in recent years, there has been a growing interest in the legal aspects of mass torts in Europe. Both academics, legislatures, courts and policymakers throughout the whole of Europe have been struggling with the challenges that such ‚massification‘ of private law relationships poses both in and outside of tort law. The subject moves between the law of civil procedure, substantive tort law, access to justice debates and regulatory frameworks for mass disputes. This volume offers both a caleidoscopic review of real-life key cases of mass tort and an in-depth reflection on the broader implications of mass tort in Europe. Thus, the challenges posed by mass torts are explored, mapped and analysed.
Tort law, a fundamental building block of every legal system, features prominently in mass culture and political debates. As this pioneering anthology reveals, tort law is not simply a collection of legal rules and procedures, but a set of cultural responses to the broader problems of risk, injury, assignment of responsibility, compensation, valuation, and obligation. Examining tort law as a cultural phenomenon and a form of cultural practice, this work makes explicit comparisons of tort law across space and time, looking at the United States, Europe, and Asia in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. It draws on theories and methods from law, sociology, political science, and anthropology to offer a truly interdisciplinary, pathbreaking view. Ultimately, tort law, the authors show, nests within a larger web of relationships and shared discursive conventions that organize social life.
This book addresses the international legal dimension of the management of the risk of accidents associated with offshore oil and gas activities. It focuses on the prevention and minimization of harm as well as the post-accident management of loss through liability and compensation arrangements and the processing of mass claims for compensation. Government officials of countries with offshore industries, international civil servants and academics in related fields will find the book a valuable resource.
Practical Global Tort Litigation takes readers on a journey through a tort case in the U.S., Germany, and Argentina. Using a shattering glass food container as the vehicle, the book compares how a prototypical products liability case would be handled in the U.S. common law system and representative civil law nations in Europe and Latin America. The book analyzes from a real world perspective issues such as fact gathering and presentation, expert witnesses, burdens of proof, theories of recovery and defenses, and damages and attorneys'' fees. This book is part of the Contextual Approach Series, edited by Andrew J. McClurg, Professor and Herff Chair of Excellence in Law, The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. "Practical Global Tort Litigation explores how the law would address an ordinary products liability dispute on separate continents around the world-in North America, Europe, and South America. It is impossible to conceive of a more creative, effective, or engaging way to get one''s arms around the fascinating if unwieldy issues of comparative law than to examine through separate lenses how a particular lawsuit would be handled under such disparate legal systems, reflecting such differing cultural traditions. The distinctive portraits painted here reveal enough threads of commonality to animate the enduring hope of comparativists in every land that similar strands of fairness and justice around the globe, spanning continents and civilizations, reveal enduring links of human experience at a primal level." -- David G. Owen, Carolina Distinguished Professor of Law, University of South Carolina "McClurg, Koyuncu, and Sprovieri have produced the blueprint for academics interested in examining comparative approaches to the law. The book''s strength lies in its holistic examination of a claim from injury to legal resolution within the juridical systems of the United States, Germany, and Argentina. There simply is no better way to address the fundamental issues raised in a comparative tort litigation setting than this contextualized approach. Having had the pleasure to work with the lead author for several years, I can think of no better scholar and teacher to undertake this ambitious endeavor. He and his fellow authors have not only met their goals, they have set the standard for future comparative engagements." -- Ediberto Román, Professor of Law, Florida International University "The unique focus on a single case permits three different legal systems to be compared effectively and efficiently. The brisk and accessible style makes it perfect for classroom use, although lawyers outside of the academy will find it worth reading for the sheer intrinsic pleasure of learning about how familiar concepts are handled elsewhere. In recent years, American lawyers have been told that the world is shrinking: this book is a useful and practical step towards dealing with the globalization of law." -- Anthony J. Sebok, Centennial Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School "The book convinces by a simultaneous and detailed presentation of central problems of product liability law and the review of the examined jurisdictions as a whole. Therefore, it is valuable for all those readers who practically or theoretically deal with product liability law as well as for those readers who are generally interested in comparative law." -- Produkthaftpflicht international (Product Liability International Journal) "Overall, by working practically through a concrete case this book provides valuable comparative views into the substantive and procedural product liability laws in the U.S.A., Germany and Argentina. The authors deliver -- by highlighting the differences between the countries -- a well-written presentation, in which they also describe possible defense strategies for manufacturers. In addition to the comparative contents, the book is flavored with experiences and insights of the three authors. Particularly, through its numerous practical aspects, the book delivers inspiring and valuable insights for scientific legal scholars, practitioners and interested students. The benefit of this fluently written book is even enhanced by the fact that each chapter contains a table-sheet summary where the commonalities and differences in the analyzed countries are accentuated. This alleviates the quick look for readers. In conclusion, here is a very felicitous and