Tort Law on ExcellentWiki - Legal Encyclopedia

Chinese Tort Law

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Sources and Structure

Chinese tort law is codified in Book VII (Tort Liability) of the Civil Code, effective 1 January 2020. Book VII (Articles 1164–1258) succeeded the Tort Liability Law of 2009 and provides the first comprehensive codification of Chinese private law. Tort liability arises from infringement of civil rights and interests, including personality rights, property rights, and other legally protected interests. The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) issues binding judicial interpretations, including the Interpretation on Compensation for Moral Damage (2021).

EU Tort Law

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Sources and Structure

EU tort law operates at multiple levels. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for the non-contractual liability of the Union itself (Article 340(2) TFEU). The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has developed the principle of member state liability for breach of EU law (the Francovich doctrine). Secondary legislation includes directives harmonising specific areas of tort law, most importantly the Product Liability Directive 85/374/EEC. Academic projects — the Principles of European Tort Law (PETL) and the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) — propose principles for a future harmonised European tort law. These sources interact with national tort systems, creating a multi-level governance framework.

French Tort Law

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Sources and Evolution

French tort law (droit de la responsabilité civile) is codified in Articles 1240–1244 of the Civil Code (formerly Articles 1382–1386, renumbered by the 2016 Ordinance on the Law of Contracts). The 1804 Code established a threefold classification of civil liability: liability for personal fault (responsabilité du fait personnel, former Article 1382), liability for the acts of others (responsabilité du fait d’autrui, former Article 1384), and liability for things in one’s custody (responsabilité du fait des choses, former Article 1385). This structure survives in the modern code, though judicial interpretation has dramatically transformed its content.

German Tort Law

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Sources and Structure

German tort law (Deliktsrecht) is codified in the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB) §§ 823–853, forming part of the Law of Obligations (Schuldrecht). Unlike the open-ended general clauses of French law, the BGB adopts a three-tort system, each protecting different interests through distinct mechanisms. The system has been substantially supplemented by judge-made law and specialised statutes.

The Three General Torts

§ 823(1) BGB — Injury to Absolute Rights. The first general tort provides that a person who intentionally or negligently injures the life, body, health, freedom, property, or “other right” of another is bound to compensate the resulting damage. The provision protects a closed list of absolute rights (Rechtsgüter) and requires the invasion to be either intentional (vorsätzlich) or negligent (fahrlässig).

Russian Tort Law

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Sources and Structure

Russian tort law is codified in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Гражданский кодекс Российской Федерации), specifically Chapter 59 (Articles 1064–1101) on “Obligations Arising from the Causing of Harm” (Обязательства вследствие причинения вреда). The Code, adopted in parts from 1994 to 2006, replaced the Soviet-era civil legislation and introduced a market-oriented framework. The general principles of Russian tort law are supplemented by federal statutes, including the Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance (OSAGO, 2002), and by interpretative resolutions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

UK Tort Law

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The Tort of Negligence

Negligence requires proof of a duty of care, breach of that duty, factual and legal causation, and damage not too remote.

Duty of Care. The modern law begins with Donoghue v. Stevenson [1932] AC 562, in which Lord Atkin articulated the neighbour principle: a duty is owed to persons so closely affected by one’s acts that they ought to be in contemplation. The Caparo test (Caparo Industries plc v. Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605) requires foreseeable harm, proximity between the parties, and that it be fair, just, and reasonable to impose a duty. Liability for pure economic loss is confined to negligent misstatement where a special relationship of reliance exists (Hedley Byrne & Co Ltd v. Heller & Partners Ltd [1964] AC 465).

US Tort Law

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Sources and Structure of US Tort Law

US tort law is primarily state common law, developed through judicial decisions rather than codified statutes. The American Law Institute’s Restatements of Torts — the Restatement (Second) (1965–1979) and the Restatement (Third) (2000–present) — serve as influential guides, though they lack binding authority. Individual states retain interpretive autonomy, producing significant variation in doctrinal rules across jurisdictions.

Intentional Torts

Intentional torts require the actor to desire or know with substantial certainty that the harmful consequences will occur. Battery is the intentional infliction of a harmful or offensive bodily contact. Consent, actual or apparent, operates as a complete defence. Assault involves the intentional creation of a reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact, without requiring physical touching. False imprisonment requires an act confining another within boundaries fixed by the actor, with no reasonable means of escape, and the victim’s awareness of confinement or actual harm.