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Liability for Damage Caused by AI

Liability for Damage Caused by AI in practice

Your chatbot quotes a customer the wrong price, or a recruitment tool quietly disadvantages female applicants. Saying the AI made the mistake is not a defence. Slovakia has no specific statute on damage caused by artificial intelligence, so claims are assessed under the Slovak Civil Code and product liability rules. What matters is who in the chain failed: the model developer, the integrator or the business using the system.

We act for both sides. For companies that supply or use AI, we set up vendor contracts, liability caps, indemnities and insurance. For injured parties, we help secure evidence, identify who is liable and choose the right legal basis for the claim. If the matter cannot be settled out of court, we represent you before the Slovak courts.

What we help with

  • Review of contract clauses: liability caps, indemnities, SLAs, insurance
  • Allocation of liability between provider, integrator and user
  • Preventive measures under Section 415 of the Civil Code: human oversight, testing, logs
  • Assessment of a claimant's case and choice of legal basis
  • Letter before action and representation in damages claims
  • Claims under Article 82 GDPR where damage involves personal data

Worth knowing

Sections 420 and 421a of the Slovak Civil Code

Under Section 420, everyone is liable for damage caused by breaching a legal duty, but can escape liability by proving they were not at fault. Section 421a covers damage caused by the nature of a device or thing used to perform an obligation, and this liability cannot be avoided.

Software is a product

Directive (EU) 2024/2853 expressly treats software and AI systems as products. Member States must transpose it by 9 December 2026. Anyone who substantially modifies a product, for example by fine-tuning it on their own data, may be treated as its manufacturer.

No separate AI liability directive

The Commission withdrew its proposed AI Liability Directive in February 2025. It cannot be relied on before the courts.

Several liable parties

Where several persons caused damage together, they are jointly and severally liable under Section 438 of the Civil Code. The injured party can claim the full amount from any of them, and they settle their shares between themselves.

Common questions

  • It depends where the error arose. A flaw in the model usually points to the provider, a faulty set-up to the integrator, and use contrary to instructions or without human oversight to the user. Where several parties are liable, joint and several liability under Section 438 of the Civil Code applies.

  • Usually yes. If you use AI in your business, you are liable to the customer under Section 420 or 421a of the Slovak Civil Code. Clearly labelling the chatbot as AI, human review of important outputs and an internal policy reduce the risk.

  • Section 420 is fault-based, and the defendant escapes liability by proving they were not at fault. Section 421a is strict liability with no such defence. For AI with higher potential for harm, Section 421a is therefore often the relevant basis in practice.

Related articles

Articles are in Slovak.

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This page is for general information, reflects Slovak law at the time of writing and is not a substitute for advice on your particular matter.