A large group of people affected by the current coronavirus epidemic are parties to private educational service contracts such as: kindergarten, school, undergraduate or postgraduate studies. Parents who signed long-term contracts for their children to attend kindergarten and school are in a particularly difficult situation. Under these contracts, they are obligated to pay tuition, but kindergartens and schools are closed.
In this regard, the following questions certainly arise about the legal situation of the parties to such unperformed educational service contracts:
- Should I pay tuition for school or kindergarten when services are not being provided?
- Can or should I terminate such a contract?
It is obvious that talks between educational service providers and interested parties will or at least should take place. Which, as a lawyer, I always recommend: agreement for many reasons is more beneficial for all parties than a usually lengthy and costly conflict. However, it is worth knowing our legal position before such talks. Talks are then more specific and parties have a faster chance of reaching a solution satisfactory for all.
Educational service contract
The above-mentioned contracts, whose subject is the provision of educational services, i.e., admitting a child to kindergarten, school, or admitting to university studies, are reciprocal contracts.
The definition of a reciprocal contract according to Art. 487 of the Civil Code is: “A contract is reciprocal when both parties undertake obligations in such a way that the performance of one is to be the equivalent of the performance of the other.”
In the case of educational service contracts:
- The service provider undertakes to provide educational services of specific quality and scope.
- The client (parent/student) undertakes to pay tuition.
When the service provider cannot perform its obligation (provide classes), the question arises whether the other party (parent/student) is still obligated to perform their obligation (pay tuition). Polish civil law provides clear answers to this question through the provisions on impossibility of performance and the right to reduce remuneration.
According to Art. 495 of the Civil Code, if performance becomes impossible due to circumstances for which neither party is responsible, the obligation is extinguished, and the party that was to receive the performance cannot demand counter-performance. In practice, this means that parents are entitled to demand a proportional reduction of tuition or a refund for the period when services were not provided.
Paweł Osiński
Attorney