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8 Am. L. Rev. 508 (1873-1874)
Torts under the French Law

handle is hein.journals/amlr8 and id is 510 raw text is: TORTS UNDER THE FRENCH LAW. TORTS UNDER THE FRENCH LAW. TraitM Gbneral de la Responsabilitg ou de l'Action en .Dommages- inter~ts en dehors des Contracts. Par M. A. SOURDAT, Docteur en Droit, Conseiller A la Cour d'Appel d'Amiens. Paris. 1872. THIS is a treatise upon the subject of torts. as it exists in the French law. By the English common-law procedure act I a tort is described as a wrong independent of contract. This book, as its title imports, treats of wrongs independent of contract. It may not be uninteresting to see how this very important subject is dealt with in another system of jurisprudence. The principle of civil responsibility for wrongs is expressed, in a general manner, in art. 1382 of -the Code Napoldon: Every act whatever of a man which causes damage to another obliges him by whose fault it has happened to repair it. This book is a development of that article. The author says of it, there is no principle of law which is more prolific of consequences, of more frequent occurrence in practice, more simple in appear- ance, and more difficult of application than this. By the English law, an insane person, and probably a minor below the age of discernment of right and wrong, though they are not criminally liable, are at least under many circumstances civ- illy responsible for the damage they may do, as a person of sound mind or an adult would be under the same circumstances.2 But by the French law, as the principle of responsibility, civil as well as criminal, implies a fault imputable to the doer of the harmful act, the insane and minors under the age of discernment ar6 freed from all responsibility, civil as well as criminal. In this the author says there is no injustice. Although the one who causes the damage is rich, he is not obliged to indemnify the sufferer who may be poor; for it is a case of accident, as much as if a tile should fall from a roof and kill a person beneath. I Upon the subject of infancy a distinction is made, which has no place in the English law. If a minor is below the age of sixteen, 1 15 & 16 Vict. c. 76. 2 Barnard v. Haqgis, 82 Law J. C. P. 189; Bristow v. Eastman, 1 Esp. 172.

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