Personal interest infringement claims – new rules from 15 September 2023.

The amending act - scope of changes

On 15 September 2023, the Act Amending the Civil Code and Certain Other Acts (Journal of Laws 2023, item 1615) entered into force, changing, inter alia, Articles 24 § 1 and 448 of the Civil Code.

It might seem that the primary amendment affects just a single word - from an and or to an or.

While in everyday language such a change does not seem to have much significance, in the legal language, however, it can have a huge impact. Has there been a revolutionary change in this case? We answer below.

Previous law vs case law and doctrine

According to the language of the provision's previous version (in force until 14 September 2023), the victim of a wrongful act that resulted in the infringement of personal interests could, in principle, demand both the award of damages and an appropriate sum of money for a designated public purpose.

However, despite the letter of the provision, the jurisprudence and doctrine in recent years have not been unanimous in recognising the possibility of accumulating claims for compensation and awarding an appropriate sum for a public cause. However, it seems that the position allowing such cumulation was dominant (cf. e.g. Resolution of the Supreme Court of 7 judges of 9 September 2008, ref. no.: III CZP 31/08; Resolution of the Supreme Court of 19 June 2007, ref. no.: III CZP 54/07; Judgment of the Court of Appeal in Warsaw of 11 June 2019, ref. no.: V ACa 475/18).

Implications of the amendment

Currently (as of 15 September 2023), pursuant to Article 24 § 1 of the Civil Code and Article 448 § 1 of the Civil Code, the rule is that, in the event of infringement of personal interests, the aggrieved party may claim either compensation or an appropriate sum for the social purpose indicated. The use of exclusive alternation results in the injured party being allowed to pick one of these two claims.

But the above applies only as a general rule, as Article 448 § 2 of the Civil Code provides for an exception and allows cumulation of the above claims in the case of infringement of personal interests due to bodily injury or inducing a disorder of health, as well as in the case of unlawful imprisonment and in the case of inducement by deceit, violence or abuse of a relationship to perform an act of sexual indecency (Article 445 § 1 and § 2 of the Civil Code) and serious and permanent bodily injury or disorder of health of a direct victim (Article 4462 of the Civil Code).

In such cases, the Civil Code explicitly allows for the possibility of claiming, in addition to compensation, the award of an appropriate sum of money to a designated public purpose. The amendment, through Article 448 § 2 of the Civil Code, also normatively confirms the status of family ties as one of the many personal interests recognised by the Civil Code.

Summary

This amendment, in addition to the amendment to the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code concerning the enforcement of a judgment obliging to submit and publish a statement of apology for infringement of personal interests, allows us to confidently state that the year 2023 is a year of significant changes in the field of protection of personal interests.

However, the discussed amendment of the Civil Code is not the only event in the field, as at the beginning of this year, the noteworthy question "Can a legal person demand from a person who violated its personal interests to pay compensation for the non-material damage suffered on the basis of Article 448 of the Civil Code in connection with Article 43 of the Civil Code?" was submitted to the Supreme Court. (ref.: III CZP 22/23). Issues related to the protection of personal interests will therefore remain a topic for further consideration.

attorney-at-law Eliza Kosa