Explanation of Article 519
The article clarifies the effect of the depositary's breach in preserving the deposit in case the breach is due to his fault or the fault of one of his employees;
The first paragraph states that if the deficiency that occurred to the deposit is due to the fault of the depositary, or due to the fault of one of his employees, the depositary is responsible for that deficiency;
The fault here is determined according to what is stated in Article (509), which obligates the depositary to exercise the care in preserving the deposit that he would exercise in preserving his own property, without being required to exercise more than the care of an ordinary person. If the deposit is for a fee, he must exercise the care of an ordinary person in preserving it.
What is stated in this paragraph is an application of the general rules of tort liability, as stated in Article (140) of this system:
"Every fault that causes harm to others obligates the perpetrator to compensate."
The second paragraph clarifies that if the deficiency that occurred to the deposit is due to the fault of the depositor himself, or someone with him, or someone who visited him, the depositary is not responsible for that deficiency;
For example, if a person deposits a sum of money with another, and then another person who does not have the right to dispose of it comes and steals the amount, the depositary is not responsible for that, because the damage arose from the fault of another. What is stated in this article is not of public order; it is permissible to agree on what contradicts it, and it is permissible to agree to exempt the depositary from liability for his fault, or to increase his liability, unless it is due to fraud or gross negligence.
The ruling contained in this article places tort liability on the depositary, not contractual liability, because this article does not address the contract between the depositary and the depositor, but rather addresses the liability that arises from the depositary's act in the deposit.
One of the effects of liability here is that hotel owners are not responsible if the deficiency is due to theft from outside or loss not caused by the depositary's fault. This implies that if the damage arises from a foreign cause such as force majeure, the fault of the depositor, or the fault of another, the depositary is not responsible for the damage that occurred to the deposit. This liability is contractual on the depositary and relates to the negative aspect of the depositary's obligation, as he is not obligated to anything he did not commit to; this is because the deposit contract here is one of the guarantee contracts. However, if it is one of the deposit contracts, he is obligated to guarantee any deficiency that occurs to the deposit, regardless of the cause, unless there is an agreement to the contrary between the depositary and the depositor.
Related To
Article 519
If the concerned parties agree to place the property under the receivership of two or more receivers, neither receiver may separately safekeep or manage the property, nor dispose of its yields without obtaining authorization from the other receivers.