Protection of personal rights in the Czech New Civil Code For the purpose of International...

JUdr. Eva Ondřejová, LL.M. 1

Protection of personal rights in the Czech New Civil Code

For the purpose of International Conference on New Civil Codes in Hungary and the Czech

Republic on 20th June 2014Prague, Faculty of Law

21.6.2014


Personal rights in New Civil Code (NCC)

• General protection 81 - 83• Image and privacy 84 – 90• Name 77 - 80• Right to mental and physical integrity 91- 103• The rights of an individual admitted to a health

care facility without his consent 104 - 110• Disposing of human body parts 111 - 112• Protection of human body after the death 113 -

117

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Remedies

• Part IV. – Relative rights; Devision III Obligations arising out from the delict:– Non – material harm in S. 2951– Harm done to natural personal rights in S. 2957 –

2971• Pecuniary damages• Moral damages• Secundary victims• Aggravated damages

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General protection in Old Civil Code (Act. n. 40/1964 Coll.)

• § 11 – general provision of protection• An individual shall have the right to protection of his or

her personhood• in particular: life and health

civic honour human dignity

privacy name expressions of personal nature

• § 13 remedy21.6.2014


General protection in NCC

• Personal rights including all his natural rights are protected. Every person is obliged to respect the free choice of an individual to live on his own.

• Enjoy particular protection: Life and dignityhis or her healththe right to live in a favourable environment RespectHonourPrivacy Expressions of personal nature

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Right to name S. 77-79 NCC

• right to use own name, protect own name• protection of pseudonym • protection of a person who cannot defend due

to incapability, lack of legal capability or missing, close relatives are able to bring a claim instead

• family name - surname• remedies

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Image rights S. 84-85; 87-90

• the concept is based on an autonomy of will and freedom to decide

Capturing the image Distribution

• Consent• conclusively presumed to also consent to its reproduction and

distribution in the usual way, as he could reasonably expect under the circumstances.

• revocable at any time• the image right is protected even outside the intimate sphere• similar protection for expressions of personal nature

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Privacy S. 86, 90• ban of the infringement of the privacy without legal reason• demonstrative listing of possible infringement:

disturb private places of a person without his or her consentintrude the private life – intrusion into private premiseswatch or record a private lifeuse of such a private recording or other recording of the

intimate life by third person or distribute such a personal recording to public• all written expression of the person is protected in the same scope• the legal reason to interference into the private life has to be

proportionate and not in contrary to legitimate interest of the person

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Exemptions from the required consent S. 88 – 89

• consent• official purpose • purposes of science or art • purposes of press, motion picture, radio,

television or other similar news services • for a legal protection• protect other rights or legally protected

interests of others

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Post-mortem protection

• Extension to close relatives• moral and pecuniary damages• in case of an infringement related to the

person connected with some company, the company might be able to bring a claim with the consent of the natural person

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Unjust enrichment S. 3004

• Bad faith• Infringement of personal rights• Financial advantage• Without consent• Copyright concept:– Double price of the remuneration– judges´discretion to award higher remuneration

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Remedy

• S. 2951 odst. 2• Non-material harm – primary moral satisfaction– Pecuniary satisfaction if moral is not satisfactory

• S. 2956– Non – material harm is considered a mental

suffering

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Remedy

• S. 2957• Conditions to consider for assessing adequate

damages:– To recover circumstances of special regard:– Aggravated damages?

• Intention to harm• causing harm using deceit, threats, abuse victim• multiplying the effects by making it public• discrimination with regard to the victim's sex, health, ethnic origin,

faith or other similarly compelling reasons.• Victim´s of fear of loss of life or serious injury, if any, threat or fear

caused by another cause

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Remedy

• S. 2971• Special circumstances: unlawful act, gross

negligence, breach of important legal obligaton, damage caused itentionally from a desire to destroy, harm

obligation to pay pecuaniary damages to any person who suffers due to the infringement of the right close person

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Procedural Law

• Court of first instance – lower Court• Court of Appeal – regional Courts• Unspecialized judges• Preliminary injunctions• Not publicly available lower court judgements

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Image rights

• Public interest - not stated in Act ?

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European Court of Human Rights

• Von Hannover 1, appl. n. 59320/00– 24.9.2004

• Von Hannover 2, appl. n. 40660/08, 60641/08– 7.2.2012

• Von Hannover 3, appl. n. 8772/10 – 19.9.2013

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Criteria

• Contribution to general interest • Subject of the news and the fame of the person• Role, function and nature of the act of the

person• Previous behaviour of the person• Content, scope and form of the publication• Impact of the publication• Circumstances of taking the pictures

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Cartoon

3

30 Cdo 517/2011 dating 26.4.2012 21.6.2014


Impact on Czech law

• A.Š.

• 30 Cdo 3770/2011 dating 12.12.2012

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Impact on Czech law

• Public interest?• Proportionality test?

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Conclusion

• Case law• Wider scope of the civil delicts• Conditions for damages• No defence exept legal licenses

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Thank you

JUDr. Eva Ondřejová, [email protected]

+420 777 086 287Czechdefamationlaw.wordpress.com

21.6.2014

mailto:[email protected]

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