Chapter First: Causes of Liability Arising from Offenses and Quasi-Offenses

Article 122

Art. 122 - Any act whatsoever by a person that causes unjust harm to another obliges its author to provide compensation, provided that the author is endowed with discernment. A person lacking legal capacity is bound by their unlawful acts, provided they acted with discernment. In the event of harm caused by a person devoid of discernment, if the victim was unable to obtain compensation from the person responsible for their supervision, the judges may, in consideration of the parties' situation, condemn the author of the harm to fair compensation.

Article 123

One is responsible for the damage caused by one's negligence or imprudence as well as that resulting from a positive act.

Article 124

Article 124 - Shall also be liable for damages that person who has caused harm to another by exceeding the limits set by good faith or the purpose for which the right was conferred upon them in exercising their right.

Article 125

Article 125 - One is liable in full right for the damage caused by certain persons of whom one must answer and whose enumeration is strictly limited.

Article 126

Art. 126 - Parents and guardians are liable for the damage caused by the unlawful acts of minor children living with them and subject to their authority. Teachers and artisans are liable for the damage caused by the unlawful acts of their students and apprentices during the time they are under their supervision. However, the liability of the State is substituted for that of members of the public education system. The liability of these persons is engaged unless they prove that they could not have prevented the act that gives rise to this liability; it still subsists even if the author of the act is not liable due to a lack of discernment.

Article 127

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Article 128

Article 128 - A person may be declared liable for the act of another individual, but only if evidence is presented against her of a specific fault committed by her and not as a matter of right; she will then be held liable for her own fault, not for that of another.

Article 129

Article 129 - The keeper of an animal is liable for the damage caused by it, even if it had strayed or escaped. Unless a contrary provision applies, this liability takes effect regardless of whether the keeper and the victim were previously united by a contract such as a services lease agreement. It yields only to proof of force majeure or the fault of the victim.

Article 130

Article 130: As regards damages caused by wild animals, the landowner or tenant farmer shall not be held liable unless it can be proven to their advantage that they committed a specific fault - positive act or negligence.

Article 131

Amended. The keeper of movable and immovable property is liable for damage caused by such property even when not under their actual management or supervision, such as a vehicle in motion, an aircraft in flight, or an elevator in use. This strict liability ceases only if the keeper proves the existence of force majeure or fault on the part of the injured party.

Article 132

Article 132 - If several inanimate things have contributed to the damage, for example in the case of a car collision, objective liability disappears and is replaced by common law liability based on personal fault.

Article 133

Art. 133 - The owner of any building is liable for the damage caused by its collapse or partial ruin, when this event is due to a lack of maintenance, a construction defect, or obsolescence. This liability falls on the owner of the superficies when the surface is separated from the soil. If the maintenance of the building was the responsibility of a person other than the owner, the latter, whose liability persists, has a right of recourse against this person and may join them in the liability proceedings. These various rules apply even when the owner and the victim were previously bound by an obligatory relationship, unless otherwise provided by law.