Le renouvellement des sources internes du droit et le renouveau du droit de la responsabilité
Institution:
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Directors:
Abstract EN:
Much bas been written on the study of the changes in liability law over the past decades. However, no emphasis has been put on the renewal of the sources of this law, although the domestic sources of liability law have been deeply modified. Besides. The renewal of these sources has a direct impact on the contents of this law field. This is why, to my mind, the renewal of the sources of liability law deserves to be studied in its own merit in such a way as to underline the interplay between the content of the law and how this content is expressed. There are two main aspects which go to prove how the domestic sources of liability law have been renewed. On the one hand, its traditional sources have been thoroughly altered. Indeed, firstly Acts of Parliament have been given growing importance in this law field. Secondly, law scholars’ writings have been considered as a genuine source of law. These changes in the sources of liability law have taken place to the detriment of jurisprudence whose predominance has been reduced drastically in this law field long seen as essentially praetonian. In addition, the very concept of jurisprudence has been questioned. On the other hand, new sources have emerged and developed significantly. This is the case, for instance, of constitutional sources, which are above Acts of Parliament in the hierarchy of the rule of law. Lndeed, they have slowly made their way into the field of liability. The same may be said of sources ranking lower in the above-mentioned system : they are varied and numerous given that they are made up of private, professional sources such as the practice of insurers, and of public sources such as some administrative authorities. In this way, the law of liability has been altered in its very essence, which, as a consequence. Leads one to question the validity of the traditional theory on the sources of law. Liability law made a daring move in the domain of the sources of law a century ago. Nowadays, it seems to be in the best position to herald a rethinking of our hierarchy of the rule of Iaw. It follows that the study of the renewal of the domestic sources of liability law may pIay the role of a magnifying lens in order to better see a renewal in the general theory of the sources of law.
Abstract FR:
Les sources internes du droit de la responsabilité civile connaissent aujourd'hui un profond boulversement. En outre, le renouvellement de ces sources constitue un facteur de renouveau du contenu de cette branche du droit. Le renouvellement formel du droit de la responsabilité semble alors mériter une recherche à part entière, qui doit mettre en exergue l'interaction existant entre forme et fond du droit. Le renouveau des sources internes du droit de la responsabilité civile se dessine autour de deux pôles. D'une part, ses sources traditionnelles subissent de profondes mutations. On assiste à une restauration de la loi, qui s'avère prendre une place de plus en plus grande dans cette matière, et à une consécration de la doctrine comme source du droit à part entière. Ces transformations formelles se font au détriment de la jurisprudence qui, dans ce droit considéré pendant longtemps comme essentiellement prétorien, voit sa prédominance remise en cause. D'autre part, des sources nouvelles apparaisent et connaissent un essor important. Il en est ainsi des sources supra-législatives que sont les sources constitutionnelles. Il en est de même des sources infra-législatives qui sont nombreuses et variées Elles regroupent des sources privées professionnelles et des sources publiques. Le droit de la responsabilité civile ainsi "ressourcé" peut conduire à s'interroger sur la validité de la théorie traditionelle des sources du droit. Déjà audacieux et précurseur dans le domaine des sources il y a un siècle , le droit de la responsabilité est sans doute, à nouveau, la discipline idoine pour annoncer une rénovation de notre système normatif. L'étude du renouvellement des sources internes du droit de la responsabilité civile peut alors jouer un rôle d'un prisme pour entrevoir une rénovation de la théorie générale des sources du droit.