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2021/2022

Civil Responsibility

Code: 102234 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500786 Law OT 4 0
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Ivan Mateo Borge
Email:
Ivan.Mateo@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
spanish (spa)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
No
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
Yes

Teachers

Ivan Mateo Borge

Prerequisites

Group: 1   Lecturer: Iván Mateo Borge  Language: Spanish

For a good understanding of Tort Law, in-depth knowledge of patrimonial Law and statute of limitacion periods (prescription) is needed.

Objectives and Contextualisation

Main goals of the subject matter are:


- In-depth consideration of fundamental principles of the law of torts

- How to brief a case on the subject matter

- Facing the problems that the student will encounter in the future praxis.

- Highlighting the importance of insurance in a global world

Competences

  • Apprehending the necessary mechanisms in order to know, assess, and apply the legislative reforms as well as to follow the changes produced in a concrete subject.
  • Contextualizing the several forms of creation of law in its historical evolution and its current situation.
  • Demonstrating a sensible and critical reasoning: analysis, synthesis, conclusions.
  • Identifying the underlying conflicts of interest in disputes and real cases.
  • Identifying, knowing and applying the basic and general principles of the legal system.
  • Managing bibliographic and documentary resources: databases, browsing, etc.
  • Planning and organising: managing of time, resources, etc.
  • Properly analysing the issues related to equality between men and women.
  • Searching, interpreting and applying legal standards, arguing every case.
  • Students must be capable of communicating their points of view in a compelling way.
  • Students must be capable of demonstrating a critical awareness of the analysis of the legal system and development of legal dialectics.
  • Students must be capable of learning autonomously and having an entrepreneurial spirit.
  • Students must be capable of producing initiative, creative and innovative knowledge, as well as new ideas.
  • Working in teams, being either a member or a coordinator of working groups, as well as making decisions affecting the whole group.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analysing the fundamental concepts of civil law.
  2. Analysing the specific institutions of the property law.
  3. Applying communicative strategies in order to identify and explain legal conflicts in the different fields of civil law, family law, successions, consumption, minors and civil responsibility.
  4. Applying concepts in a cross-cutting way to the several subjects of civil Law from the jurisprudence of the different jurisdictional bodies.
  5. Applying strategies in order to produce written and oral texts in the several fields of civil law.
  6. Applying the knowledge acquired in the preparation of documents that reflect specific legal interests.
  7. Contextualising the creation forms of Law in the property field.
  8. Critically interpreting the foundations of the civil law.
  9. Demonstrating a sensible and critical reasoning: analysis, synthesis, conclusions.
  10. Distinguishing the socio-legal context of several civil institutions.
  11. Drawing up written texts (contracts, wills).
  12. Identifying the conflicts of interest that are trying to be solved by the legislator when elaborating civil regulations.
  13. Managing bibliographic and documentary resources: databases, browsing, etc.
  14. Planning and organising: managing of time, resources, etc.
  15. Presenting orally, with a critical discourse, the reforms of civil institutions.
  16. Producing oral and written texts and presenting points of view about civil-legal institutions.
  17. Producing oral texts in the several fields of civil law, showing specific communicative abilities.
  18. Producing reports about new legal changes.
  19. Solving interferences between the several conflict interests of civil regulations.
  20. Students must be capable of communicating their points of view in a compelling way.
  21. Students must be capable of learning autonomously and having an entrepreneurial spirit.
  22. Students must be capable of producing initiative, creative and innovative knowledge, as well as new ideas.
  23. Working in teams, being either a member or a coordinator of working groups, as well as making decisions affecting the whole group.

Content

 

LESSON 1. ELEMENTS OF THE LAW OF TORTS

  1. Introduction. Historical evolution. Functions. Classes. 
  2. Contractual and non-contractual liability.
  3. Non-contractual liability for damages caused by the commission of a crime.
  4. Non-contractual liability requirements
    1. Conduct of the person. Action and omission. Unlawful. Grounds of justification.
    2. Legally relevant damage. Meaning of legally relevant damage. Personal injury and consequential loss, pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage.
    3. Causation. General rules. "Imputación objetiva". Uncertainty and causation.
    4. Accountability. Intention and Negligence. Standard of conduct. Capacity. Minors and persons with disabilities.
    5. Strict liability. General rule and cases.
    6. Defences.
  5. Reparation of the legally relevant damage.
    1. Principles and forms of reparation.
    2. Economic valuation of the damage. Scoring system.
    3. Forms of reparation of the damage. Burden of proof.
  6. Statute of limitation. Cases. Particularities. "dies a quo"

 

LESSON 2. NON-CONTRACTUAL LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE CAUSED BY ANOTHER

  1. Introduction. Presumption of negligence.
  2. Accountability for damage caused by children or supervised persons.
  3. Accountability for damage caused by employees and representatives.
  4. Accountability for damage caused by students of private educational centres.

