Increasing international cooperation in tackling the worldwide problem of child abuse and neglect has helped to raise the profile of this important issue. Scholarly literature on the problem is growing, yet there is still a pressing need for a legal comparative commentary on the issue of child abuse claims in tort. Addressing this omission, this valuable work investigates how the factual circumstances as laid out in the landmark English cases of X v. Bedfordshire County Council and Barrett v. Enfield London Borough Council have been dealt with by the European Court of Human Rights and in a number of key jurisdictions including the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, France, Germany and Italy. Examining the substantive tort law in these jurisdictions, the book highlights differences in procedure and compares alternative, non-judicial sources of compensation for claimants. It also offers suggestions for reform, providing a work that will greatly benefit all those working within this specific area of law or having an interest in the subject.
Contents: Foreword, Allan Levy QC; Suing health authorities in Ireland:
recent legal developments, Ann Power; Child abuse claims against public
authorities under the Human Rights Act 1998, Jane Wright; Child abuse
compensation claims: a practitioner's perspective, Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel QC;
Child abuse tort claims against public bodies in Italy, Roberto Caranta;
Child abuse tort claims against public bodies in South Africa, Rosalind
English; Liability for government actions: a comparative study of English and
American law, Helene M. Goldberg; Antipodean perspectives on child welfare
tort claims against public authorities, Geoff McLay; Child abuse and the
failure to protect: liability of public authorities in Canada, Margaret Hall;
Child welfare and state liability in France, Duncan Fairgrieve; National
report on Germany, Martina Künnecke; Child abuse tort claims in the
Netherlands, Cees van Dam; Index of cases; Index.
Duncan Fairgrieve and SARAH GREEN both British Institute of International and Comparative Law.
