be waived neither by unilateral declaration nor by an agreement of the parties of the contractual relationship. The practical implication of this provision is that the common signs on restaurant coat-stands which read usually "We are not liable for your clothes placed here" has no legal effect. 

 

B. Limitation of the Claim 

 

In case of jewelry, cash and other valuables the damage is limited to the amount of CZK 5,000. Nevertheless, this limitation does not apply in case of damage caused by the personnel of the facility and also if the thing had been handed into custody (hotel safe).

 

C. Exercise of the Claim 

 

The strict condition for exercising of claims under this provisions is the necessity to claim damages at the operator of the facility within 15 days after the damaged party becomes aware of the damage. Otherwise the claim ceases to exist.