Product liability in the 21st century - EU, US and elsewhere: Potential impacts on product liability due to the changes of the legal framework.

The session provides a perspective on a number of normative and policy issues pertaining to product liability, in particular, but not limited to, 

•    achievement of the current product liability system’s stated goal of restituting injured parties;
•    incentivisation to produce safe products;
•    raising the level of product safety;
•    balancing the need for improved product safety and the need for new products;
•    dealing with the cost of litigation, in particular, costs associated with mass torts; and
•    last, but not least, limiting the side effects of enormous judgments in isolated cases.

The session will also take a look at efforts to better regulate the often conflicting or at least competing objectives of the manufacturers on one hand and the safety expectations of the injured parties.