Article 1201
Where a person who lacks or has limited capacity for civil conduct suffers personal injury from a third party other than a kindergarten, school or other educational institution during the period of study or life in a kindergarten, school or other educational institution, the third party shall bear tort liability; Kindergartens, schools or other educational institutions may recover compensation from a third party after assuming supplementary liability.
1. The main purpose of this article
This article is about the liability of persons who lack or have limited capacity for civil conduct when they suffer personal injuries due to infringement by a third party in an educational institution.
II. Evolution of the Provisions
Article 7 of the 2003 Interpretation on Compensation for Personal Injuries stipulates that: "If a school, kindergarten or other educational institution that has the obligation to educate, manage or protect minors in accordance with the law fails to perform its relevant obligations within the scope of its duties, causing personal injury to minors, or if minors cause personal injury to others, it shall be liable for compensation corresponding to its fault." Where a third party's infringement causes minors to suffer personal injury, they shall bear responsibility for compensation. Where schools, kindergartens, and other educational institutions are at fault, they shall bear the corresponding supplementary liability for compensation. Article 40 of the original Tort Liability Law stipulates: "If a person who lacks or has limited capacity for civil conduct suffers personal injury to a person other than a kindergarten, school or other educational institution during the period of study or life in a kindergarten, school or other educational institution, the tortfeasor shall bear tort liability; This provision inherits the provisions of Article 40 of the original Tort Liability Law and has been amended: first, the subject that has committed direct infringement other than educational institutions is uniformly defined as a third party, which is more precise than the expressions of "personnel" and "infringer" in the original Tort Liability Law;
3. Interpretation of Provisions
This article is a provision on the liability of third parties in campus injury accidents.
If a student who lacks or has limited capacity for civil conduct is infringed by a tortious act committed by a third party on campus, resulting in personal injury, although the damage is also caused by a third party, the provisions of Article 1175 of the Civil Code that "if the damage is caused by a third party, the third party shall bear tort liability" shall not be applied, but the rules provided for in this article shall apply.
The liability rules stipulated in this article are: if a tortious act committed by a third party on campus causes personal injury to a student who lacks or has limited capacity for civil conduct on campus, the third party shall bear tort liability and compensate the victim for the damage; After the school bears the corresponding supplementary liability, it can also recover from the third party for its losses, and the reason is that the third party is the real infringer, and has all the causal force for the occurrence of the damage, and the school only has indirect reasons for inaction.
4. Cases
Wang Moumou v. Jixi City Youth Palace et al., a guardianship liability dispute
Facts: Wang Moumou and defendant Li Jia are both persons with limited capacity for conduct, and they both studied in cram schools run by the Jixi City Youth Palace. Li Yi is Li Jia's father, and Niu is Li Jia's mother. During the recess of the make-up class in the Jixi City Youth Palace, Wang Moumou ran in the direction where Li Jia was standing in order to avoid being chased by a female classmate; when he found Li Jia, he reflexively ran back, Li Jia stretched out his right hand at this time and slapped the right arm of Wang Moumou, who was running back reflexively, Wang Moumou lost his center of gravity due to physical instability and fell, resulting in the loss of two front teeth. The court of first instance held that Wang Moumou was primarily at fault for the occurrence of the damage, and that Li Jia's conduct was the secondary cause of the damage, and that there was a certain degree of fault, and that he should bear the corresponding tort liability. Defendants Li Yi and Niu, as Li Jia's guardians, should bear corresponding tort liability for Li Jia's tortious acts. As an educational institution, the Jixi Youth Palace clearly knows that it is dangerous for students to fight and chase, but it has not fulfilled its educational and management responsibilities, and shall bear corresponding supplementary responsibilities in accordance with the law. The four defendants bear tort liability according to the degree of fault. The court of second instance upheld the original verdict.
5. Analysis
This case is the most typical case of infringement between minor students during their study and life in an educational institution. In this case, Wang's injury occurred while chasing and playing with his classmates during recess, and it was a personal assault between classmates within the same school, and the school's management duty at this time was to take measures such as supervising and stopping the students' fighting, and if they failed to do so, there would be fault, so the tort liability should be shared between the perpetrator's legal representative (who bears guardian responsibility) and the educational institution that failed to perform its management duties. The specific rule is that the victim can claim tort liability against the third party who directly infringed and supplementary liability against the educational institution that infringed indirectly. After the educational institution assumes tort liability as a supplementary liable person, it may recover from the third party who directly infringed on the part beyond the degree of its fault. In other words, in the final effect, the educational institution actually bears the responsibility according to the fault and causal force.