No matter what we choose to do, it seems that every day we are warned that someone is not liable for something that could cause us damage. Each building has a ”Beware of falling plaster!” sign, each parking lot has a ”The parking administration is not liable for possible property damage which might occur in the parking lot” sign, each hotel or fitness gym has a sign to the effect that it ”Is not liable for lost or deteriorated goods” and so on.

But what is the legal significance (if any) of such warnings?

As a matter principle, the answer is given by Article 1356 of the Civil Code, which states that:

”(1) An announcement which excludes or limits contractual liability, irrespective if it is brought to public attention or not, has no effect except insofar as the person invoking it proves that the injured party knew of the existence of the announcement at the time of contract conclusion.

(2) Tortious liability for damage caused to the victim cannot be excluded or limited via an announcement. Such an announcement can, however, be viewed as a warning with respect to potential danger, with the provisions of Article 1371 (1) being applicable, as the case may be”..

As a result, there are 2 distinct hypotheses:

1. The case of a contract, where the announcement becomes part of the contract and operates in the same way as a contractual clause for the exclusion or limitation of liability.

By circling back to the previous examples, ”The parking administration is not liable for possible property damage which might occur in the parking lot” sign is an exclusion of liability clause in the concluded lease/storage/bailment agreement, with the exact qualification of the contract being made on a case-by-case basis, depending on the main purpose pursued by the parties, on whether or not the parking is payable, on whether or not it is guarded and other such factors.

In the same vein, the announcement according to which the hotel ”Is not liable for lost or deteriorated goods” is an exclusion of liability clause in the hotel storage agreement (Article 2127 (1) of the Civil Code). Although it might seem counterintuitive, the same qualification could be given to the announcement that the fitness gym displays, to the effect that it ”Is not liable for lost or deteriorated goods” from the locker (Article 2137 of the Civil Code).

With these being exclusion of liability clauses, their efficacy will depend on both the injured party knowing the announcement at the time of contract conclusion (Article 1356 (1) of the Civil Code) and the applicable legal limits, either general (e.g. the impossibility of liability exclusion whereas the damage is caused with intent or gross negligence – Article 1355 (1) of the Civil Code) or specific for each particular contract.

2. The case of liability in tort, where one cannot speak of an exclusion of liability clause – the wording of ”Beware of falling plaster!” would be too mild for that in any case -, but the announcement is equivalent to a warning with respect to potential danger.

That means that, whereas the victim ignores the warning, it will be deemed as having contributed to the causing of- or the increase of the damage, with the result of having its right to damages reduced (The High Court of Cassation and Justice, the panel for preliminary ruling on questions of law, decision no. 12/2016).

Therefore, next time we pass near the far too many buildings with a ”Beware of falling plaster!” sign, we should take solace in the fact that we conserve our right to damages if the plaster actually falls, with a potential claim against the owner or owners of the building (Article 1378 of the Civil Code; Article 35 (1) (c) and (e) of Law no. 196/2018) or, why not, against the homeowners association itself, if the case may be (Article 11 (1) of Law no. 196/2018).

If, however, we ignored the sign, we might find that the damages which we would normally be entitled to are lower than what we would have wanted.