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Civil Responsibility

Code: 102234
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Law OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Susana Navas Navarro
Email :
susana.navas@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

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

The subject will be taught taking into account the Sustainable Development Goals and gender perspective.

Objectives

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.

- Introduction to AI and Civil Liability

Learning outcomes

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

Contents

TOPIC 1.THE ELEMENTS OF CIVIL LIABILITY

  1. Introduction. Historical evolution. Functions. Types.
  2. Non-contractual and contractual civil liability.
  3. Civil liability arising from damage caused by the commission of a crime.
  4. Requirements for civil liability: Damaging behavior. Typology. Unlawfulness. Causes of justification.
  5. The damage to be compensated: Concept. Classifications: property damage, moral damage, personal injuries and death.
  6. The causal relationship. Introduction and concept. Distinction between “causality of fact” and “legal causality”. Evolution. Criteria. Uncertainty and causal relationship. Loss of opportunity.
  7. Fundamentals of liability. Imputation criteria. a) Fault-based liability: Minors and disabilities. Special consideration for legal persons. b) Liability for “abnormally dangerous activities” or strict liability. Concept. Assumptions. Special assumption: civil liability and sports practice.
  8. Causes of exoneration from liability. Fortuitous event and force majeure. Exclusive fault of the victim.
  9. The effects of civil liability: Reparation of damage.
  10. Principles and forms of reparation of damage. Specific characteristics of the obligation to repair the damage.
  11. Valuation of damage. Scales. Special analysis of the scale of compensation in traffic accidents and its application.
  12. Concurrence of compensation for the same damage.
  13. Ways of reparation of damage: settlement agreements. Arbitration procedure. Mediation. Judicial claim.
  14. The burden of proof in civil liability.
  15. Prescription of claims. General and special deadlines.


TOPIC 2. LIABILITY FOR ANOTHER'S BEHAVIOUR

  1. Introduction. Presumption of fault. General characteristics of liability for another's behaviour.
  2. The liability of parents, guardians and curators with full powers of representation for minors and the disabled.
  3. The liability of the employer for the acts of his assistants.
  4. The liability of private educational centers.


TOPIC 3. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND CIVIL LIABILITY

  1. Introduction to the AI Act. Prohibited practices. High-risk and low-risk systems
  2. LL AI models. With and without systemic risk
  3. Obligations of suppliers and those responsible for the deployment of AI systems and models
  4. Damage caused by AI systems and models, fault-based or risk-based civil liability?


TOPIC 4. NON-CONTRACTUAL LIABILITY AND FAMILY LAW

  1. Introduction. The due diligence in the family sphere.
  2. Constellations of cases:

a) Damages caused in marital relations.

b) Damages caused in parent-child relations.

c) Prenatal damages.


TOPIC 5. LIABILITY IN CASE OF PRIVACY INJURY

  1. Personal rights. Concept and features.
  2. The right to honor, personal and family privacy and self-image. Introduction. Concept and content of rights.
  3. Conflict between fundamental rights: honor, privacy, self-image versus freedom of expression and information.
  4. Civil protection in LO 1/1982, of May 5. Illegal intrusion. a) Concept and assumptions. b) Consent as a cause of justification. c) Civil protection of the victim.
  5. Protection of personal data. Regulation (EU) 2016/679, on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data.

a) Personal data. Concept.

b) Collection and processing of personal data. Files. a) Concept of data processing. Creation of profiles. b) Principles relating to data processing. Purposes. c) Files. Concept and classes. d) Subjects. The informed consent of the interested party.

c) Rights of the interested party in relation to the collection and processing of their personal data

d) Claim and judicial protection


TOPIC 6. COMMON PROVISIONS ON NON-CONTRACTUAL CIVIL LIABILITY TOWARDS CONSUMERS AND USERS FOR DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

  1. Applicable regulations: Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, of 16 November (TRLGDCU) and Consumer Code of Catalonia (CCoCat).
  2. General duty of safety of products or services. Duty of information.
  3. Holder of the right to compensation. The concept of “consumer and user”. The “vulnerable” consumer.
  4. Compensable damages. Issues.


TOPIC 7. DAMAGES FOR DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS. THE NEW DIRECTIVE (EU) 2024/2853 OF 23.10.2024

  1. General considerations.
  2. Concept of product. Special circumstances
  3. The defect. Concept and classes.
  4. Responsible subjects.
  5. Causal link. The burden of proof.
  6. Exoneration of liability. The fault of the injured party. Intervention of a third party.
  7. Damages that can be compensated.
  8. Claims: standing and deadlines. Temporal limitation of liability


TOPIC 8. LIABILITY FOR DEFECTIVE SERVICES

  1. Introduction.
  2. The dual liability regime in the TRLGDCU.

a) General regime (art. 147 TRLGDCU).

b) Special regime (art. 148 TRLGDCU).

