Special Liability Regimes and Human Rights under Belgian Law and the European Convention on Human Rights
Abstract
This article deals with the question whether and to what extent the human rights principle of equality and the right to a fair trial permit limitations of liability in certain specific fields. Based on the jurisprudence of mainly the Belgian Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, this article argues that two principles should be taken into account if one creates special liability regimes. The first principle is that the human rights principle of equality and the right to a fair trial will probably be violated if every possibility to receive damages is excluded for specific fields of liability. The second principle is that liability regimes that only offer partial compensation or require a more stringent burden of proof might conflict with the principle of equality where there is no legitimate reason for treating similar situations differently or where the legitimate aim of differentiating is not proportionate to the impact of the differentiation. Concerning this last criterion the presence of a grave or intentional fault seems to legitimate stricter liability rules.
© 2014 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Munich/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Schadenersatzrecht and the Law of Torts: Different terms and different ways of thinking
- Injuries from Unforeseeable Risks which Advance Medical Knowledge: Restitution-based Justification for Strict Liability
- Special Liability Regimes and Human Rights under Belgian Law and the European Convention on Human Rights
- Groupe de Recherche Européen sur la Responsabilité Civile et l’Assurance (GRERCA), Le droit français de la responsabilité civile confronté aux projets européens d’harmonisation (IRJS Éditions, Paris 2012). 958 pp. ISBN 978-2-919211-08-1. € 55.00 (paperback).
- TT Arvind/Jenny Steele (eds),Tort Law and the Legislature. Common Law, Statute and the Dynamics of Legal Change (Hart Publishing, Oxford Portland 2013). xliv + 502 pp. ISBN 9-781849-461405. £ 82.00 (hardback).
- R Merkin/J Steele,Insurance and the Law of Obligations (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013). xlii + 414pp. ISBN 978-0-19-964574-9. £ 75.00 (hardback).
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Schadenersatzrecht and the Law of Torts: Different terms and different ways of thinking
- Injuries from Unforeseeable Risks which Advance Medical Knowledge: Restitution-based Justification for Strict Liability
- Special Liability Regimes and Human Rights under Belgian Law and the European Convention on Human Rights
- Groupe de Recherche Européen sur la Responsabilité Civile et l’Assurance (GRERCA), Le droit français de la responsabilité civile confronté aux projets européens d’harmonisation (IRJS Éditions, Paris 2012). 958 pp. ISBN 978-2-919211-08-1. € 55.00 (paperback).
- TT Arvind/Jenny Steele (eds),Tort Law and the Legislature. Common Law, Statute and the Dynamics of Legal Change (Hart Publishing, Oxford Portland 2013). xliv + 502 pp. ISBN 9-781849-461405. £ 82.00 (hardback).
- R Merkin/J Steele,Insurance and the Law of Obligations (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013). xlii + 414pp. ISBN 978-0-19-964574-9. £ 75.00 (hardback).
