After the European Court of Justice ruled that, in principle, there could be a claim against the church for unfulfilled prayers, I wondered today, on the 4th of Advent, whether this also applies, for example, to Santa Claus or to parents?
And my clear result: Yes.
The ECJ wrote:
Faith communities and churches recruit their members with the promise that a higher being – in this case God – will hear the prayers of the faithful. Therefore, in case of non-fulfillment of this oral contract, the respective institution as a whole is liable.
The same applies under German law. Here the whole follows from § 661a BGB. Accordingly, commitments also give rise to a right to performance. The legal idea also exists in 660 BGB.
The subsumption under this norm, according to which even a unilateral declaration of intent can be binding, leads to the fact that a promise made, for example, by parents, grandparents or Santa Claus becomes an enforceable legal claim, even if one, as a child, a spouse or any other person, does not directly accept this “contract”.
As a lawyer, I can therefore only advise: If promised gifts are not delivered by 24:00 tomorrow, contact me. I like to sue parents, step-parents, grandmas, grandpas or spouses, in doubt even until the end of this year.
So, it’s best to think again carefully if and when such promises were made. I am then happy to help!
Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.
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