European Tort Law - Hardcover

It is a magnum opus, well thought through and edited in a splendid style that greatly stimulates the reader to enter this new area of law. (Professor Ewoud Hondius Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Burgerlijk Recht, NTBR)

The present book is an excellent start to encourage a European policy discourse and to make it fruitful. From that angle, it is excellent reading for a large audience of academics and practitioners, students and teachers within the European Union and beyond. (Walter van Gerven (from the preface))

This is the first textbook on European tort law. It provides insight into the differences and commonalities between the tort law systems of various European jurisdictions, bringing together national tort law, comparative law, Community law and human rights law. The author shows that European tort law is still a matter of diversity rather than harmony, particularly at policy level. However, he also underlines that Community law and the European Convention on Human Rights are powerful engines for harmonization. For this reason, European tort law is of growing importance for practitioners and academics as European integration progresses. The first part of the book (Systems of Liability) provides an overview of the state of affairs of the tort law systems of France, Germany and England, and of the European Union. In a concluding chapter the author compares the various rules, cultures and policies of the legal systems and demonstrates the need for a European policy discourse. The second part (Requirements of Liability) analyzes and compares the requirements for liability in the various tort law systems: protected interests, intention and negligence, breach of statutory duty, stricter rules of liability, causation, damage, damages, and contributory negligence. The final part (Categories of Liability) also assumes a comparative and supranational point of view. It shows how national and European rules are applied in a number of categories, such as liability of public bodies, liability for defective products, motor vehicles, employees, children, premises and highways, and for environmental damage. The book is written in a concise yet clear style. Brief accounts of numerous cases elucidate the breadth and depth of European tort law.