The Dieselgate: A Legal Perspective

ISBN-13: 9783319839134 / Angielski / Miękka / 2018 / 218 str.

Marco Frigessi Di Rattalma

Recenzje

"The contributions ... provide interesting comparative material and illustrate the diverse approaches and outcomes in the different countries involved. Each contribution gives an overview of the different possible grounds of action and of the actions effectively taken so far ... . Some of the contributions ... provide an interesting historical perspective and a detailed analysis of the implications for the national car manufacturers." (Evelyne Terryn, EuCML Journal of European Consumer and Market Law, (2), 2018)

"This book is dedicated to illustrating the details of the Dieselgate story, together with legal national, E.U.. law and international law aspects, trying to provide the reader with reflections on the use of diesel vehicles in the face of the dramatic environmental emergencies that have been characterizing the world in the past years." (Translated from Italian: Tullio Scovazzi, Rivista giuridica dell'ambiente, 2017)

"This book is of great interest to both lawyers and academics, and has the merit of dealing with the Dieselgate from the standpoint of various branches of law. An excellent book on a complex and highly topical subject." (Translated from French: Marcel Fontaine, Revue de droit international et de droit comparé, (4), 2017)

Spis treści

Introduction by Marco Frigessi di Rattalma.- Part I   National Perspectives: France by Laurent Posocco.- Germany by Christoph U. Schmid.- Italy by Giovanni Posio.- United Kingdom by Stephen Turner.- United States of America by Joseph Allan MacDougald.- Part II   Specific Issues: Civil and Consumer Law by Giorgio Pedrazzi.- Corporate and Insurance Law by Adolfo Paolini.- Criminal Law by Marisa Maraffino.- Environmental Law - Environmental Claims by Sara Landini.- Environmental Law - International and European Environmental Law by Francesca Romanin Jacur.- European Union Law by Marco Frigessi di Rattalma and Gabriella Perotti.

O autorze

Editor

Marco Frigessi di Rattalma 

Professor of European Law, University of Brescia; Vice Chairman Climate Change and Insurance, Working Party, International Insurance Law Association AIDA – marco.frigessidirattalma@unibs.it

Authors

Sara Landini University of Florence, Florence, Italy 

Joseph Allan MacDougald University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford, CT, USA 

Marisa Maraffino Law Firm Marraffino, Milan, Italy

Adolfo Paolini University of Buckingham, Buckingham, UK, and DAC Beachcroft LLP, London, UK 

Giorgio Pedrazzi University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy 

Gabriella Perotti University of Brescia, Law Department, Brescia, Italy 

Giovanni Posio University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy 

Laurent Posocco Université de Corse Pascal Paoli, Corte, France 

Francesca Romanin Jacur University of Milan, Milan, Italy 

Christoph U. Schmid Centre of European Law and Politics (ZERP), University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Stephen Turner DAC Beachcroft LLP, London, UK

Blurb

This book explains, compares and assesses the legal implications of Dieselgate within a range of selected jurisdictions and at the EU, international and comparative law level.

The book analyses the US EPA-VW 14.7-billion-dollar settlement of 2016, one of the largest civil settlements in the history of environmental law. As it shows, the Dieselgate affair has raised a host of issues concerning corporate and social responsibility, tort liability, environmental liability, contractual defective products, warranty, and false environmental claims in a range of jurisdictions. Issues like repurchasing or retrofitting cars from consumers and making direct payments to consumers through car buy-backs and compensation are analysed. Further, the book relates how Dieselgate has also contributed to the discussion about the introduction of more effective collective measures of redress for consumers, such as class actions, in Germany, France, Italy and the UK.

The book subsequently reviews the criminal offences Volkswagen is currently confronted with in Germany, France and Italy, i.e. fraud and manipulation of capital markets (by belatedly providing shareholders with essential information relevant for the share value), and, potentially, environmental crimes. It demonstrates how Dieselgate has sparked new debates in Germany, Italy, France and the UK about the need to introduce enterprise liability for organised crimes, lack of compliance and control structures, and intentional violations of the law.

Lastly, the book discusses how EU law has sought to respond to Dieselgate and thus investigates the controversial EU Regulation No. 2016/646 introducing a "temporary conformity factor" of 2.1 (equivalent to a 110% increase on the current limit) to be applied for NOx in the new RDE testing cycle, and the works of the EU committee of inquiry into Emissions Measurements in the Automotive Sector (EMIS).