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53 Wake Forest L. Rev. 265 (2018)
Extra-Strict Liability for Traffic Accidents in France

handle is hein.journals/wflr53 and id is 281 raw text is: EXTRA-STRICT LIABILITY FOR TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN FRANCE Jean-Sibastien Borghetti* French law has always been very keen on strict liability, and especially so in the field of traffic accidents. Courts developed specific rules to deal with these accidents, departing from traditional negligence-based liability, during the first half of the twentieth century. The legislature took over in 1985, imposing an extra-strict liability regime known as the loi Badinter, which remains in effect to this day. At first glance, this regime may seem extremely harsh on drivers and owners of motor vehicles, but it is better understood in the wider context of the different compensation mechanisms that exist in France and result in the cost of traffic accidents being widely spread across the general population. The fact that the liability imposed by the loi Badinter is totally independent from the driver's fault or negligence further means that it can apply to accidents in which fully autonomous vehicles are involved. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODU CTION .......................................................................... 266 II. DEPARTING FROM FAULT-BASED LIABILITY ............................. 267 III. INTRODUCING EXTRA-STRICT LIABILITY .................................. 271 A. The Main Features of Loi Badinter ................................. 272 1. Field of Application ..................................................... 272 2. D efendants ................................................................... 274 3. Conditions of Liability ................................................ 276 4. Plaintiffs and Compensable Loss ............................... 278 5. D efenses ........................................................................ 279 B. The Background of Loi Badinter ...................................... 282 1. The Broader Compensation System ........................... 283 a. Third-Party Insurance .......................................... 283 b. First-Party Insurance ........................................... 284 * Jean-Sdbastien Borghetti is professor of private law at Universit6 Panthdon-Assas in Paris, France. He specializes in tort and contract law, both from a domestic and a comparative perspective; jean-sebastien.borghetti@u- paris2.fr. Unless otherwise noted, English translations of foreign materials included in or relied upon by this Article were performed by the author.

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