Product liability from a comparative perspective. What kinds of protection?

Abstract

This research aims to analyse English and Italian rules in matters of product liability exploring differences and analogies between the two considered legal systems. Since the Donoghue v Stevenson case (1932) in English Law and the Saiwa case (1964) in Italian Law, both House of Lords and Court of Cassation judgments confirm the extraordinary relevance of food in opening up new frontiers of liability. The research discloses that the current legal framework in this area is still fragmented and rather unsatisfactory and that the significant differences between national consumer laws in the jurisdictions of the trader and the consumer may deter them from transacting across borders.