Civil Liability for Harmful Act in Libyan Civil Law An Analytical Study in the Light of Comparative Legislative and Jurisprudential Development

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the legal system of civil liability for harmful act in the Libyan civil law, by explaining the legal basis on which this system is based in its traditional form, which is represented in the elements of fault, damage, and causation, and the extent to which it is able to absorb the new forms of damage resulting from contemporary technical and professional developments, within a framework that takes into account the legislative specificity of the Libyan legal system, which is influenced by the Latin reference on the one hand, and the provisions of the Islamic Sharia in some forms of compensation and reparation on the other hand.

The research relies on a comparative analytical method, by studying the texts regulating civil liability in the Libyan civil law, with the help of the jurisprudence of the Libyan Supreme Court, and comparing this with recent developments in civil jurisprudence in systems with Latin reference, especially French and Egyptian laws, as the influential historical framework in the construction of Libyan civil law.

The research concluded that the traditional legal structure of civil liability in Libyan law still retains its theoretical rigidity, but it faces practical challenges in some forms of complex damage in which it is difficult to prove fault or determine the causal link by traditional methods, which has prompted the judiciary to expand some applications such as the responsibility to guard things and the theory of fair compensation to achieve a balance between the protection of the injured party and the stability of legal transactions.

The research also concluded that recent comparative legislative trends are moving towards strengthening the mechanisms of strict liability in high-risk areas, while developing reparation tools to reduce the burden of proof for the injured party. Specifically, the research recommends the need for a legislative amendment to the provisions of tort liability in the Libyan Civil Code by explicitly stipulating the expansion of the scope of presumed liability in dangerous acts, in addition to adopting a special legislative system to compensate for serious damages in the technical and professional fields risks, in order to ensure the effectiveness of reparations and the achievement of compensatory justice.