T. Hartlief

Shifts in compensating work-related injuries and diseases

In 2003 the research programme Compensation for damage — the shift from civil law to public funding and vice versa started under the supervision of Prof. Dr Willem H. van Boom (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and Prof. Dr Michael F. Faure LL.M (University of Maastricht) and with financial support of the Dutch Scientific Organisation (NWO). Inspired by recent changes in the legal basis for compensating damage, this research programme aims at analysing shifts in paradigm with regard to compensation for damage across the borderline between civil law and public funding and vice versa. Several trends are discernable in this respect. On the one hand, there are clear signs of shifts being made from public funding to compensation systems based on civil law and individual responsibility. On the other hand, there are also developments which would seem to mirror shifts from individual responsibility to public funding or alternative systems of solidarity, such as compulsory insurance.

Towards an expanding enterprise liability in Europe? : how to analyze the scope of liability of industrial operators and their insurers

Since the 1970s the scope of liability of industrial operators in the United States has expanded considerably. 1 This expansion relates both to the likelihood of being found liable in case of an accident and to the amount of damages awarded. A tendency towards an increased liability for industrial operators seems to have started in Europe to some extent as well. The need to protect innocent victims against major industrial hazards has led both legislation and case law to expand the scope of liability. Some argue that in many cases the classic negligence standard has de facto been replaced by a strict liability rule.