The profession of architect is primarily concerned with the design and creation of buildings. It requires knowledge in such areas as urban planning, engineering, landscape or art history. The important role in the investment and construction process has resulted in the characteristics of the architect’s legal liability divided as follows:
CONTRACTUAL CIVIL LIABILITY – the legal basis of the ex contractu liability is Article 471 of the Civil Code, in which the debtor (architect) undertakes to repair the damage resulting from non-performance or undue performance of the obligation, unless the non-performance or undue performance is a consequence of circumstances for which he/she is not responsible. The source of the obligation is the contract concluded by both parties.
In practice, the contracting party (investor) orders the architect (designer) to execute the design documentation, e.g. with author’s supervision for a specific investment, for the agreed remuneration and at the agreed time.
In the event of a possible dispute, the investor is obliged to prove:
(i) the existence of damage,
(ii) an adequate cause and effect relationship.
*In the case of contractual liability, the creditor (investor) benefits from the presumption of fault.
TORT CIVIL LIABILITY – the legal basis for ex delicto liability is Article 415 of the Civil Code, according to which whoever (the architect) caused damage to another through their own fault is obliged to repair it. The source of liability is the tort.
In practice, if an architect has made a defective design, resulting in a building disaster and death of third parties, the grounds for tort liability arise.
Architects, like civil engineers, are subject to mandatory liability insurance. So-called third-party liability insurance. It is worth remembering that the scope of architects’ liability described above is not the same as the scope of the insurance policy issued by the insurance company.
*I invite you to read the text I wrote on professional and disciplinary liability of architects,
**Additionally, the tort liability is governed by Article 429 of the Civil Code, which states that a person who entrusts someone else with the performance of an activity is also liable for the damage caused by him/her.
***The scope of contractual liability may be modified by the content of the contract, while in the case of tort it is not possible.
5 September 2023
