The foundations of tort law in various European legal systems vary considerably. Until now, there has not been an attempt to harmonize the entire field of tort law in a consistent manner. To rectify this, a group of tort lawyers has proposed to address the fundamental questions underlying every tort law system. The result is this important book, which searches for a common law of Europe without the necessity yet to lay these principles down in formal legal texts, such as a European civil code.
Identifying the most relevant factors in establishing liability as wrongfulness, causation, damage, fault, and the area of strict liability, the authors concentrate on the topic of `wrongfulness', trying to combine theoretical abstract analysis with the discussion of concrete cases. Each author gives an overview of wrongfulness under his or her national legal system, primarily by working out the concept and its importance in establishing liability – and then applies the analysis to actual cases. The subsequent conclusions aim at the coordination of the results and other important factors.
In addition, some members of the group work out the nature of protected interests and important reasons for the extent of protection, and discuss the overlap of contractual and tortious liability.
In summary, the book not only explores the common ground underlying all the legal systems concerned with respect to the concept of wrongfulness, but also informs academics and practitioners of the fundamental questions of wrongfulness underlying the law of tort in various distinct jurisdictions.