European Tort Law

Abstract This is the first introductory text book to European tort law. It brings together national tort law, comparative law, European Union (EU) law, and human rights law, and provides insights into the differences, commonalities, and mutual influence of the different tort law systems at work in Europe. The book examines the recent attempts for the harmonisation of the various systems of tortious liability by the discovery of a new European ius commune, and looks beyond the creation of ‘common codes’ to ask whether it is possible, or desirable, to converge the national models. The first part of the book provides overviews of the state of affairs of the tort law systems of France, Germany, England, and the EU. Comparisons are made between the rules, the cultures, and the policies of the various systems. The case for a European codification of tort law is discussed. The second part analyses and compares the requirements for liability in the various tort law systems: protected interests, negligence and unlawfulness, breach of statutory duty, stricter rules of liability, causation, damage, damages, and contributory negligence. The final part also assumes a comparative and a supranational point of view and shows how the national and European rules are applied in various ways in a number of categories, such as liability of public bodies, liability for defective products, for motor vehicles, for employees, for children, and for premises and highways.