Risikoschutz durch Privatrecht

Human conduct normally entails risks for others. The law provides several remedies to balance freedom of action and protection against risks. Rüdiger Wilhelmi studies the actio negatoria, which allows the restoration of infringements so as to prevent further damage and can also serve as a basis for prohibitory injunctions. He also looks at tort law, which awards damages for pain and loss already suffered. He shows how they are able to protect individual freedom by granting rights, while at the same time taking the public interest, for example regarding protection of the environment, into account. The author also explains the criteria for finding a duty of care. This duty is a prerequisite not only for a claim to damages under tort law but also for mandatory or prohibitory injunctions under the actio negatoria. The notion of risk is thus a core element of both tort law and the actio negatoria.