Prescription in Tort Law

Prescription is a major legal defence that bars civil actions on a claim after the expiry of a certain period of time. Despite its far-reaching practical effects on litigation and on society at large, and the fact that it is the subject matter of pervasive legal reforms in many countries, the law of prescription (limitation of actions) is rarely discussed, analysed and compared.

To meet this challenge, this book canvasses in-depth the law of 16 selected jurisdictions (covering Europe, South Africa and the US jurisdictions) and extensively analyses in comparative perspective the elements of prescription (accrual of the cause of action, prescription periods, rules of suspension, renewal and extension and upper time limits), their interrelations, and the policy considerations (including economic analysis). Topics also covered include the notions of ‘action’, ‘claim’, and ‘cause of action’, subjective and objective prescription, statute interpretation and judicial discretion. The book introduces important insights into how the present law can be improved and, where possible, harmonised. While its main focus is the prescription of tort claims, the analysis, comparison and conclusions are highly relevant to most civil actions.

Prescription in Tort Law is the result of a three-year research project conducted by the European Group on Tort Law (EGTL) that brings together leading academics of the field. It is an invaluable resource for private lawyers.

With contributions by Bjarte Askeland (Bergen Appeal Court Judge, Norway), Ewa Bagińska (University of Gdańsk, Poland), Nina Baranowska ((formerly) University of Wrocław, Poland), Jean-Sébastien Borghetti (University Paris II Panthéon-Assas, France), Giovanni Comandé (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Italy), Eugenia Dacoronia (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece), Isabelle Durant (Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium), Israel Gilead (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel), Michael D Green (Wake Forest University, United States), Ernst Karner (University of Vienna, Austria), Anne LM Keirse (Utrecht University, The Netherlands), Bernhard A Koch (University of Innsbruck, Austria), Frédéric Krauskopf (University of Bern, Switzerland), Piotr Machnikowski (University of Wrocław, Poland), Ulrich Magnus (University of Hamburg, Germany), Miquel Martín-Casals (University of Girona, Spain), Johann Neethling (University of the Free State, South Africa), Elena Occhipinti (University of Pisa, Italy), Ken Oliphant (University of Bristol, United Kingdom), Albert Ruda (University of Girona, Spain), Stefan Rutten (University of Antwerp, Belgium), Luboš Tichý (Charles University, Czech Republic), Vanessa Wilcox (European Law Institute, Austria) and Bénédict Winiger (University of Geneva, Switzerland).

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Israel Gilead is Bora Laskin (Emeritus) Professor of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he was Dean of the Faculty of Law between 1999 and 2002. Since 2016, he has been a Professor and Head of the Advanced Legal Studies program at The Academic Center for Law and Sciences, as well as Head of the committee in charge of social sciences, law and business administration at the Israeli Council of Higher Education. Israel is a Member of the European Group on Tort Law and of the American Law Institute and is the author of numerous publications on tort law, law and economics, prescription and corporate law.

Bjarte Askeland is an Appeal Court Judge in Gulating lagmannsrett, Bergen, Norway and a Professor of Law at the University of Bergen. He is a Member of European Group of Tort Law and author of numerous monographs and articles on tort law.