Abstract

Art. 483.1 of the Civil Code allows to make a conclusion that the provision on contractual penalties is enforceable only if their amount can be determined beforehand. The general and correct position of the Supreme Court concerning the way of determining the amount due to the creditor under a contractual penalty has not been translated into decision as to enforceability of contractual penalties. Thus, the commented Supreme Court judgement does not allow to establish beond doubt what is the actual position of the Supreme Court as to enforceability of contractual penalties the maximum amount of which cannot be determined at the contracting date. With a view to the fact that contractual penalties are provided for in most contracts, an explicit position of the Supreme Court in this regard would contribute to predictability of judicial decisions in those cases whereby contractual penalties are provided for the time unit of delay without specifying their maximum amount.