November 5th I had the great honor to present a new paper to my colleagues in Leuven. The paper (co-authored with my Tilburg colleague Katarzyna Kryla-Cudna) concerns the extra-contractual liability of the European Union for the failure to adjudicate within a reasonable time, as addressed in the cases of Gascogne, Kendrion and ASPLA (December 2018). The non-contractual liability for damages caused by judicial decisions is one of the most disputed domains of tort law. EU
The outcome of damages actions in the Netherlands involving the liability of doctors, clinics and hospitals responsible for the placing of PIP silicone breast implants will likely be determined by a ruling of the Dutch Supreme Court, expected for Spring 2020. Late August 2019, the Court of Appeal in ‘s-Hertogenbosch referred questions to the Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) under the national preliminary reference scheme, asking for the interpretation of the strict(er) liability rule of
29 March I had the honour of giving a lecture at the University of Trento, Italy. I met a very enthusiastic crowd of students, who came well prepared to the talk and eager to engage in fundamental questions around the concept of tort law and the role of the European Union in its development. The lecture was part of the course on Foundations of Private Law from an EU perspective within the programme of CEILS
On 10 October, the French Supreme Court ruled that the Court of Appeal in Aix-en-Provence had not sufficiently addressed the arguments of plaintiffs in the damages claim they have brought against TÜV Rheinland in relation to the defective PIP breast implants. It is another step in the complex litigation involving the illegal use of substandard silicone gel for the manufacturing of breast implants by the French company PIP. See for comments on the decision from
I have had the pleasure of being an Academic Visitor at the Institute of European and Comparative Law from August to November 2018. My research stay was devoted to the project ‘The constitutionalization of private regulation’, a comparative research project in which I undertake to assess the conditions that govern the civil liability of private regulatory bodies. Funding is provided by the VENI Innovational Incentive Research scheme of the Netherlands Scientific Organisation (NWO). Read my short
The highest German court in civil matters, the Bundesgerichtshof, has denied a damages claim brought by a woman who received PIP breast implants against the certification body that was involved in the inspection of PIP production facilities TÜV Rheinland. This final judgment comes after the European Court of Justice of the EU had offered guidance to the Bundesgerichtshof as regards the scope of the inspection obligations TÜV Rheinland had under the applicable EU rules. For now,
Guest lecture Prof. Marc Loth This week Marc Loth, Professor of Tort Law at Tilburg Law School, offers his account of the development of climate change liability. Climate change indeed is one of the global challenges for tort law. While in the US several of such liability claims were brought to the courts,they all have failed. At a moment when everyone in favor of climate change liability had almost lost hope, the District Court of
PIP Case on the Cause List on June 22nd The German Bundesgerichtshof announced on March 29th that the hearings in the case between Schmitt and TÜV Rheinland will be held on June 22nd. These hearing are planned after the Court of Justice of the European Union answered the questions raised by the German court through a preliminary reference procedure (Case C-219/15) in its decision of February 16th. Read the press release of the Bundesgerichtshof Read the decision
General Court too slow in delivering judgements On January 10th, the General Court gave its first-ever damages award in the Gascogne case (T-577/14) for delayed proceedings within its own chambers. This decision was appealed by both the defendant (the EU) and the plaintiff (Gascogne). In the meantime, the Gascogne decision was confirmed by the Court’s rulings in Kendrion v. European Union (T-479/14 of 1 February 2017) and ASPLA v. European Union (T-40/15 of 17 February 2017). In