The foundations of tort law in various European legal systems differ considerably. Until now, there has not been an attempt to harmonise the entire field of tort law in a consistent manner. To rectify this, a group of tort lawyers has proposed to address the fundamental questions underlying every tort law system. The result is this important series of books, which searches for a common law of Europe without the necessity yet to lay these principles down in formal legal texts, such as a European civil code.
Identifying the most relevant factors in establishing liability as wrongfulness, causation, damage, fault, and the area of strict liability, the authors concentrate on the tort liability factor under discussion in each volume, combining theoretical abstract analysis with the discussion of concrete cases. Each author gives an overview of the particular tort liability factor under his or her national legal system—primarily by working out the concept and its importance in establishing liability—and then applies the analysis to actual cases. The subsequent conclusions aim at the coordination of the results and other important factors.
In summary, each volume tries to make clear what common ground pertaining to each tort liability factor underlies all the legal systems concerned with respect to the law of tort. Each volume also provides the academic and practitioner with the fundamental issues relating to that factor underlying the law of tort in the countries covered.