The explanation of the notion of non-pecuniary damage is relevant not only for determining the constitutional pre-conditions for liability of public authorities but also for the determination of the ways and the extent of compensation. The Constitutional Court, following legal doctrine, considers that damage in constitutional meaning is any injury to legally protected goods of any entity. This definition raises the following questions: 1) what is a legal good, 2) what is someone’s good, 3) how legal protection of a good should be understood and 4) what an injury to good means.

Generally, someone’s goods are individual goods, i.e. goods precious to someone, creating favorable conditions for his or her personal development, goods that cannot be disposed of by other legal subjects. The constitutional notion of damage means that an injury to good is enjoying protection reaching to a certain level of intensity. It encompasses also non-pecuniary goods. An injury to goods is the difference, assessed negatively, between the state of things resulting from the damaging event and the state of things which would have occurred if the damaging event would not have happened. The reparation of the damage should be adequate to its nature. The reparation of the non-pecuniary damage consists foremost in actions aiming at the restitution of the state of things which would have occurred had the damaging event not happened.

The notion of non-pecuniary damage in Polish constitutional law

The explanation of the notion of non-pecuniary damage is relevant not only for determining the constitutional pre-conditions for liability of public authorities but also for the determination of the ways and the extent of compensation. The Constitutional Court, following legal doctrine, considers that damage in constitutional meaning is any injury to legally protected goods of any entity. This definition raises the following questions: 1) what is a legal good, 2) what is someone’s good, 3) how legal protection of a good should be understood and 4) what an injury to good means.

Generally, someone’s goods are individual goods, i.e. goods precious to someone, creating favorable conditions for his or her personal development, goods that cannot be disposed of by other legal subjects. The constitutional notion of damage means that an injury to good is enjoying protection reaching to a certain level of intensity. It encompasses also non-pecuniary goods. An injury to goods is the difference, assessed negatively, between the state of things resulting from the damaging event and the state of things which would have occurred if the damaging event would not have happened. The reparation of the damage should be adequate to its nature. The reparation of the non-pecuniary damage consists foremost in actions aiming at the restitution of the state of things which would have occurred had the damaging event not happened.