When you talk about liability law, tort is a commonly used term. But what exactly is an unlawful act? And how does this affect any compensation? In the country, the basic principle is that everyone must pay for their own damage. The tort is an exception to this. If this is the case, the damage is usually compensated by the other party.
What constitutes an unlawful act from a legal point of view is stated in Article of the Civil Code. This provision states that a person who commits an unlawful act against another is obliged to compensate the damage that the other suffers as a result. For a tort action to be successful, five requirements must be met: unlawfulness, attributability, damage, causality and relativity.
Illegitimacy
An infringement of a right is an example of a wrongful act. Think of an infringement of someone’s copyright or trademark right or an infringement of someone’s property right. But also: a violation of physical integrity or privacy. The other legal terms are: act or omission contrary to a legal obligation and act or omission contrary to what is appropriate in society according to unwritten law.
Not every infringement immediately results in an unlawful act; some nuisance will have to be tolerated. Whether the nuisance is unlawful will always depend on the severity and duration of the nuisance and the circumstances under which the nuisance occurs.
Imputability
The tort must be the fault of the perpetrator or lie within his or her risk sphere. Otherwise, the deed cannot be attributed to him. Now you can get wrongful death lawyer in California too.
Damage
There is no legal definition of damage. It is certain, however, that there must be some form of damage if someone is to be held liable for an unlawful act. That damage can consist of “financial damage”, such as loss or lost profit, and of “other loss”. In the latter case, you can think of immaterial damage.
Causality
There must be a link between the cause and the effect, between the wrongful act and the damage suffered by the other. This can lead to serious discussions and put the injured party in a difficult position, because in principle he must demonstrate that such a causal relationship exists.
Relativity
The fifth requirement is also such a typical legal concept. Relativity means that the standard violated by the offender must be written to protect the violated interest.
All in all, tort is a fairly nuanced concept. Do you feel that someone has acted unlawfully towards you? Please contact us to discuss with us whether this is also an unlawful act from a legal point of view and what we can do in consultation with you to get compensation for your damage if possible.
If you are being held liable for an unlawful act, it is advisable to consult with one of our lawyers to see whether, for example, there is a justification that you can rely on. Think of force majeure, severe weather, the implementation of a statutory regulation or listening to an authorized official order or negotiation.
