Research leaders: Thierry Vansweevelt & Britt Weyts

Short text

Liability law outlines the conditions under which an injured party can recover damages from a third person. This line of research examines how those conditions are interpreted and how that liability expands as a function of technological, scientific and social developments.

Nor is liability law considered an island, but is examined in relation to other sources of compensation, such as social security and private insurance. In the interaction of these sources of compensation, the policy choices reflected by compensation law are studied.

Comprehensive text

Overview

The externally endowed University of Antwerp Liability Law and Insurance Chair (ALLIC) is the hub for our research under this line. The starting point for this research line is the observation that tort law and insurance law play an essential role in private law.

To this end, several reasons can be identified.

Firstly, there is a growing amount of risk caused by the increasing permeation of technology in society. Numerous examples of this can be given. Consider for example the greater liability risks created by the increasing importance of artificial intelligence.

Secondly, there is growing trend of claim-awareness within various societal groups that are unwilling to bear their own damage. Many victims now demand or expect to be able to establish the liability of another person, company or institution, or at least that a third party will bear the damage, even apart from any liability.

Thirdly, there is greater availability of legal aid insurance and liability insurance, which influences the aim to allocate liability to an insured person or entity.

Finally, as tort law, insurance law and social security cannot compensate for all damage, compensation could be provided by compensation funds or by the government.

​​Debates

Against that background, we address the following specific research questions.

The first objective of this line of research is to pay attention to classic themes of both liability law and insurance law. In doing so, it examines how the conditions for liability are interpreted and are renewed via legislation or jurisprudence according to technological, scientific and societal developments. This research covers both natural persons and legal persons, including the government.

A second objective is to study the scope of liability law and insurance law, examining the functions performed by these areas of law. As touched upon above, the idea that each person bears his or her own damages is increasingly in question and injured parties often seek a way to be compensated. Liability law and insurance law, together with social security law, form the classic three pillars that are then immediately thought of. There is a constant interplay between the various pillars of the compensation system as a whole. We will particularly focus on the interaction between these pillars and the influence of policy choices and of economic situations in our society in specific periods.

Furthermore, in today's society, these three pillars do not always seem to be adequate, so that compensation funds are increasingly being established. It is important to understand the role and functioning of these compensation funds.

A third objective, closely related to this, is to pay attention to the growing need for solidarity. This is expressed, as already mentioned, in the growing interest in other compensation systems, and requires consideration of how far the law should go in this regard. The growing need for solidarity is also important in current existing systems. Among other things, we note that solidarity between insured persons is also playing an increasing role in insurance law. This includes a focus on policy choices behind the different compensation systems.

​​Specific research questions

1.         Do all interests deserve equal protection in liability law? Is it justified that in principle all interests are considered equally worthy of protection? (Connecting to the line of research on persons and objects)

2.         What interpretation should be given to the classical conditions of liability law? Much attention is paid here to questions of causation, as well as to the loss of a chance doctrine.

3.         How can damages be most correctly assessed within the various compensation systems? Several specific questions are addressed in the process. How should we deal with the need for compensation of moral damages? Should predestination to damages be taken into account and does this apply to persons as well as objects in the same way (following the line of research on persons and objects)?

4.         What role do compensation funds currently play in compensation for harm?

5.         How can environmental (health) damage best be dealt with?

6.         What is the role of liability law and other compensation systems in mass tort cases where it is often difficult to identify a liable party?