51 Responsibility for consequences

This aspect of justice features prominently in the rules of Book VI on non-contractual liability arising out of damage caused to another. It is the very basis of this branch of the law. Responsibility for damage caused does not rest on a contractual undertaking; it rests instead on intention, negligence or a special responsibility for the source of the damage. Everyone is entitled to rely on neighbours observing the law and behaving as can be expected from a reasonably careful person in the circumstances of the case. It is a requirement of fairness that an employer should be responsible for damage which an employee has caused in the course of the employment. For the same reason the keeper of a motor vehicle, the owner of premises and the producer of goods must all answer for the personal injuries and damage to property which are caused by their things. In the other direction, a person may be unable to recover reparation, if that person consented to the damage suffered or knowingly accepted the risk.1. Similarly, reparation may be reduced if there was contributory fault on the part of the person suffering the damage.2.