Unlawful Act
Tags: 6:162, aansprakelijkheid, aansprakelijkheidsrecht, Liability, liability law, onrechtmatige daad, unlawful act.
The wrongful act is an act or omission by which someone unlawfully or improperly harms another. Article 6: 162 of the Dutch Civil Code stipulates that a person who wrongfully damages another person must compensate for this damage.
Thus, a tort follows from the act. The perpetrator of the tort is liable and must compensate for the damage.
Acting Unlawfully
There are three grounds on which a certain injurious act can be considered unlawful:
- an infringement of a right
- do or omit in violation of any legal obligation, or
- an act or omission contrary to what is appropriate in society according to unwritten law.
Further Requirements
In addition to an unlawful act, a number of requirements must also be met before there is actually liability from tort based on article 6: 162 BW.
- the wrongful act must be attributable to the perpetrator,
- there must have been actual damage,
- there must be a causal link between the wrongful act and the damage, and
- the violated standard must protect the interests that have been violated in the specific case (relativity).
If all these requirements are met, there is actually liability from tort.
Distinction with Contractual Liability
A distinction should be made between the above form of tort liability and contractual liability. Tort liability does not necessarily involve a contract between the parties, but the legal basis of the liability is a breach of statutory regulation, social norm or infringement of a right.
Someone is liable for contractual liability because a contract is not fulfilled. This creates an obligation to pay compensation for breach of contract.
Tort on the Internet
In the case of tort on the internet, you can think of copyright infringement by posting photos on a website, scraping databases or defamation and defamation on social media. In all these cases, compensation (in part) may be claimed for tort.
Has your company or organization been involved in a wrongful act and do you need legal assistance? Call or email Wouter Dammers from LAWFOX to get an initial estimate of the situation.
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