LESSON 3. NON-CONTRACTUAL LIABILITY AND THE LAW OF FAMILY

  1. Introduction.
  2. Constellation of cases:
    1. Damages and the relation between spouses.
    2. Damages and parental responsibilities.
    3. Prenatal damages.


LESSON 4. LIABILITY FOR INFRINGEMENT OF ONE’S PERSON PRIVACY

  1. Publicity rights. Concept and core features.
  2. Reputation, personal and family intimacy and one’s person image.
    1. Introduction. Some definitions.
    2. Conflict of rights.
    3. Civil protection by Act 1/1982, of 5 May. Defamation and unlawful interference
      1. Notion.
      2. The role of the consent.
      3. Civil protection of the victim.
  3. Personal Data Protection. The Regulation (EU) 2016/679, relative to the protection of natural person regarding the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data
    1. Personal Data. Definition. The “commodification” of personal information.
    2. Collection and processing of personal data. Filing system. Concept of data processing. Profiling
    3. Principles governing data processing. Purposes.
    4. Files. Concept and classes.
    5. Controller and Processor. The informed consent of the personal data holder: opt-in/opt-out.
    6. Rights of the holder of the personal data.
    7. Claims and legal protection,


LESSON 5. NON-CONTRACTUAL LIABILITY COMMON PROVISIONS FACED TO CONSUMERS FOR DAMAGES CAUSED BY DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

  1. Scope of application: TRLGDCU and CCoCat.
  2. Duty of general safety concerning products and services. Disclosure
  3. The right to compensation. The definition of “consumer”.
  4. Legally relevant damages

 

LESSON 6. DAMAGES CAUSED BY DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS

  1. General considerations.
  2. Notion of product.
  3. The defect. Concept. Types.
  4. The person liable for damage.
  5. The burden of proof. Evidentiary Standards of Proof. The test “but for”.
  6. Defences and Exclusions. Introduction. Conduct of the injured person. Accountability of a third party.
  7. Legally relevant damages.
  8. Limitation periods.
  9. Special case: 3D-Printers for domestic use and product liability.


LESSON 7. DAMAGES CAUSED BY DEFECTIVE SERVICES

  1. Introduction.
  2. The non-contractual liability rules in the TRLGDCU.
    1. General liability (art. 147 TRLGDCU).
    2. Special liability (art. 148 TRLGDCU).
  3. Damages caused by medical malpractice
    1. Cases. Multiple Tortfeasors.
    2. Burden of proof of the physician’s negligence. Lex artis.
    3. Lawsuits for Wrongful Life and Wrongful Birth 
  4. Damages caused by defective construction.
    1. General overview.
    2. Applicability of the Construction Act 1999.
      1. Types of defects.
      2. Legally relevant damage.
      3. Liable persons.
      4. Causation. Solidary liability.
    3. Damages causded by defective cosntruction in CC and TRLGDCU.
  5. Damages caused by legal services.
    1. Attorneys, Barristers and Paralegals.
    2. Notaries and Property Register public officers.
    3. Mediators and arbitrators


LESSON 8. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR DAMAGE CAUSED BY MOTOR VEHICLES

  1. Applicable legal regimes to the liability for the use of motor vehicle
  2. Liable persons.
  3. Defences.
  4. Legally relevant damages. Economic valuation by means of scales.
  5. Compulsory insurance.
  6. The consortium of insurance compensation in the field of the damages caused by motor vehicles.
  7. Autonomous motor vehicles.


LESSON 9. PARTICULAR CASES OF STRICT LIABILITY. 

  1. Damages caused by animals.
  2. Damages caused by unsafe state of immovables. Damages caused by robots.
  3. Damages caused by aircrafts. Drones of civil use.
  4. Damages caused by nuclear energy and radioactive materials.
  5. Damages caused by hunters.
  6. Damages caused to the environment.


