Juristenrunde (Vienna), Monday, 9 December 2024 at 11:00

The Institute for European Tort Law and the European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law cordially invite to the following lecture:

Stefan Jahn: Impairment of third-party claims

A property that has already been sold is sold a second time by the owner before the purchaser is registered; the second purchaser is registered. Does the first buyer now finally lose out? These and similar constellations have been the subject of heated debate for centuries. In his lecture, Univ.-Ass. Mag. Stefan Jahn (University of Vienna) will give an overview of the historical and recent development of the state of opinion in Austria and outline his own point of view.

The lecture is scheduled for approx. 30 minutes, followed by a discussion.

The lecture will take place in the Seminar Room of ETL/ECTIL (Reichsratsstraße 17/2, 1010 Vienna). Participation is free of charge. If you would like to attend, please register via etl(at)oeaw.ac.at.

Juristenrunde (Vienna) - Tuesday, 18 November 2024 at 10:00

The Institute for European Tort Law and the European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law cordially invite to the following lecture:

Kateřina Hájková: Causal Uncertainty in Medical Cases

The presentation concerns a well-known problem in medical law disputes, which stems from the difficulty of proving a causal link between a doctor's non lege artis treatment and a patient's injury. In some cases, causation is obvious and therefore easy to prove. Usually, however, the causal processes in the conditions of the human body are so complex, and human knowledge about them is so limited that, in retrospect, the causal links between the various processes, interventions or omissions cannot be clarified with certainty. Since the plaintiffs in these personal injury litigations are patients, and (in Czech law) there is no special rule of allocation of the burden of proof, it is up to the patient-plaintiff to prove causation, and the patient is often in danger of failing to meet the standard of proof regarding causation. The presentation focuses on substantive and procedural ways to deal with the problem of causal uncertainty covering the doctrine of loss of a chance, prima facie proof, the lowering of the standard of proof, and the reversal of the burden of proof as regards causation.

The lecture is scheduled for 30 minutes, with an opportunity for discussion afterwards.

The lecture will take place in the Seminar Room of ETL/ECTIL (Reichsratsstraße 17/2, 1010 Vienna). Participation is free of charge. If you would like to attend, please register via etl(at)oeaw.ac.at.

Meeting on 18 October 2024: Supply chain responsibility

Human rights without borders

At the end of July 2024, the EU Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence, or CSDDD for short, came into force. Member states now have two years to transpose it into their national law. To mark this occasion, the Institute for European Private Law of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Graz and the Centre for European Private Law of the University of Graz and ECTIL, together with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights and the University of Vienna, organised a conference on corporate responsibility in value and supply chains on 18 October 2024 at the University of Graz. Experts from various legal disciplines, including stakeholders, presented the development of supply chain responsibility. The focus of the presentations and discussions with the almost 90 participants was on due diligence obligations and liability as standardised by the new directive (CSDDD).

The event was opened by Univ.-Prof. Dr Walter Doralt, Vice Dean and Dean of Research at the Faculty of Law, as well as by Assoc. Prof^. Dr Barbara C^. Steininger, University of Graz, and Univ.-Prof. Dr Michael Lysander Fremuth, University of Vienna. In the opening lecture, Christine^Fiala, judge and advisor at the Federal Ministry of Justice, presented the content of the CSDDD and possible implementation plans.

The presentations in Panel I focussed on due diligence obligations. Assistant Professor Dr Stephanie^Nitsch, University of Vienna, reported from the perspective of civil law and retired Professor Dr Wolfgang Benedek, University of Graz, presented the obligations from the perspective of international law. Dieter Seifert, AVL, who kindly stood in for Dr Yorck Schmidt, AVL, at short notice, provided information on the risks and opportunities in relation to the change in global corporate responsibility as a result of the CSDDD.

The presentations in Panel II focussed on civil liability. Prof Dr Jonas Knetsch, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, gave a presentation on the CSDDD liability regulation against the background of French experience. The requirements and procedural aspects of liability under Art. 29 CSDDD were discussed by Assoc. Prof^. Dr Barbara C^. Steininger, University of Graz, and Dr David Messner-Kreuzbauer, Institute for European Tort Law of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Graz.

Strategies for the practical implementation of due diligence obligations were dealt with in Panel III. Dr Camilla^Haake and Stephen Rabenlehner, MA, both of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights, provided information on the opportunities and risks associated with verification by independent third parties in the activity chain. The presentation by MMag^.a Julia Wegerer, AK Vienna, dealt with the effective involvement of stakeholders. Johanna Reinisch, LL.M., WKÖ, presented what an efficient, practical and unbureaucratic implementation of the CSDDD could look like^.

The topic of Panel IV was international law enforcement. Prof^. Dr Kirsten^Schmalenbach, Paris Lodron University Salzburg, dealt with jurisdictional issues of supply chain responsibility and Prof. Dr Brigitta Lurger^, LL^. M. (Harvard), University of Graz, presented the cornerstones of private international law in the supply chain.

Lively discussions took place at the end of each panel and the opportunity for in-depth dialogue on the topic between representatives from academia and civil society as well as practitioners was also successfully used during the breaks.

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Past events