Law

While damages are still primarily attributed a compensatory function in German law, prevention and effective law enforcement are also increasingly recognised as legitimate purposes of tort law in more and more areas. This volume retraces these developments and looks to the future.

To balance the competing interests of creditors and debtors and to reduce potential hardship caused by the general statute of limitations for civil claims in German law (§§ 195, 199 German Civil Code), the courts have introduced a reasonableness test. The statute of limitations only begins if the creditor can reasonably be expected to sue the debtor to enforce his or her claim. In this thesis, the author examines and systemizes the intricate case law that has developed around this notion of reasonableness in the law of limitations.

When selling used goods to consumers, businesses must fulfill specific information and agreement obligations depending on the condition of the items. Due to unclear requirements set by the directive's legislator, these obligations can scarcely be implemented with legal certainty. Michael Basche therefore calls for the previous legal situation.

Ansgar Baumgarten introduces the concept of direct enforcement of national law by EU authorities as a new category of European administrative law. He demonstrates how EU institutions may apply national implementation law to ensure the uniform and effective application of EU law, thereby strengthening European administrative governance.