LESSON 10. DAMAGES CAUSED TO THE AUTHOR OF A COPYRIGHTED WORK

  1. Author. Presumption of authorship. Joint works.
  2. Protection: The original work. Requirements.
  3. Content of authorship.
  4. Duration of rights and public domain. Creative common licenses.
  5. Protection of the copyright.
    1. Cessation of the unlawful activity.
    2. Compensation for damages.
    3. Precautionary measures.

 
LESSON 11. LIABILITY FOR INTERMEDIARY SERVICE PROVIDERS OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

  1. General legal framework.
  2. Providers of intermediary services of the information society. Some definitions
  3. Liability exclusions.
    1. Providers of “mere conduit” services
    2. Providers of “caching” services
    3. Providers of “hosting” services
  4. Links and search engines

 

 


Methodology

The learning process is based on the work of the student, who learns by doing, being the lectuer's task to help by supplying information and showing where the juridical sources can be obtained.

The teaching of the matter and the student's training and learning process is based on the following activities:

1. Activities directed by the lecturer:

1.1 Lectures: the student can reached the fundamentals, the legal framework and the leading cases of the subject matter. These lectures are the kind of activities in which less interactivity is required from the student and are conceived as a fundamentally one-direction method of transmitting knowledge on the side of the lecturer.

1.2 Practical workshops: the student will focussed on solving real cases on tort law, discussing and commenting on news related to the subject or legal texts, making diagrams, etc.  The specific content of these activities will be determined by the lecturer of each group.

2. Activities supervised by the lecturer: activities that can be carried out autonomously, but which require a minimum of supervision of the lecturer (tutorials, assistance in work, etc.).

3. Students autonomous activities:

3.1. Preparation of legal documents: Analyzing of leading cases proposed in advance by the lecturer extracted from court judgments. A exam is also proposed as an autonomous activity, the type of which will be determined by the lecturer at the start of the academic year.

3.2. Search of bibliography and leading cases as a good preparation for the exam.

3.3. Comprehensive reading of legal texts: Legal texts may be judgments, rules, journal articles or monographs, in addition to the recommended Handbooks. The specific material will be determined by the lecturer during the academic year.

Partof the legal material available to the student will be delivered through the moodle.

 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
lectures 22.5 0.9 6, 3, 5, 9, 18, 15, 14, 23
practical workshops 22.5 0.9 1, 3, 5, 8, 17, 16, 19
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials, guidance, etc 2.5 0.1 9, 10, 15, 17, 16, 22, 23
Type: Autonomous      
exam 1.5 0.06 9, 10, 18, 13, 8, 14, 17, 22
learning 41 1.64 5, 7, 18, 14, 17, 16, 23
readings 30 1.2 2, 4, 6, 22, 23
search of literature and leading cases 10 0.4 4, 6, 7, 9, 13, 11, 23
writings 20 0.8 4, 6, 5, 20, 18, 13, 8, 14, 17

Assessment

MARKS AND ASSESSMENT SYSTEM

1. ORDINARY MARKS AND ASSESSMENT SYSTEM:

1.1. Ongoing assessment of the student:

The lecturer will suggest at the beginning of the academic year the activities that he or she considers are pertinent to the effects of the ongoing student assessment by means of the publication in the classroom moodle the calendar with the chronogram activities. The exam of the part of the subject matter (30 %) and briefing of two leading cases (20%) are taking into special consideration by the teacher for the student assessment. The minimal mark exam should be 6 out of 10.

1.2. Final exam:

All students, whether or not they have passed the ongoing assessment, CAN ACCESS the final exam.

The specific type of exam (oral, written, development of relevant questions, multiple choice, etc.) will be determined by the teaching team. Students will examine the whole subject matter.

1.3. Marks system

Ongoing student assessment is 50 % of the final mark (30% exam of the part of the subject matter, 20 % briefing of two leading cases). Final exam is 50 % of the final mark as well. Students should have reached a score of 5 out of 10 in order to pass the academic year in this field of law.

A student who copies or attempts to copy an exam will have a 0 as a mark. A Student who submits a paper o practical in which there is evidence or indications of plagiarism will get a 0 as a mark and will receive a warning. If the behaviour is repeated, the students will fail the subject.