3.Medical and hospital liability.

a) Assumptions: Private healthcare services. Liability of the medical team; Public healthcare services; Healthcare services in the TRLGDCU.

b) Proof of medical fault. The Lex artis.

c) Claims for Wrongful Life and Wrongful Birth.

4.Liability for defects in Buildings. Applicable regulations.

a) Specific liability regime of the LOE. a) General principles. b) Scope of application of the Building Act. c) Types of defects. Warranty periods. Prescription of claims. d) Damages that can be compensated. e) Subjects entitled to exercise the liability claim. f) Responsible parties: building agents. g) Liability regime

b) Other liability regimes: CC and TRLGDCU

5.Liability in the case of legal services. Lawyers and solicitors. Registrators and notaries.Mediators and arbitrators.


TOPIC 9. LIABILITY FOR THE USE OF MOTOR VEHICLES

  1. Dual liability regime.
  2. Responsible parties.
  3. Causes of exemption from liability.
  4. Damages that can be compensated. Their assessment using scales.
  5. Compulsory insurance.
  6. The insurance compensation consortium in the field of liability for traffic incidents.
  7. Semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles.


TOPIC 10. SPECIFIC CASES OF STRICT LIABILITY

  1. Damage caused by animals.
  2. Damage caused by inanimate objects
  3. Damages arising from air navigation: Civil liability in the Aviation Act (Law 48/1960, of 21 July). Civil drones for private use.
  4. Nuclear damage or damage caused by radioactive materials.
  5. Damage caused in the exercise of hunting.
  6. Damage to the environment.


TOPIC 11. CIVIL LIABILITY IN CASE OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

  1. Author. Presumption of authorship. Co-authorship.
  2. Object of protection: The original work.
  3. Content of copyright.
  4. Timefraim of rights and public domain. “Creative commons” licenses.
  5. Copyright protection.
  6. Cessation of illicit activity
  7. Compensation.
  8. Precautionary measures


TOPIC 12. CIVIL LIABILITY OF INFORMATION SOCIETY SERVICE PROVIDERS

  1. The general liability regime.
  2. Intermediation service providers. Liability regime.
  3. System of exclusion of liability for intermediation service providers.

a) The exclusion of liability in the case of data transmission and access provision services.

b) The exclusion of liability in the case of temporary copy services of data requested by users.

c) The exclusion of liability in the case of data hosting or storage services.

d) The exclusion of liability in the case of link provision and search engine services. The requirement of lack of effective knowledge


Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
learning 45 1.8 3, 6, 8, 11, 13, 18, 22
readings 20 0.8 6, 7, 10, 20, 23
Tutorials, guidance, etc 6 0.24 2, 6, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21
search of literature and leading cases 15 0.6 1, 2, 6, 12, 20, 22, 23
writings 15 0.6 1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 13, 19, 20, 23
master classes and tactics 44 1.76 2, 3, 6, 8, 13, 14, 16, 20


The learning process is based on the work of the students, who learn by working, with the mission of the teaching staff to help them in this task by providing them with information and showing them the sources where it can be obtained.

The development of the teaching of the subject and the training of the students is based on the following activities:

1. Leading activities:

1.1 Lectures: where the student achieves the conceptual bases of the subject and learns the legal, regulatory and jurisprudential framework. Lectures are conceived as a fundamentally unidirectional method of transmitting knowledge from the teaching staff to the students.

1.2 Workshops: they will be developed in the classroom with the supervision of the teaching staff. This involves the resolution of practical cases in the classroom, discussions and comments on news related to the subject matter, the creation of diagrams, etc. The specific content of these activities will be determined by the teaching staff of each group.

a) liberatory partial exam (20%): 6 out of 10.

b) legal terminology on CL (5%)

c) case study I (10%)

d) case study II (10%)

e) creation of an AI system and an AI model (5%).


2. Supervised activities: activities that can be carried out autonomously, but that require more or less punctual supervision by teaching staff (tutorials, assistance with assignments, etc.).

3. Self-paced activities:

3.1. Preparation of documents: These can be practical cases proposed sufficiently in advance by the teaching staff, extracted from court rulings. A partial exam is also proposed as an autonomous activity, the specific form of which will be determined by the teaching staff in their group.

3.2. Search for bibliography and instrumental jurisprudence for the resolution of practical cases and the preparation of the exam. In one or more cases, students will have to search for the documentation independently.

