Schmerzensgeld für Familienangehörige im Schadensfall nach taiwanesischem und deutschem Haftungsrecht – Ein Beispiel für "Emanzipation nach Rezeption"

Abstract

Claims for damages for emotional distress by victim‘s relatives according to German and Taiwanese tort law – An example of post-reception emancipation

Can a victim’s relative sue a tortfeasor for damages for emotional distress? The answer to this question is different under the Taiwanese and German Civil Codes. Although the Taiwanese Civil Code received many rules from the German Civil Code when it was formulated in 1930, the Taiwanese Civil Code was also derived from the Swiss Law of Obligations, where a victim’s relative is in fact allowed to raise such a claim. After the Taiwanese Law of Obligations was amended in 2000, the protection of the relationship between relatives was expanded. The author provides an in-depth analysis of the content and scope of this expansion, focusing especially on damages for mental distress among relatives of the victim. The analysis is undertaken comparatively, considering the legal systems of two countries which have dissimilar moral/sexual standards and which attach different importance to family membership. Simultaneously, the author offers a striking illustration of how a legal regime’s development can lead it away from the originally received model.