diff --git a/app/__init__.py b/app/__init__.py
index 34ded42..48e31a9 100644
--- a/app/__init__.py
+++ b/app/__init__.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from flask import Flask, request, redirect, url_for, render_template
 from app.views import routes
+from flask import jsonify
 
 def create_app():
     # create and configure the app
@@ -7,3 +8,12 @@ def create_app():
     app.config.from_pyfile('settings.py')
     app.register_blueprint(routes)
     return app
+
+
+@app.errorhandler(403)
+def not_authorised(e):
+    return jsonify(error="Not authorized"), 403
+
+@app.errorhandler(500)
+def internal_server_error(e):
+    return jsonify(error="Internal server error"), 500