Capítulo III. Liability for damage caused in hotels in hungarian law
| Autor | Herke Csongor y Zsák Zsófia |
| Cargo del Autor | Profesor Director de Departamento Pécsi Tudományegyetem. Magyarország (Universidad de Pécs. Hungría) / PhD (doctoranda) Pécsi Tudományegyetem. Magyarország (Universidad de Pécs. Hungría) |
| Páginas | 71-92 |
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CAPÍTULO III
LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE CAUSED IN HOTELS IN
HUNGARIAN LAW
HERKE CSONGOR,
Profesor Director de Departamento
Pécsi Tudományegyetem. Magyarország
(Universidad de Pécs. Hungría)
herke.csongor@ajk.pte.hu
ZSÁK ZSÓFIA
PhD (doctoranda)
Pécsi Tudományegyetem. Magyarország
(Universidad de Pécs. Hungría)
zsofizsak@gmail.com
SUMMARY: 1. The historical background of the regulation. 2. The regulations in force.
3. Legal cases in the scope of hotel liability. 4. Conclusions. Bibliography
1. The historical background of the regulation
In Hungary, liability for damages caused in hotels was regulated for the first
time by Art. XIII of 19241 and has been covered by §§ 467-471 of the Act IV of
1959 on the Civil Code (old CC) for more than fifty years2. Accordingly the old
CC the hotels shall be liable for damages suffered by guests because of the loss,
damage, or destruction of their things, unless the hotel is able to prove that the
damages are the result of an unavoidable cause beyond the control of the ho-
tel's employees and guests or that the damages have been caused by the guest
1 VÉKÁS L, GÁRDOS P (ed.), Kommentár a Polgári Törvénykönyvhöz, Wolters Kluwer, Budapest,
2014 p. 1955.
2 The old CC entered into force on May 1 of 1960 and (although it has undergone numerous
amendments over the years) was the law in force in Hungary until March 14 of 2014.
Herke Csongor – Zsák Zsófia
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himself. Liability shall apply to damage to things put by guests in places that
are designated or usually used for this purpose or in their rooms and to things
he has handed over to an employee of the hotel whom he could believe to be
authorized to receive his things3.
Hotels shall be liable for valuables, securities, and cash - and the liability
shall be unlimited - only if
- the hotel has expressly taken possession of the thing for safekeeping;
- the hotel has expressly refused to take possession of the thing for safe-
keeping;
- damages have occurred due to a cause for which the hotel is liable in
accordance with the general rules and regulations4.
In such cases, the burden of proof lies with the guest5.
A hotel shall not be able to limit or exclude its liability validly. The extent of
indemnification can be limited by legal regulation (according to § 66 of the
executive decree of the Civil Code, the Law Decree No. 11 of 1960, the maxi-
mum amount of compensation was fifty times the daily room rate6). Limitation
shall not apply to those cases in which a guest proves that the hotel has not
proceeded in a manner that can generally be expected in the particular situa-
tion7; nor shall there be any limit on liability for valuables, securities, and
cash8.
Guests shall report any and all damages immediately9. If the report is not
filed, the hotel shall be liable for damage in accordance with the general rules
and regulations, but the burden of proof shall rest with the guest10.
3 BARKASSY-GRÜNFELD L, A szálloda kártérítési felelőssége, https://arsboni.hu/szalloda-
karteritesi-felelossege/.
4 PETRIK F (ed.), Polgári jog. Kommentár a gyakorlat számára, HvgOrac, Budapest 2013 p. 600.
5 § 467 of old CC.
6 VÉKÁS L, GÁRDOS P (ed.), Kommentár a Polgári Törvénykönyvhöz, Wolters Kluwer, Budapest,
2014 p. 1956.
7 NOCHTA T, KOVÁCS B, NEMESSÁNYI Z, Magyar polgári jog. Kötelmi jog. Különös rész, Dialóg
Campus, Budapest-Pécs, 2004 p. 98.
8 § 468 of old CC.
9 NOCHTA T, KOVÁCS B, NEMESSÁNYI Z, Magyar polgári jog. Kötelmi jog. Különös rész, Dialóg
Campus, Budapest-Pécs, 2004 p. 98.
10 § 469 of old CC.
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