Hegel's Understanding of Damage Reparation

Abstract

This paper outlines Hegel's understanding of damage reparation. By taking as its starting point the hypothesis on the embeddedness of paragraph 98 of Hegel's Philosophy of Right in Hegel’s general theory of punishment, it sets out the legal nature and functions which Hegel attributes to the institute of damage reparation. It then compares Hegel's understanding of damage reparation as outlined in this paper with viewpoints of the contemporary general theory and philosophy of law. Finally, it determines the extent to which Hegel's understanding of damage reparation is in line with the increasingly perceived need for a new jurisprudential explanation of tort law and answers the question as to whether this understanding can contribute to contemporary tendencies in tort law theory.

Keywords: damage reparation, Hegel, legal theory, duty-based understanding of damage reparation, sanction-based understanding of damage reparation, restoration of rights function