ABSTRACT
The laws on the non-contractual liability of EU agencies not only provide a mechanism to determine whether the agency should make good the damage it caused to the claimant, they also offer the possibility to inform, influence, legitimize or constrain the power, behaviour, decision- and/or policy-making of EU agencies. This is the control function of EU agency tort law. Because EU agency tort law is an autonomous area of law within EU law, it can be an important supplement to other control mechanisms. However, non-contractual agency liability might actually also undermine the adequate functioning of agencies. Given the risks of chilling effects on the operation of agencies, hindsight and second-guessing when examining the operation of the agencies, and the (undermining) effects of tort law on controlling multiple tortfeasors, a restricted role for tort law in influencing and controlling agencies seems to be indicated.
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Elbert de Jong, Chapter 7: EU agency tort law and its limited role in controlling agencies in Miroslava Scholten and Alex Brenninkmeijer (eds), Controlling EU Agencies: The Rule of Law in a Multi-jurisdictional Legal Order (Edward Elgar, May 2020).
First posted 2020-06-03 07:23:41
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