Προσδιορισμός της ζημίας κατά χρόνο επί αδικοπρακτικής ευθύνης

Abstract

In order to determine the sum payable to the injured party on torts, one must initially determine thactual damage occured, as the law of compensation is based on the "all or nothing" principle. A major component in the assessment of damages and hence the compensation due is time: In most tort cases, the question which is the crucial time for determining the amount of damages to be made good is crucial, given that the gap occurred to the injured party’s estate, resulting from the illegal act or omission of the tortfeasor, is usually a size variable through time.This problem arises especially in monetary assessment of the recoverable pecuniary damages, in the context of monetary compensation (based on the provisions of article 297 of the Civil Code), as a result of the time lag between the birth and the fulfilment of the damage claim. In the meantime -between birth and fulfillment of the damage claim- incidents usually occur, that appear to influence the extent of the damage, increasing, reducing or eliminating it. This increase or decrease (up to total elimination) of the damage may result either from the appreciation or depreciation of the goods or services necessary for the complete restoration of the damage or from fluctuations in the intrinsic value of the currency as a measure of the damage, which appear after the occurrence of the damage and until its full restoration, making total restitution cheaper or more expensive for the trotfeasor.Opinions and views expressed by theorists regarding the above issue could be grouped into two main poles, from the time of the occurrence of the damage to the time of total restoration. The subject and aim of this thesis is the search for appropriate de lege lata solutions to the issue of the crucial time for assessment of damages on torts and the attempt to establish a comprehensive, practically workable, counter to the firm positions of jurisprudence, which consistently refers to the time of first discussion of the case at court of first instance. The opposite view, that the determination of damages shall be conducted at the time of its occurrence, is adopted in this thesis. This view is presented through a functional standardization (increase or decrease of damages, real value - nominal value, loss of profits), in the quest for teleologically consistent solutions, by utilizing the specificity of each category.In this way, weighing of interests of all parties takes place within the framework of a single conception of damages from the perspective of time.