FullCompensation · Rationalising Full Compensation of Non-Pecuniary Damages to Reconcile Equal Treatment and Personalisation

Rationalising Full Compensation of Non-Pecuniary Damages to Reconcile Equal Treatment and Personalisation

The FullCompensation project aimed to address the issue of variable and unpredictable non-pecuniary damage awards in the EU under civil liability law. Victims of accidents are entitled to compensation for both economic and non-economic losses, such as medical expenses and pain and suffering, respectively. While it's relatively straightforward to compensate economic losses (pecuniary damages), non-pecuniary damages are more problematic because they lack a market price, leading to subjectivity and biases. To address this, adjudicators in some EU Member States are using guidelines to help judges award non-pecuniary damages more objectively and consistently. However, concerns remain about the variability and unpredictability of such awards within countries, leading to two critical societal issues. First, it can result in unjustified differences in damage awards for similar losses. Second, it can lead to economic inefficiency, making out-of-court settlements more difficult and increasing the costs of compensation for both individuals and society. In response to this, FullCompensation aimed to develop a legislative proposal and guidelines for EU Member States and adjudicators to quantify non-pecuniary damages in a way that balances equal treatment and personalization. These documents are meant to inspire, not impose uniformity, and seek to promote fairness in damage awards and reduce the costs of compensation based on literature insights and empirical evidence.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union