OVERVIEW

This book begins with some broad normative philosophical questions about the function and purpose of compensation and liability law. How should societies effectively and efficiently compensate for damage and loss? Legal, social and financial systems in different jurisdictions use a variety of tools to remedy an unexpected loss due to injury or other misfortune. Tort law damages are the classic common and civil law (private law) tool; contracts of insurance (another private law tool) and social security protections (a public law tool) may supplement or replace tort law damages (or the loss falling on the victim’s own pocket) depending upon the circumstances.

Despite the best efforts of actuarial and economic experts, it is challenging to predict or pre-emptively design a compensation system that is suitable for every type of misfortune. What remedy is there for individuals who cannot (or cannot easily) access compensation for their loss via existing compensation systems, such as insurance or the courts system? Can legal experts such as judges, legislators and policymakers design a fair and efficient way to provide speedy compensation to a wider range of victims? What is the distinction between misfortune caused by a discrete event of damage and misfortune caused by an ongoing condition or circumstance? Further, in an increasingly ‘supranational’ and highly digitised world, facing global compensation challenges, can we (and should we) harmonise how compensation is managed in different jurisdictions? There are injuries and misfortune caused by human actions, and increasingly, injuries caused by automated and technology actions. The world is also dealing with a global pandemic that requires a global vaccination programme, which will inevitably result in some injured individuals. We may be coming to a point where we need to consider whether, and in what circumstances, there is in fact a right to be compensated for some kinds of misfortune. However, such a right potentially conflicts with other rights that are often classified as fundamental, such as the right to access justice via the courts.