Haftung für Tötung

In regard to wrongful death, English, French and German tort law are remarkably different. German tort law restricts claims granted to dependants as a result of a relative's death to cases in which the death caused the loss of an enforceable right to financial support and entirely denies any claim for bereavement damages. In this work, Annina Schramm does a thorough comparison of the three legal systems, identifies the deficiencies of German tort law and their underlying rationale and on this basis advocates an extension of the German wrongful death law. She asserts that bereavement damages for children who are minors, their parents and husband or wife are constitutionally mandatory and should also be granted to other close relatives including common-law spouses. Furthermore, the author elaborates on legal policy and the necessity of granting damages to dependants for the loss of financial support irrespective of a prior legal right to this. Rebutting various counter-arguments given in legal literature, she stresses the possibility of establishing a new, coherent tort law system while leaving its main principles intact.