A municipality can be held liable for the violation of the duty of supervision of carers during a municipal holiday camp. This has now been decided by the Frankfurt am Main Higher Regional Court (Ref.: 3 U 131/23 of 27 June 2025). The court argued that the supervision of children at a municipal holiday camp should be classified as a sovereign activity. As civil servants in the sense of liability law, the carers had assumed the supervision of the children as an official duty in accordance with Section 839 BGB. The municipality was therefore liable for the slightly negligent behaviour of the carers. As the court went on to explain, the content and scope of the duty of supervision depended on the circumstances of the individual case. These included the age, nature and character of the persons to be supervised, the local environment, imminent dangers and their foreseeability as well as reasonableness. The burden of proof lies with those responsible for supervision: they must demonstrate how they have fulfilled their duty of supervision.

The court also stated that a disclaimer for personal injury not caused intentionally did not apply in this case.