Bernhard A. Koch

Principles of European Tort Law

Seventeen years ago, Jaap Spier convened a meeting of tort law experts at the University of Tilburg, where he was teaching at the time. This ‘Tilburg Group’, as it was called at the beginning, initially discussed fundamental aspects of tort law with an eye to ‘keeping the floodgates shut’, as their first publication referred to in its subtitle.1 The Group then decided to embark upon a highly ambitious project, namely the drafting of principles governing delictual liability in Europe—the Principles of European Tort Law (PETL). The Group has since grown and continues to expand.2 It is now called the European Group on Tort Law (EGTL). One of its original members, Christian von Bar, has meanwhile left the Group and is pursuing a similar project within the framework of the Study Group on a European Civil Code (SGECC), presented by John Blackie in this special issue.3 Despite its name, the Group’s members are not all from Europe. The undeniable influence of US tort law as a global driving force in the development of this body of law is reflected in the fact that eminent experts from that side of the Atlantic were part of the

Compensation for Personal Injury in a Comparative Perspective

QUESTIONNAIRE.- COUNTRY REPORTS: Schadenersatz fur Korperverletzung in Osterreich Compensation for Personal Injury in Belgium Compensation for Personal Injury in England La Reparation du Dommage Corporel en France Schadenersatz fur Korperverletzung in Deutschland Compensation for Personal Injury in Italy Compensation for Personal Injury in The Netherlands Compensation for Personal Injury in Spain Compensation for Personal Injury in Sweden Schadenersatz fur Korperverletzung in der Schweiz Vergleichende Analyse Comparative Analysis Analyse Comparative.- Zusammenfassung.- Index.- European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law.- ECTIL Publications

Breaking through the glass doors: men working in early childhood education and care with particular reference to research and experience in Austria and New Zealand

This article proposes that there exist ‘glass doors’ impeding men from entering and participating in ECEC work. Across developed countries, men’s participation as carers and teachers in early childhood education and care (ECEC) services tends to be viewed as highly desirable and much has been written about the importance of men in ECEC. However, the proportion of men has not yet risen to a level that effectively challenges the near absence of gender diversity in the sector. How could this be when there are no formal legal or other visible barriers preventing men from entering the early childhood profession? To explore why it has proven difficult to make much headway in increasing the proportion of men in ECEC we reviewed and discussed the scientific literature and in particular drew on research and experience from our own countries – Austria and New Zealand. This led to the generation of six descriptions for what we found to be the main ‘glass doors’. In practice the glass doors are unseen or invisible. These are rarely acknowledged and not known until they are walked into but these are real barriers to men being able to participate equally with women in ECEC.

Punitive Damages in European Law

“The position of the European Union regarding punitive damages is not only ambivalent, but also clearly self-contradictory.”1 This statement by one commentator perfectly describes the status quo of European law regarding penal elements in the field of tort law remedies.

Federalism and Legal Unification in Austria

Due to the strong centralizing character of Austrian federalism, the degree of unification of laws is particularly high. While the component states (the Lander) retain a residual competence under the Federal Constitution, a vast majority of competences is expressly allocated to the federal level. Little is left for the Lander to legislate, sometimes even restricted by a concurrent federal competence for framework legislation. The Lander are ineffectively represented in the federal legislature, even though the informal conference of Land Governors has much political influence at the federal level. Unification is further driven by EU law, which requires homogeneous implementation and thus increases the need for internal cooperation (a long-established characteristic of Austrian federalism). In constitutional terms, cooperation becomes particularly manifest in the formal agreements concluded between the federation and the Lander or among the Lander themselves, and which reconcile the fragmented distribution of competences with the aim to enact harmonized legislation. A reform of the distribution of competences as well as of the federal second chamber has been discussed intensely in recent years.

Proportional liability : analytical and comparative perspectives

Courts have, traditionally, required the plaintiff to prove to the requisite standard of proof that causation exists. This monograph addresses what has, to date, been a modest reform toward permitting recovery based on a probability that causation exists, discounting the damages awarded by the probability of causation. The central purpose of our inquiry is to employ a comparative methodology to better understand how different legal systems respond to causal uncertainty and to examine why, how and in what situations rules of proportional liability can promote the goals of tort law.

Wrongful Death: How Much Does It Cost to Kill Someone?

As the admittedly provocative subtitle suggests, the consequences of wrongful death will be looked at from a slightly different angle as compared to the other contributions on this topic contained in this volume. Since it was meant to be more of a summary than a substantive analysis, references to these other papers will be made throughout.