3.3. Comprehensive reading of legal texts: Legal texts can be rulings, regulations, journal articles or monographs, in addition to the recommended manual or manuals. The specific type of legal text will be determined by the teaching staff according to their group.

Part of the legal material available to students will be delivered through the Moodle classroom.


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.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
re-exam 100% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 16, 17, 19, 21
jurisprudence commentary and oral presentation 25% and 25 % respectively 2 0.08 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 22, 23
test 50 % 1.5 0.06 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

COMPETENCE ACQUISITION ASSESSMENT SYSTEM AND QUALIFICATION SYSTEM

ORDINARY EVALUATION AND QUALIFICATION SYSTEM:

1.1. Continuous assessment:

The teaching staff will propose at the beginning of the course the activities they consider relevant for the purposes of continuous assessment by publishing a calendar with the schedule of activities in the Moodle classroom. The activities that will make up the assessment grade are:

a) partial exam (20%): 6 out of 10.

b) legal terminology on CL (5%)

c) practical cases I (10%)

d) practical cases II (10%)

e) creation of an AI system and an AI model (5%).


To pass the continuous assessment, attendance at 80% of the sessions is required.

Students will be assessed as long as they have completed the proposed activities. Otherwise, it can be considered non-assessable.


1.2. Grading of the subject with the continuous assessment system:

The score obtained in the continuous assessment will have a value of 50% of the subject's grade. The other 50% will correspond. to the final exam.

The subject will be passed with a minimum of 5 out of 10, according to the established percentages.

Note: To pass the continuous assessment, a minimum of 3 out of 5 is required. To pass the final exam, a 3 out of 5 is required.


IMPORTANT: In the event that the student copies, commits plagiarism or is discovered using any prohibited device in any assessment test, the teaching staff will grade him/her with a 0 in this assessment act, and will notify the Dean of the Faculty by submitting a report on the circumstances and evidence of the fact produced to request the opening of a possible disciplinary file against the student. This assessment activity will not be recoverable. In the event that more than one irregularity occurs in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject is 0.


1.3. Re-assessment: Students will be examined on the entire course program with a written test that combines theoretical questions with practical cases.

The course will be passed with a minimum of 5 out of 10. The final grade will be the one obtained in the re-evaluation exam if necessary.


2. SINGLE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM

2.1. Single assessment:

Students who take part in the single evaluation system, in accordance with the guidelines for the single evaluation approved by the Faculty of Law, will be evaluated in a single academic act, composed of as many tests as are necessary to prove that all of the skills described in the teaching guide for the course have been acquired.

2.2. Single assessment exam:

The single assessment exam will consist of:

a) written final exam (60%)

b) practical case (20%)

c) oral presentation of a topic to the course teaching staff (20%)


The same limits and the same re-assessment system will be applied as those established for continuous assessment.


2.3. Subject qualification with the assessment system:

The subject will be passed with a minimum of 5 out of 10, according to the established percentages.

2.4. Re-assessment: to access the re-assessment, a minimum grade of 3 out of 10 must be obtained among the grade of the single assessment test. Students will be examined on the entire subject program.

The subject will be passed with a minimum of 5 out of 10. The final grade will be that obtained in the re-evaluation exam if it is done.


3. USE OF AI:

For this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed exclusively in support tasks, such as bibliographic or information search, text correction or translations. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The lack of transparency of the use of AI in this assessable activity will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater sanctions in serious cases.

Bibliography

HANDBOOKS, TEXTS AND MATERIALS:

  1. Encarna Roca Trias / Mónica Navarro Michel, Derecho de Daños, Textos y Materiales, 8ª ed, Tirant Lo Blanch, Valencia, 2020.
  2. Susana Navas Navarro, Inteligencia artificial y servicio público de la justicia. Cuestiones de responsabilidad, Reus, Madrid, 2025, 134 pp.
  3. Susana Navas Navarro, “Inteligencia artificial y responabilidad civil” en Manuel Fondevila, Ana Cediel, La Sociedad dividida: polarización, populismo e inteligencia artificial, Colex, Madrid, 2026, pp. 69-85.

ADITIONALLY SUGGESTED MATERIALS:

  1. Mariano Yzquierdo Tolsada, Responsabilidad civil extracontractual. Parte general, Dykinson, 8ª Ed. Madrid, 2022.

2. Joaquín Ataz López / José Antonio Cobacho Gómez (Coords.), Cuestiones clásicas y actuales del Derecho de daños, Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, Madrid, 2021

LEGAL INSTRUMENTS: ACTS AND REGULATIONS

- Civil Code of Catalonia

- Spanish Civil Code

- Other legal instruments

Software

The subject does not require any specific software.

 

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed