Tort Law and Mass Transportation Accidents : A French-German View on Legal Challenges in Times of Market Deregulation
Résumé
The liberalisation of the coach, air and rail transport market sheds new light on a relatively unexplored field of comparative tort law: the rules governing the liability of transportation companies for accidents involving third parties. Through an assessment of recent developments under French and German Law, this article reflects on the emerging trends of those tort rules, induced or highlighted by the market opening process. The existing strict liability regimes for railway and coach carriers, already subject to a significant tightening process, raise new questions as to the exact circle of persons liable for injuries, since the market liberalisation goes hand in hand with the unbundling of infrastructure and operations.