Tort Reform À La Francaise: Jurisprudential and Policy Perspectives on Damages for Bodily Injury in France
Columbia Journal of European Law, Vol. 13, p. 231, Spring 2007
74 Pages Posted: 2 Apr 2010
Date Written: January 1, 2007
Abstract
David Corbé-Chalon, Attaché temporaire d'enseignement et de recherche (Instructor), Faculté de Droit et des Sciences Économiques, Université du Maine, Le Mans, France; Member of the Groupe de recherches en droit des affaires (Research Group in Business Law). Martin A. Rogoff, Professor of Law, University of Maine School of Law The system for awarding tort damages for bodily injuries in the United States has been much criticized, and reform proposals have abounded. The article describes and evaluates the French system for the award of damages for bodily injury, in order to see the U.S. system of bodily injury damages in tort broader perspective.
Parts I and II discuss the operation of the system for the award of tort damages for bodily injuries in France and the European Union, and the proposed changes to various aspects of the system intended to increase its rationality, transparency, and fairness. The description and analysis of the French system continues in Parts III, IV, and V, where the article describes French substantive law for the award of tort damages for bodily injury, the French system for arriving at damages in particular cases, and how that system works in practice. Part VI and the Conclusion consider the concept of “total reparation,” the fundamental principle underlying the French law of damages for bodily injuries, its actual application by courts, and its broader relationship to distributive and commutative justice.
Keywords: Tort Reform, Tort Damages, Bodily Injury, France, French Law, European Union, Total Reparation, Pecuniary Injuries, Distributive Justice, Commutative Justice
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