Last week, a two-day seminar for judges on "Topical issues in tort law: quantification of damages, causation and other issues" took place. This seminar was the final one of three annual seminars on tort law for judges and it provided judges of courts of all levels with insights into current issues on causation, the concept of damages and quantification thereof in Latvia and elsewhere in Europe. The course director and moderator of the seminar was Dr. iur. Zane Pētersone, Senator of the Department of Civil Cases of the Senate.

The lecture "Proving non-material damage and determining the amount of compensation" was given by Dr. iur. Rihards Gulbis, Legal research counsel to the Department of Civil Cases of the Senate. The lectures on causation of damage and related issues in tort law, as well as on determination of compensation amount for non-material damage were given by Dr. iur. Jānis Kārkliņš, Professor of the University of Latvia, a sworn advocate, and Dr. iur. Edijs Brants, a lecturer at the University of Latvia, sworn advocate. The most interesting tort law cases in the practice of other European countries, which mark the current trends, were presented by Agris Bitāns, a lecturer at the University of Latvia, sworn advocate.

Professors from Austria and the United Kingdom shared their foreign experience. The participants of the seminar were introduced to the limits of liability in a comparative perspective by Dr. iur. Ernst Karner, Director of the Institute for European Tort Law and the European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law. Liability for torts committed by other persons was tackled from a comparative perspective by Ph. D. Paula Giliker, Professor of the University of Bristol, President of the Society of Legal Scholars of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Dr. iur. Bernhard Alexander Koch, Professor of the University of Innsbruck, addressed product liability in the digital age, introducing the new Directive 2024/2853 on liability for defective products.

After the seminar, the foreign guests also visited the Supreme Court, where they toured the historic Palace of Justice and got an insight into the history of the Senate at the Supreme Court Museum.

The seminar was organised by the Latvian Judicial Training Centre in cooperation with the Court Administration within the framework of the Academy of Justice project.

 

Baiba Kataja, Communication Specialist of the Supreme Court

+371 67020365; e-mail: baiba.kataja@at.gov.lv