Modern legislation provides for several types of liability in civil law, which can be applied to different participants in legal relations arising in society. Next, we consider the main types of responsibility that are found in the field of the considered branch of law, as well as their forms and principles.
General concept
Speaking of civil liability, it is worth noting its general concept, presented in the contents of the Civil Codec of the Russian Federation. The indicated source says that all those consequences that arise as a result of an offense in the considered sphere of legal relations are considered civil liability. As practice shows, all these consequences are negative.
Responsibility of the type in question is always compensatory in nature, as it arises as a result of non-compliance with conditions in property legal relations.
Principles
Considering in detail the topic of liability arising in the field of civil law, it is worth identifying the basic principles characteristic of this concept. In the total number of those, it is certainly worth highlighting the inevitability of responsibility, which is manifested in the obligation to identify the person guilty of causing damage, as well as imposing certain obligations on him in an amount that fully complies with the norms established by law for a particular case.
Among the principles of civil liability should include individualization, which implies the proportionality of the obligation in question to the extent of violation of the obligation committed by the party. This principle also provides for the presence of a violation of some additional factors, some of which, above all, are the form of guilt and its motives. It should be noted that, in contrast to the criminal legislation, the civil presumption of guilt is actively operating, implying the guilt of a person who has evaded the fulfillment of his obligation. In this case, wine can be presented both in the form of intent and by negligence.
The modern concept of civil liability is also based on the principle of full compensation for harm, which provides for the obligation of the person guilty of causing damage to compensate it in full.
Functions
All types of liability provided for by civil law, carry out certain functions, in some of which the most important are:
- preventive;
- compensatory recovery;
- free kick.
As for the latter function, it provides for a certain punishment for the guilty person, presented in the form of deprivation, expressed, as a rule, in cash.
The preventive (preventive and educational) function is aimed at suppressing further offenses, while the compensatory-restoration function provides for the mandatory recovery of property losses on the one hand in relation to the other.
Types of Responsibility
Speaking about the types of liability in civil law, it is worth noting that they are all divided into several categories, depending on the attribute by which the classification is made. So, modern civil law provides for its following varieties:
- negotiable;
- non-contractual;
- subsidiary;
- shared;
- joint and several;
- full;
- limited.
Let us consider in more detail each of these types of responsibility.
Negotiated
As for contractual liability, its main feature is that it can be applied only in case of violation by a person of a certain civil obligation imposed on him by the contents of a previously concluded contract. As for the violation itself, for which it can be blamed, it can be presented both in non-performance and in improper performance of the obligations stipulated by the concluded agreement.
A striking example of the imposition of contractual liability is the nomination of one of the parties to the relationship of the requirement to pay a penalty in favor of the other party. It should be noted that this type of responsibility, in addition to paying the indicated amount, also provides for full coverage of losses incurred as a result of a violation.
Non-negotiable
As for the non-contractual liability in civil law, it can be applied not on the basis of detecting a violation of the provisions prescribed by the contract, but on the basis of certain established legal facts. A striking example of non-contractual liability is the case of compensation for material damage caused as a result of an unfair transaction (or one that was subsequently declared invalid), which was not based on the commission of a civil offense.
Non-contractual liability has distinctive features - it is exclusively imperative. Moreover, by mutual agreement, the parties have the opportunity to increase the size of this type of responsibility or, conversely, reduce it.
Joint
Responsibility of a joint type in civil law may arise only in certain cases, the list of which is prescribed by modern legislation. With regard to its relevance, it is most often applied in cases where it is impossible to fairly divide the subject of the obligation into several debtors.
Practicing lawyers often note that joint liability (Article 322 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) is an ideal option for a lender, since when it is imposed, he can satisfy all his claims at the expense of one debtor, who, as a rule, selects the most solvent person. However, it should be noted that in such a situation, all parties involved will be considered debtors until the full amount of liability is paid off.
Among the features of joint liability (Article 322 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) it is worth highlighting that it tends to generate the right of recourse claim from the person who has assumed the function of compensation for damage. In accordance with the established rules, in this situation the amount of liability is evenly distributed between the remaining debtors.
Subsidiary
The subsidiary liability in civil law has an additional character in relation to the offender. In other words, its imposition can be carried out in turn, but at the same time claims are made only to one principal debtor, and in case of failure to fulfill his obligation to the subsidiary defendant.
A striking example of the type of liability under consideration in civil law is that which is borne by members of the company with additional responsibility. It should be noted that it applies to all its obligations. Also, an example is the obligation of parents to make damages (article 15 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) caused by their minor child. In this case, the implementation of this obligation should be made in full.
Current practice of bringing to subsidiary liability shows that if the subsidiary debtor fulfills the requirements of the creditor, then no claims are made against the main debtor.
Share
Speaking of shared responsibility, which is widely used for causing damage, it is worth noting that it provides for the obligation to bear a debt obligation on them for each person assigned to the group of debtors, but only to the extent that is considered proportionate to his fault. It should be noted that the amount of the obligation, the debtors can determine among themselves independently.
The peculiarity of this type of liability is that in order to attract a certain number of persons to it, it is necessary to establish their involvement in causing damage. Otherwise, on the basis of Article 15 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, only the guilty person should pay damages (for example, actions cannot be considered co-directed, defined as negligence of the responsible person, as a result of which the property was stolen).
Full
Modern civil law provides for the possibility of imposing full responsibility on a person. In legal practice, this type has another name - sole responsibility. It can be assigned only in the amount equivalent to the damage that was caused, but in this case the exception may be the situation when the contract or other separately concluded agreement provides for its other size, which can be either larger or smaller.
If it is necessary to impose full responsibility on a particular person, the obligation to prove his guilt, as well as the amount of damage, rests with the injured person.
Compensation of non-pecuniary damage is considered a vivid example of full liability, and in a contractual relationship, the case of payment of a penalty may be such.
Limited
If limited liability is imposed, rigid limits are determined for the amount of damage that is subject to compensation. As practice shows, with this type of liability, the amount of compensated damage is always significantly lower than the one within which the damage is estimated. As for the restriction, it can be made on the basis of a person’s belonging to a certain type of activity, as well as the behavior of the creditor or debtor. Moreover, when determining the amount of the amount to be reimbursed in the framework of limited liability, the material situation of the debtor must certainly be taken into account.
The establishment of the type of liability under consideration can be made on the basis of a separate agreement, a court decision. In addition, the regulation of the considered element, which is present in the civil law system, is carried out by the provision presented in the current legislation.
Measures (forms) of responsibility
As for measures of civil liability, these include all sanctions that are prescribed by law in the event of liability. As practice shows, they are mostly compensatory, and their main goal is to compensate for property losses.
Currently, the most common civil liability measures are:
- indemnification;
- payment of a penalty;
- collection of interest on borrowed money;
- reimbursement of lost profits.