2. RE-EXAM: To access the re-exam a minimum score of 3 out of 10 must be obtained between the ongoing assessment mark and the final exam. The students will be examined of the whole subject matter. Students should have reached a score of 5 out of 10 in order to pass the academic year. The final grade will be such obtained in the re-exam.

3. CALLS

Those settle by the academic bodies.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
exam of the part of the subject matter and leading cases briefing 30% and 20 % respectively 0 0 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 18, 15, 12, 14, 11, 19, 21, 22, 23
final exam 50 % 0 0 2, 4, 6, 5, 20, 7, 9, 10, 8, 14, 17, 16, 22, 23
re-exam 100% 0 0 1, 3, 9, 10, 13, 12, 8, 14, 17, 11, 22, 23

Bibliography

HANDBOOKS, TEXTS AND MATERIALS:

  1. Mariano Yzquiero Tolsada, Responsabilidad civil extracontractual. Parte general, Dykinson, 3rd. Ed. Madrid, 2017.
  2. Dolores Palacios González, Responsabilidad civil y Derecho de daños, 2on. ed. Revisada actualitzada, Juruá editorial, 2016.
  3. Fernando Reglero Campos/ J. M. Busto Lago (coord.), Lecciones de responsabilidad civil, 2on. ed., Dykinson, Madrid, 2013.
  4. Encarna Roca Trias / Mónica Navarro Michel, Derecho de Daños, Textos y Materiales, 8th ed, Tirant Lo Blanch, Valencia, 2020.
  5. Angel López López y otros, Tratado jurisprudencial de responsabilidad civil, Tirant Lo Blanch, Valencia, 2013. Available in UAB digital library.
  6. Ricardo De Ángel Yagüez, Causalidad en la responsabilidad extracontractual: sobre el arbitrio judicial, la imputación objetiva, Civitas, 2014.
  7. Fernando Pantaleón Prieto, “Causalidad e imputación objetiva: criterios de imputación”, AA. VV. Centenario del Código civil (1889-1989), vol. 2, Centro de estudiós Ramón Areces, Madrid, 1990, pp. 1561-1592.
  8. Luis Díez-Picazo, Derecho de daños, Civitas, Cizur Menor, 1999.
  9. Juan Miguel Ossorio Serrano. Lecciones de derecho de daños, La Ley, 2011. Available in UAB digital library.

ADITIONALLY SUGGESTED MATERIALS:

  1. Susana Navas Navarro (dir.), Inteligencia artificial, Tecnología, Derecho, Tirant Lo Blanch, Valencia, 2017. Available in UAB digital library.
  2. Susana Navas Navarro / Sandra Camacho Clavijo, Mercado digital (Principios y reglas jurídicas), Tirant Lo Blanch, Valencia, 2016. Available in UAB digital library.
  3. Susana Navas Navarro, La personalidad virtual del usuario deinternet. Tratamiento de la información personal recogida mediante cookies y tecnologia anàloga, Tirant Lo Blanch,Valencia, 2015.
  4. Antonio Orti Vallejo (dir.), La responsabilidad civil por daños causados por servicios defectuosos, Aranzadi, 2on. ed., 2015.
  5. Asociación de Profesores de Derecho civil, Cuestiones actuales en materia de responsabilidad civil, Ediciones de la Universidad de Murcia, Editum, 2011.
  6. Luis Díez-Picazo, El escándalo del daño moral, 1st ed., Madrid, 2008.
  7. Mª. Angeles Parra Lucán, La protección del consumidor frente a los daños. Responsabilidad civil del fabricante y del prestador de Servicios, Reus, Madrid, 2011.
  8. Juana Marco Molina, La responsabilidad civil del fabricante por productos defectuosos. Fundamentos y aplicación. Atelier, Barcelona, 2007
  9. http://www.Indret.com
  10. Rodrigo Bercovitz y otros, Manual de propiedad intelectual, 9th ed., Tirant Lo Blanch, Valencia, 2019.
  11. Pablo Salvador Coderch/Fernando Gómez Pomar (dirs.), Tratado de la responsabilidad civil del fabricante, 1st ed., Aranzadi, Pamplona, 2008.

LEGAL INSTRUMENTS: ACTS AND REGULATIONS
- Civil Code of Catalonia
- Spanish Civil Code
- Copyright Act
- Other legal instruments

Software

The subject does not require any specific software.