Limitation of the Compensation Moderating in Relations Between Natural Persons (Art. 440 of the Civil Code) from the Point of View of the Principle of Equality

The measure of compensation regulated by Article 440 of the Civil Code is a limitation of the principle of full compensation. This provision implies the possibility to limit the obligation to compensate for the damage if the principles of social co-existence require it. However, the application of Article 440 of the Civil Code is only possible in relations between natural persons. The provision therefore omits legal persons and “crippled” legal persons. This restriction raises questions from the point of view of the constitutional principle of equality before the law. The purpose of this article is to analyse the compatibility with the principle of equality before the law of the limitation of the mitigation of damages to relations between natural persons, to the exclusion of other private law subjects. The considerations in the article lead to the conclusion that the restriction of mitigation to relations between natural persons is unconstitutional.

Gloss on the Decision of the Constitutional Tribunal of July 4, 2023, file ref. no. SK 78/19

The gloss concerns the decision of the Constitutional Tribunal in case file ref. no. SK 78/19, in which the Tribunal discontinued the proceedings based on a constitutional complaint filed by a limited liability company. The Tribunal found that a constitutional complaint cannot be lodged by a legal person due to the location of Art. 79 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland in Chapter II of the Constitution entitled “Freedoms, rights and obligations of man and citizen”. This view is obviously wrong, and the argumentation presented in the justification for this decision is selective. In the case law of the Tribunal, the ability of legal persons to lodge a constitutional complaint is well established, which also raises no doubts in the doctrine. The position expressed by the Tribunal in this decision exposes the rights of collective entities to a limitation.