The employer's liability for damage caused within the scope of employment on the Hungarian Labour law [antikvár]

I. INTRODUCTION 1. The concept of liability for damage Liability always accrues by tbe breach of some legal obligation. Hence it-is a legal institution of secondary character. Its purpose is to prevent future wrcngful conduct, and it imposes sanctions of educative character on the violator to achieve this end. One particular form of responsibility is liability for damage. This liability materializes in cases of wrongful conduct causing material damage. Unlike other forms of responsibility, liability for damage has a dual character. One aspect is to remove, to repair the consequences of tbe wrongful act. The other is the sanction, the punishment, which materializes as a compulsory reduction of the means of the liable person. Considering this dual nature, liability for damage substantially differs from other forms of responsibility (e. g. criminal or disciplinary responsibility). Liability for damage — usually materializes only upon the initiative of the damaged person; — it is not absolutely conditional on culpability of the damager; — the severity of the sanction is usually adjusted to the damage caused; — the sanction is of pecuniary nature and can always be expressed In terms of money; — compensation imposed as a sanction is due to the damaged person. The various forms of responsibility are not exclusive of one another. Hence several forms of responsibility can materialize in case of one and the same wrongful act. For instance, a driver having caused a crash is held responsible under criminal law (provided his conduct was highly dangerous to society); since he also has violated his obligation as an employee to do his work attentively, according to regulations, bis employer will hold him responsible under disciplinary rules in addition; over and above this, having: caused material damage by bis conduct, the driver will be held liable for damage. The common purpose of these forms of responsibility is the education of the violator, and, thereby, prevention of similar product. Liability for damage has an additional special purpose: compensation, i. e. the complete or partial repair of the disadvantage the damaged person has suffered. Criminal or disciplinary responsibility is always regulated and imposed in the interest of society as a whole. By contrast, the reparative aspect of liability fcr damage is regulated in tbe interest of the damaged person first of all, whereas the other, sanctionative, educative-preventive ascept considers regulation cut of social interest. The proportional relation of these two aspects determines the character of the system of liability for damage. Considering this dual nature, regulation and imposition of liability for damage are more complex than those of other forms of. responsibility.