Liability After Party: What You Need to Know

Questioner

My daughter will be 18 in October and of course she is having a party. The guests are all 16 or 17 years old. Now I am worried about the risk that a child after the party - having drunk alcohol - will have an accident, will be killed and/or will cause damage. To what extent can I be held liable for the damage - physical or otherwise - and what consequences can this have for my work (civil servant)

Lawyer

You are liable until your child is 18. The more you know that there is 'drinking', you also have a supervisory duty, since the child is still living at home. Should something happen (hoping not of course) then it could be the case that you can be held partly liable for the fact that you knew that your daughter was going out on the street 'drunk'.

Questioner

Thank you for your response; my question is mainly about children attending the party (not my daughter). The children who will attend the party are generally not yet 18 and logically we are responsible for what is drunk at that party. My concern is the liability that my wife or I (both civil servants in government service and at risk of committing a criminal offence) could have if something were to happen to someone else's child after consuming alcohol at my daughter's party. I hope you can provide some clarity on this?

Lawyer

Everything that happens during the party is your responsibility, because it is also not allowed for the 'youngsters' under the age of 18 to consume alcohol. The consumption itself is not a problem, but the extent to which it happens is. And with that I would like to refer you to my last sentence of my previous report. And I quote; (...) ' Should something happen (hoping not of course) then it could be that you can be held partly liable for the fact that you are aware that your daughter is going out on the street 'drunk'. End of quote. So it is not about your daughter in this case, but about the fact that you are 'knowing'. (the alcohol consumption among the youngsters). It is therefore your task to ensure that this goes smoothly. If the 'ladies and gentlemen' of the party make any more mistakes, you can appeal to the 'own fault' criteria. I believe there is a ruling on 'The barbecue ruling'. But I would have to look that up for you, if you wish. You may also contact me directly for more information.