Digital autonomous systems are characterized by their ability to make their “own” decisions, i.e. decisions that are not fully determined by the software that animates them. As such, they pose a challenge to existing liability systems and to the general law of delict or torts. At the...

With the case of Lliuya v. RWE, climate change litigation has come to Germany. The article explores the German law of torts or delict, asking whether it has something to offer to victims of climate change. The essential elements of negligence liability, i.e. scope of protection, duty of care,...

Credit rating agencies (CRAs) are not subject to broad, negligence-based liability vis-à-vis third parties such as investors. As a consequence, incentives to take an optimistic, rather than a pessimistic-conservative approach in rating firms or financial products are strong. The EU-Commission...

The article explores the relationship between tort law and human rights. It explains the potential inherent in holding corporations liable in tort for human rights violations along the supply chain. Several European jurisdictions such as France and imposed duties of care on domestic corporations...

Liability law is rapidly changing in quite a number of countries. This is due to various factors, which are interrelated to a large extent: changing case law and legislation as well as increased and still increasing technical and medical knowledge. As a result, various occupational diseases can,...

The first financial crisis, triggered by the burst of the U.S. housing bubble, has many causes. One such cause is the failure of gatekeepers, i.e. accounting firms and rating agencies. Consequently lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic tightened the regulatory regimes for accountants and...