Dissolution or Pandora’s Box? Violation of Family Ties Due to Serious and Permanent Bodily Injury or Health Disorder (Article 4462 of the Civil Code)

Abstract

The introduction on September 19, 2021, of the provision of Art. 4462 of the Civil Code, the legislator allowed the court to grant compensation to the closest family members for the inability to establish or continue family ties due to severe and permanent bodily injury or health disorder of the directly injured party. Thus, new and critical issues for elaboration arose, including an indication of the subjective and objective scope of the commented provision (the premises of liability). In addition, it is necessary to attempt to evaluate the regulations. The author claims that the analysis of the indicated provision allows us to conclude that its wording raises several doubts. The most important ones include the lack of a specific qualification for the family bond and the placement of this provision in the Civil Code. The legislator did not answer directly whether the family bond belongs to the catalog of personal rights; it has significant consequences in practice given the sphere of life it refers to. Several research and judgments of the Supreme Court that have appeared over the last few years also show the importance of this problem. The discussion in this area is still valid and even necessary considering the new regulation.