Complete Summary Tort Law | Tilburg University

Tort Law | Exam Preparation
Modules 2-10
Materials used:
● T.F.E. Tjong Tjin Tai, Introduction to Global Tort Law ,draft v.3 (Tilburg, 2021), The Reader
● C.C. van Dam,European Tort Law, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press: Oxford 2013.


Contents:
Module 2 - Fault, Negligence and Intent
General
Germany
France
England

Module 3 - Causation
General - Reader 2.3.3
Germany
France
England

Module 4 - Damages, Damage, and Harm
General
Germany - 1203-2
France - 1203-1
England - 1203-3

Module 5 - Breach of Statutory Duty and Defenses
General
Germany - 903
France - 904
England - 902
Defenses - Reader 2.4

Module 6 - Personality Rights and Personal Torts
Germany - 706-2
France - 706-3
England 706-4
Secondary victims

Module 7 - Property and Economic Torts
General
Germany
France
England



1

,Module 8 - Strict Liability
General - Reader 5.2
Germany
France
England

Module 9 - Liability for Objects
General
Germany
France
England
Defenses

Module 10 - Product Liability and Defamation
General
Germany
France
England

Global Tort Law




Module 2 - Fault, Negligence and Intent
● General
○ Fault - Reader 2.3.1
■ Subjective fault (degree of intent) → state of mind, did they want it to
happen?
■ Objective (wrongfulness) → the kind of action or omission (not doing an
act)
● Omission → inaction, not taking enough precaution
● Pure omission → failure to perform an act by law
○ Intention
■ Malicious intent → deliberate, aimed at harming the victim
■ Wilful intent → deliberate intent but you did not want the consequence to
happen
■ Deliberate intent didn’t aim at the consequences but didn’t care
○ Negligence - Reader 3.5
■ Would have wanted to avoid the consequence
■ You did not want to harm anyone but you didn’t take sufficient care
■ No foreseeability
■ Four-factor test (assessing reasonable person standard) (805-2) - United
States v Caroll Towing Co 1947:


2

, ● Probability
● The seriousness of expected harm
● The burden of precautionary measures → Bolton v Stone 1951
● Character and benefit of the conduct
■ Wrongfulness can be estbalished by statute, other writtenn rules and
unwritten rules (reasonable person test)
● Germany
○ Fault - 402
■ Fault liability requires objective fault, subjective fault and causality
(402-2):
● Objective:
○ (1) Tatbestand → is there an infringement of §828 I, 823 II
of bonos mores §826? (204-3)
■ Bonos mores → “acting contrary to moral good”
(204-4)
○ (2) Rechtswidrigkeit → if there a wrongful action violating
the law?
● Subjective:
○ Verschulden → culpability, §276 (general rule for
obligations)
■ (1) tortfeasor is responsible for intention and
negligence
■ (2) a person acts negligently if he fails to exercise
reasonable care
■ (3) the tortfeasor may be released in advance from
liability for intention
○ Intention - 802
■ §823 → “A person who intentionally or negligently unlawfully injures…”
■ §826 → “... intentionally inflicts damage on another person is liable for
compensation”
○ Negligence - 804-2
■ Conduct contrary to the care required by society
■ Particular violation of rights, §823 I and II, Verschulden (§276)
■ Established through statute, other written rules and reasonable person
test, §823 I Verkehrspflichten
● France
○ Fault - 301-1
■ Cc 1240 → “Any human act which causes damage to someone else
obliges the person by whose fault it occurred, to compensate it”
○ Intention 802-1
■ Cc 1241 → “one shall be liable not only by reason of one’s acts but also
by reason of one’s imprudence or negligence”
○ Negligence - 804-3




3