Making European Tort Law: The Game and its Players
In the last decades, building a common European tort law has become a primary goal for many European institutions and research groups. On the one hand, EU institutions frequently highlight the need of simplifying the current diversity in European tort law, and try to achieve this goal injecting the European legal framework with (so far quite incoherent) pieces of legislation. On the other hand, many research groups aim to enhance the Europanization process through means that are much differentiated one to the other. Some of these groups (like the European Group on Tort Law and the Study Group on a European Civil Code) adopt a top-down approach, and seek to draft a ‘soft’ European tort law. Others (e.g. the ‘Ius Commune Casebook for a Common Law of Europe’ project and the ‘Common Core of European Private Law’ project) follow a bottom-up path, committed as they are to develop a better knowledge on tort law across the European law-users. Despite the number and the qualities of such enterprises, there is no agreement on what should be done nor on who should do it. It is from this debate that the paper takes off, aiming to offer an overview of the endeavours currently under way, of the different techniques and methodologies they adopt, and of the possible outcomes that they are likely to produce in the short run as well as in the long run.
The Rome Convention of 1980 and its Revision at the Crossroads of the European Contract Law Project
Abstract: This article deals with some of the issues addressed in the Action Plan on a more coherent European contract law, COM (2003) 68 final, in connection with the Green Paper of the European Commission of 14 January 2003, COM (2003) 654 final, on the conversion of the Rome Convention of 1980 on the law applicable to contractual obligations into a Community instrument and its modernization. It argues ways in which both initiatives may complement each other towards a smoother functioning of the internal market.
The Limits of Liability, Keeping the Floodgates Shut
Preliminary Observations W.V.H. Rogers, et al. Limitation and Mitigation in German Tort Law C. v. Bar. Direct and General Limits on Tort Damages in the United States D.B. Dobbs. European Tort Law: Hellenic National Report K.D. Kerameus, Kl. Roussos. Mitigation of Damages under Austrian Law and Ideas for Future Regulations H. Koziol. La moderation de la reparation du dommage dans le droit belge de la responsabilite civile extra-contractuelle A. van Oevelen. Keeping the Floodgates Shut: "Mitigation" and "Limitation" of Tort Liability in the English Common Law W.V.H. Rogers. How to Keep Liability Within Reasonable Limits? A Brief Outline of Dutch Law J. Spier. Moderation et limitation des responsabilites et des indemnisations: Rapport sur le droit francais G. Viney. Determination et reduction de la reparation en droit suisse P. Widmer.