Cross-border consumer litigation: Individual tort issues in Europe

Abstract

In Europe, uniform rules concerning international tort litigations are to be found, as to jurisdiction, in the general provisions of the Brussels Convention 1968 and, as to the designation of the national applicable law, in the Hague Convention of 1973 (for the area of product liability). In contrast to the field of contracts, in the field of torts no special protection is given to the consumer as such. Still, the solutions provided by the conventions are not inappropriate. For product liability claims, the Hague Convention tends to designate the law of the State with which the case is most closely connected. For ascertaining international jurisdiction in general, the Brussels Convention provides for three alternative fora, namely the place of the domicile of the defendant, the place of the tort, and the place of the damage. Due to important differences between the rules on jurisdiction and conflicts of laws in contracts and in torts, respectively, the crucial issues concern the qualification of the nature of the claim before the court.