The precautionary principle and civil liability

The texts of the Civil Code relating to tort have changed little since 1804. Despite the crystallization of the law, this matter was a privilege laboratory of judicial creation. The Supreme Court has in fact worked on the adaptation of civil liability to changing societal needs. Liability of inanimate things or damage caused by traffic accidents are all bold Praetorian constructions.
This research aims to analyze the Praetorian creative capacity compared to new social needs that are the avoidance of certain damages. In addition to the necessary compensation, avoidance of certain damages has become a major issue, especially in the areas of public and environmental health. It was then that the judge, in the silence of the law but with the precious help of scientific progress, instead of assessing the damage, engaging in a hypothetical risk analysis; instead of paying damages, does everything possible to avoid them.
From this perspective, this research aims to propose the inclusion of precautionary action in French law. This action would have the immeasurable advantage of providing citizens with the legal tools needed to prevent the realization of the disputed damage to serious and irreversible consequences. This risk would be elevated to that of the conditions of civil liability and measures to avoid damage would, in turn, impact on liability. So that these coexist in the matter, the traditional compensatory function and the new avoidance function damage.