BSE: a lesson in containment? Avoiding responsibility and accountability in the compensation action

Abstract:

The BSE crisis has been the most devastating disease to strike within the Community since its inception. One of its consequences has been to create a new disease in humans, a variant of CJD. Responsibility for the situation in which such diseases were allowed to develop has not been considered by the Community Courts. The indications are that the steps taken by the Commission for the containment of the disease were, at best, inadequate. The rules of causation in a compensation action were used by the Court of First Instance to evade addressing the politically sensitive question of responsibility. However, if the Community Courts are to take on the mantle of constitutional courts they must ensure the accountability of Community institutions. Clear rules of causation need to be established so that issues of responsibility and accountability may be addressed in whatever context they arise.