Damage to another’s property: When is it a crime and what are the consequences?

Vandalism, graffiti on the walls, scratching someone else’s car, or painting a Ukrainian flag on the sidewalk. This is also what acts that are characterized as criminal damage to foreign property can look like under Czech law. According to legal theory, what does such a crime consist of?

What is damage to foreign property?

In legal terms, damage to another’s property is a deliberate act leading to the destruction, damage or rendering useless of another’s property. A concomitant condition is the commission of damage that is not insignificant (or greater).

From the point of view of law, the basic prerequisite for classifying an act as a criminal offence of damage to another’s property is that the property actually belongs to someone else. In cases where property relations are unclear, for example in the case of unsettled matrimonial property, the legal qualification may be more complex. For example, the courts dealt with a similar case in the case of a man who destroyed the front door of his ex-wife’s house, claiming that it was not his ex-wife’s door but his own, as he had bought and installed it himself. If the court had suggested that it was not in fact someone else’s property, then the offence could not even have been committed. However, that did not happen in this case.

Example: the Kaputin association recently gained media attention for its happening in which its members painted a Ukrainian flag on the grounds of the apartment complex of the Enterprise for Administration of Property Abroad of the Chancellery of the President of the Russian Federation. By their action they wanted to express their support for the Russian-invaded Ukraine and at the same time they wanted to draw attention to the issue of Russian-owned buildings in the Czech Republic, where there are increasing cases of numerous contradictions with the law and contracts.

However, the Police of the Czech Republic assessed the actions of the participants in the happening as a criminal act of damaging property and charged seven of the participants in the event. One of the essential reasons for this qualification was the estimation of the damage caused on the basis of an expert opinion of CZK 44 891 (the Property Management Company itself estimated the damage caused at more than CZK 100 000). The fact that the building was in a conservation area should also have been an aggravating factor. The association itself assessed its act as socially beneficial, which, in its view, did not fulfil one of the essential elements of the offence, i.e. its social harmfulness. The association also documented that the painting could be easily removed using a high-pressure cleaner and water and that the pavement was not damaged in any way. The proceedings in the case are still pending.

There are undoubtedly more ways to claim damages under Czech law. The question arises as to whether the current police procedure respects one of the fundamental principles of criminal law, “ultima ratio”, according to which the use of criminal law is possible only where other means of protecting the rights of natural or legal persons have failed or have proved insufficient or inappropriate. It will certainly be interesting to see whether, in view of these facts and the overall context of the situation , the prosecution of the activists will be abandoned, which would seem reasonable in the given context.

What is the limit of damages and what about intent or negligence

The criminal offence of damaging someone else’s property is regulated in the Czech legal system in Section 228 of the Criminal Code. In order to assess whether a criminal offence has been committed, it is important to consider several key aspects:

Intent versus negligence: under the Czech Criminal Code, intent of the perpetrator is required for the commission of the offence of damage to property. It is therefore a deliberate offence, although indirect intent is sufficient (where the perpetrator knows that the way he acts may lead to the commission of the offence and is aware of this in case it actually happens). The perpetrator’s intent must include the fact that the property is someone else’s.

The damage caused is not insignificant. The offence may be qualified as such if the damage caused is at least“not insignificant” – which according to the current regulations amounts to CZK 10,000. In the case of causing “considerable” damage (at least CZK 1,000,000) or “large-scale damage” (at least CZK 10,000,000), the criminal rate for such an act is then increased.

Penalties for damage to foreign property

The penalties for damage to foreign property vary according to the severity of the case and, as already mentioned, the amount of damage. The mildest version of the offence and causing not insignificant damage can lead to imprisonment for up to one year, prohibition of activity or forfeiture of the property.

Qualifying offences include either the possibility of causing substantial damage or committing the offence on the property of a witness, expert or interpreter for the performance of their duty, or committing the offence on the property of another because of his or her actual or perceived race, ethnic group, nationality, political opinion, religion or because he or she is actually or perceived to be without religion. Also, a situation where the damaged thing enjoys protection under another legal provision leads to a possible imprisonment of six months to three years.

The most serious penalty is imprisonment for two years to six years if the act causes damage of a large scale.

The most common cases of damage to foreign property in practice

The most common cases of damage to foreign property in practice are as follows:

• Vandalism: This involves deliberate damage to public and private property, such as graffiti on walls, damage to park benches or breaking windows.
• Damage to cars: people often settle scores with each other through their cars – a scratched car with a nickel, slashed tyres are the most common examples.
• Damage to personal items such as clothing, glasses or luggage. This often occurs in connection or in combination with another crime such as a fight or battery. In such contexts, however, it is more difficult to identify whether the damage to the property was intentional or whether it occurred accidentally in the context of a fight.
• Damage to a neighbour’s home – neighbour disputes are also often accompanied by the offence of damage to property. If the item in question is not the aforementioned car, it can be anything from a neighbour’s home. In practice, we have seen trees cut down, a garden doused with chemicals or a damaged swimming pool.