scientifically and practically valuable book, that can be recommended without reservation." -- Recht der Internationalen Wirtschaft (Law of International Economy Journal) "[This] book can be recommended with confidence to all those who are interested in product liability law, since even experts may discover some interesting new approaches in this book. The book is also valuable for those generally interested in comparative law, because it demonstrates in an exemplary manner that successful comparative law cannot merely end with a comparison of material norms, but what must instead be pursued is the examination of the law in its entirety, once again by placing the examined legal field in a social, resp. legal, nexus." -- Versicherungsrecht (VersR) "In summary, by using an example of a concrete liability case, the book delivers insight into the aspects of the substantive and procedural product liability law in the United States, Argentina and Germany. The book is fluently written and easily to understand. It offers instructive and useful information for experts in companies, lawyers, legal academics and students. Especially useful are the tables at the end of each chapter, which summarize the content of the chapter and outline special characteristics, similarities and differences of the respective law in the three countries. This provides the reader with a quick overview. Everyone interested in product liability or comparative law will benefit from this book. Last but not least, it is quite economically priced." -- Peter Hoffman, editor of Food and Law
Statutory obligations to take out liability insurance are, in practice, the most important means to ensure compensability of damage arising from dangerous activities. However, in contrast to the significant practical impact, academic research on the topic has not been extensive so far. This study, therefore, undertakes a comprehensive survey of compulsory liability insurance from nine national perspectives (Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) and takes constitutional and European law (four freedoms, European Convention on Human Rights) as well as the Principles of European Insurance Contract Law (PEICL) into account. It also contains an extensive economic analysis of compulsory liability insurance and discusses aspects of insurability. A Comparative Report, Conclusions and an Annex containing a compilation of rules on compulsory liability insurance in the nine national legal systems complete the study. It considers in particular: the aims of provisions stating an obligation to take out liability insurance the mandatory content of insurance cover the protection mechanisms linked to compulsory liability insurance the control mechanisms and the sanctions imposed structural deficiencies of existing compulsory liability insurance systems
It is thirteen years since the appearance of the successful second edition of this convenient English-language introduction to the law of Germany. This new edition covers all the significant changes and innovations that have occurred during that period, encompassing the pervasive impacts of European Union law and of globalization, as well as the greatly increased activity of the German legislature in every area addressed in this volume. With fifteen lucid chapters written by academic experts in their respective fields of law, as well as detailed bibliographies, this is the ideal starting point for research whenever a question of German law must be answered. The authors clearly explain the legal concepts, customs, and rules arising from such basic elements as the following: – characteristic problems of German legal unity; – principles and practices of constitutional law; – administrative law and procedure; – the German Commercial Code; – formation and conduct of corporations and partnerships; – contracts; – tort liability; – property rights; – family law; – succession and inheritance; – labor and employment; – issues of private international law; – courts and civil procedure; – the penal code and criminal procedure. Introduction to German Law, Third Edition provides an authoritative description of all issues likely to emerge in the course of normal application of German law in any context.
This discussion of causal uncertainty in tort liability adopts a comparative approach in order to highlight the important normative, epistemological and procedural implications of the various proposed solutions. Occupying a middle ground between the legal perspective and the philosophical views that are at stake when it comes to the resolution of tort law cases in a context of causal uncertainty, the arguments will be of great interest to legal scholars, legal philosophers and advanced tort law students.
Examines the extraterritorial effect of collective redress litigation, looking at the way in which many collective redress issues span frontiers, and thus involve complex transnational dynamics. Includes detailed analysis of the law and jurisprudence with significant practical impact in this area.
The Research Handbook on EU Consumer and Contract Lawtakes stock of the evolution of this fascinating area of private law to date and identifies key themes for the future development of the law and research agendas. This major Handbook brings together contributions by leading academics from across the EU on the latest developments and controversies in these important areas of law. The Handbookis divided into three distinct and thematic parts: firstly, authors examine a range of cross-cutting issues relevant to both consumer and contract law. The second part discusses specific topics on EU consumer law, including the consumer image within EU law, information duties and unfair contract terms. The final part focuses on a number of important subjects which remain current in the development of EU contract law and presents a number of innovative solutions to the challenges presented in parts one and two. This timely and insightful Handbook will provide both a comprehensive survey of this area of law for the novice researcher and fresh food-for-thought for scholars who have been researching this area of law for many years. Contributors include:E.A. Amayuelas, H. Beale, J.M. Bech Serrat, C. Busch, R. Canavan, P. Cartwright, O.O. Cherednychenko, G. Comparato, G. Cordero-Moss, A. Cygan, L. Gillies, M. Graziadei, M.W. Hesselink, G. Howells, C. Mak, V. Mak, H.-W. Micklitz, B. Pozzo, P. Rott, J. Rutgers, J.M. Smits, Y. Svetiev, E.T.T. Tai, C. Twigg-Flesner, W.H. van Boom, J. Watson, F. Zoll
