|
Introduction
In 1993 Jaap Spier, at that time Professor at the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands, called together a working group to discuss the fundamental questions concerning tort law on a comparative basis. The limits of liability were first examined. The results of these deliberations were published in two volumes. Furthermore, the drafting of the European Principles of Tort Law has now been completed. These have been published by the European Group on Tort Law, accompanied by a commentary and several translations. The online version of the Principles in several languages can be found on the Group's website.
The European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law was founded in Vienna at the beginning of 1999 with a two-fold purpose - on the one hand to create a secure institutional basis for the drafting of the Principles and, on the other hand, to undertake further research projects in the field of tort law.
Since November 2000 the European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law, based in Vienna, has been an association, whose purposes, as contained in the statutes, are:
- to do legal and comparative legal research in the field of national, international and common European tort and insurance law and of the unification of European tort and insurance law;
- to draft Principles for a future harmonization of European tort law in cooperation with the European Group on Tort Law;
- to cooperate with scholars and research institutions in the field of tort and insurance law and with undertakings and corporations interested in such cooperation for joint research projects
The European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law is currently supported, among others, by the following institutions:
- Austrian Ministry of Justice
- Austrian Chamber of Civil Law Notaries
- Munich Re
- Austrian Insurance Association
- Swiss Insurance Association
As already in 2007, ECTIL is currently supported by the European Union/ Commission Directorate General freedom, security and justice. Further institutions and individuals are supporting members. It is hoped that further supporters will be included in the near future.
In addition to scientists from almost all European Union countries as well as Israel, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States of America, the members of the Board of Directors and the members of the Supervisory Board contribute to projects of the European Centre.
ECTIL is closely working together with the Institute for European Tort Law of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The European Centre further co-operates with:
- Institute for Transnational Legal Research (METRO), University of Maastricht (the Netherlands)
- European and Comparative Private Law Observatory, University of Girona (Spain)
The founders of the European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law, the European Group on Tort Law, are pursuing the most ambitious project with the support of ECTIL: the drafting of "Principles of European Tort Law". The aim of this broadly-based comparative research is to create the foundation for discussing a future harmonisation of the law of tort in the European Union, above all with respect to a possible codification of European Private Law. Further, the "Principles" to be drafted shall form a stimulus for both academics and practitioners and could serve as a guideline for national legal systems, thereby leading to gradual legal harmonisation. Finally, the present isolated tort law regulations, which are at times themselves contradictory, requires a uniform concept from the European Union.
In order to attain the necessary overview of the various legal systems, written country reports on the tort law questions to be examined are prepared. These individual country reports address abstract issues as well as case hypotheticals. This methodology takes into account the legal systems of most of the countries of the European Union, some Eastern European countries as well as Switzerland, which is currently involved in a reform of the law of tort. This work is positively supplemented by contributions from the legal systems of the USA, Israel and South Africa. South Africa in particular, with its mixed system based on continental and English law, can provide valuable experience concerning legal harmonisation. With regard to the eastern expansion of the European Union in the future, a co-operation with these countries in the fields of legal integration is of particular significance.
These country reports are supplemented by a comparative report in which the similarities and differences between the tort law regulations in the individual countries are presented. This basis forms the starting point for the drafting of the Principles which could be acceptable for all of the legal systems examined. Due to the diversity of the legal systems under question, it is rarely the case that, in this work, uniform regulations already exist. Rather, existing solutions require further development, or even new solutions have to be sought.
The work of the European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law on these projects has already led to concrete results which have been published by Kluwer Law International. A current list of these publications is available on this website.
The Principles and the Commentary were presented to the public for the first time on May 19 and 20, 2005 in Vienna. At the same time, The European Group on Tort Law published its Principles of European Tort Law, accompanied by a Commentary and several translations. The current version of the principles and several translations can be accessed on the Group's website. The Principles and the Commentary were presented and discussed at further conferences in Switzerland (Fribourg), United Kingdom (London), Czech Republic (Prague), Spain (Pamplona), Belgium (Leuven), Germany (Academy of European Law, Trier), USA (Washington). Further presentations are in preparation. The results of these discussions should then be considered in a revised version of the Principles.
The work of the European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law is, however, not limited to the drafting of the Principles. In addition, the Centre is involved in other comparative legal research studies, the results of which are published in the series "Tort and Insurance Law" by Springer (Vienna/New York). Past and current research projects are presented in a separate section.
The results of most research projects are presented in public conferences throughout Europe. If you would like to be notified of future events please send us an e-mail.
Apart from these special conferences, ECTIL organizes an Annual Conference on European Tort Law in Vienna, where tort law experts from throughout Europe will present all relevant tort law developments of the past year in their respective jurisdiction.
|
| |
|
|
The European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law was founded in Vienna at the beginning of 1999 with a two-fold purpose - on the one hand to create a secure institutional basis for the drafting of the Principles and, on the other hand, to undertake further research projects in the field of tort law.
|
|