Lecture
Mass harm in European Private law
- Date
- Wednesday 13 December 2023
- Time
- Explanation
- Hybrid event (online and in-person at Utrecht University)
- Location
- Utrecht University
Janskerkhof 3
3512 BK Utrecht
Overview
Mass tort is one of the major themes in society, as well as within the legal debate on legal conflict resolution. In November 2023 a project about mass harm of the Common Core of European Private Law was published. This research adds an in-depth and broad comparative law study on the meaning of tort law in mass harm cases in Europe. It examines this phenomenon based on twelve different case studies in twelve European jurisdictions. The jurisdictions included are: Austria, Belgium, England and Wales, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and Spain. Because of the objectives of this study, this is not limited to only an analysis of substantive tort law, but also includes procedural law aspects and the shift of compensation beyond tort law. It marks a novelty in the common core tradition by mapping out procedural (im)possibilities of damages recovery in mass harm cases. Thereby giving a clearer picture of what tort law can de facto mean in mass harm cases.
Many follow-up questions arise from this comparative research. We will address two topics during a hybrid seminar on 13 December 2023. First, a major obstacle seems to be the standardization of damages, especially in those cases where the nature of the damage is difficult to standardize. Second, it again appears that tort law protects only a small number of interests; ecology is not one of them. During a hybrid seminar of the research network Institutions for Conflict Resolution (in cooperation with the research group Ucall) we reflect on the results of the research as well as explore questions about standardization of damages and ecology damages with three leading experts.
Speakers and Programme
15.00 Introduction
15.10 Presentation research results ‘Mass harm in Europe’ and Q&A Prof. mr. Rianka Rijnhout & Prof. mr. Tomas Arons
15.50 Reflection 1 (incl. Q&A): How to standardize individual damages? The standardized damage schedule developed for the settlement of claims in the Dutch Child Benefits Affaire: a case study - Marco Speelmans (business manager personal injury, Aegon Insurance NL) and mr. Maykel de Vries (Expert Staff Achmea Insurance NL)
16.20 Reflection 2 by Prof. mr. Edward Brans (Utrecht University) (incl. Q&A): How to protect the importance of ecology in tort law?
16.50 Final Q&A
17.00 Closing
The research would not have been possible without the efforts of many! Here is a list of all the authors who contributed to the creation of the study.
This seminar will be of interest to fellow researchers in Europe and beyond, but legal professionals working in mass tort cases are also cordially invited to join.
About the seminar series
Institutions for Conflict Resolution / Conflictoplossende Instituties (COI) is a research collaboration between Utrecht University, Leiden University, and Radboud University Nijmegen. As part of its activities, the COI research group organises seminars throughout the year for researchers interested in current and innovative topics relating to institutions for conflict resolution. The seminars feature international speakers who present their work, followed by Q&A and discussion. Themes include the evolving role of judges in preventing and resolving conflicts, the role of alternative avenues and non-public actors, and how societal challenges such as climate change or digitalisation affect institutions for conflict resolution. Seminars are hosted on a rotating basis at each of the three universities, and are delivered in a hybrid format: online and in-person, on campus at the host institution.