The papers in this collection are drawn from a symposium held in Vienna in December 2010. Organised by the Institute for European Tort Law and the Chicago-Kent Law Review, in collaboration with the European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law, the conference drew together legal experts from 14 national or regional systems across six continents. Medical malpractice and compensation for medical injuries are issues which regularly create tension and innovation in national legal systems but the analysis of these areas is often limited to national audiences. This study examines the issues in a uniquely global context, demonstrating the breadth of approaches currently taken around the world and revealing key areas of tension and the likely direction of future developments. Wherever possible, the analysis is supported by reference to empirical data. The 14 legal systems covered in the collection are Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Scandinavia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. A general comparative introduction completes the collection.

The book discusses compensation mechanisms and other non-judicial means that offer alternatives to court proceedings, designed and provided for within national legal regimes. Such schemes are primarily of a civil or administrative character and are mainly intended to supplement criminal liability for medical negligence. As such, the book focuses on medical malpractice and prospective medical harm from a civil law perspective. It examines the contemporary perspective of a patient-physician relationship, which has evolved from a relation of a quasi-patrimonial character into a partnership of quasi-equal parties, dealing with a medical treatment procedure as a scientific endeavor. It also reviews the extra-legal conditions that are taken into account in compensation arrangements, particularly the need to satisfy a psychological urge for conciliation and empathy on the part of medical personnel. Lastly, the book explores the responsibility of public authorities and healthcare providers to guarantee access to healthcare that is of a sufficient quality, based upon standards provided for in international (and European) law.

Initiated by the European Commission, the first study published in this volume analyses the largely unresolved question as to how damage caused by artificial intelligence (AI) systems is allocated by the rules of tortious liability currently in force in the Member States of the European Union and in the United States, to examine whether - and if so, to what extent - national tort law regimes differ in that respect, and to identify possible gaps in the protection of injured parties. The second study offers guiding principles for safety and liability with regard to software, testing how the existing acquis needs to be adjusted in order to adequately cope with the risks posed by software and AI. The annex contains the final report of the New Technologies Formation of the Expert Group on Liability and New Technologies, assessing the extent to which existing liability schemes are adapted to the emerging market realities following the development of new digital technologies.

Statutory obligations to take out liability insurance are, in practice, the most important means to ensure compensability of damage arising from dangerous activities. However, in contrast to the significant practical impact, academic research on the topic has not been extensive so far. This study, therefore, undertakes a comprehensive survey of compulsory liability insurance from nine national perspectives (Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) and takes constitutional and European law (four freedoms, European Convention on Human Rights) as well as the Principles of European Insurance Contract Law (PEICL) into account. It also contains an extensive economic analysis of compulsory liability insurance and discusses aspects of insurability. A Comparative Report, Conclusions and an Annex containing a compilation of rules on compulsory liability insurance in the nine national legal systems complete the study. It considers in particular: the aims of provisions stating an obligation to take out liability insurance the mandatory content of insurance cover the protection mechanisms linked to compulsory liability insurance the control mechanisms and the sanctions imposed structural deficiencies of existing compulsory liability insurance systems

This book explores convergences of legal doctrine despite jurisdictional, cultural and political barriers, as well as divergences due to such barriers, examining topics that are of vital importance to contemporary legal scholars. Written by leading experts from all continents, its 26 chapters present a comparative analysis of cutting-edge legal issues of the 21st century. While each of the countries covered stands alone as a sovereign state, in a technologically advanced world their disparate systems nonetheless show comparable strategies in dealing with complex legal issues. Several of the chapters show how, in addition to state normative production and state adjudication, a growing panoply of non-state instruments and non-state adjudication are becoming more and more central to the legal field. This book is a key addition to the library of any scholar wanting to keep abreast of the major trends in contemporary law. Representing the current state of law in a vast range of areas, it covers each topic from a comparative perspective. Cet ouvrage, en examinant des sujets d'une importance vitale pour les juristes contemporains, traite des convergences de la doctrine juridique malgré les barrières juridictionnelles, culturelles et politiques ainsi que des divergences dues à ces barrières. Écrits par d'éminents universitaires de tous les continents, ses 26 chapitres présentent une analyse comparative de sujets juridiques majeurs du 21e siècle. Dans un monde technologiquement avancé, bien que chaque pays analysé dans cet ouvrage demeure autonome en tant qu'État souverain, l’ensemble des systèmes disparates présente néanmoins des stratégies comparables pour traiter des questions juridiques complexes. En outre, plusieurs chapitres montrent comment, en plus de la production normative et de la résolution des différends étatiques, la panoplie croissante de différents types d'instruments non étatiques et de résolution non étatique des différends devient de plus en plus centrale dans la sphère juridique. Cet ouvrage est un ajout essentiel à la bibliothèque de tout universitaire souhaitant se tenir au courant des principales tendances du droit contemporain. Il couvre un vaste domaine de sujets traités d'un point de vue comparatif et représente l'état actuel du droit dans chaque domaine.

In 2015, building on the advances of the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations adopted Sustainable Development Goals that include an explicit commitment to achieve universal health coverage by 2030. However, enormous gaps remain between what is achievable in human health and where global health stands today, and progress has been both incomplete and unevenly distributed. In order to meet this goal, a deliberate and comprehensive effort is needed to improve the quality of health care services globally. Crossing the Global Quality Chasm: Improving Health Care Worldwide focuses on one particular shortfall in health care affecting global populations: defects in the quality of care. This study reviews the available evidence on the quality of care worldwide and makes recommendations to improve health care quality globally while expanding access to preventive and therapeutic services, with a focus in low-resource areas. Crossing the Global Quality Chasm emphasizes the organization and delivery of safe and effective care at the patient/provider interface. This study explores issues of access to services and commodities, effectiveness, safety, efficiency, and equity. Focusing on front line service delivery that can directly impact health outcomes for individuals and populations, this book will be an essential guide for key stakeholders, governments, donors, health systems, and others involved in health care.