6.2.3. Comparative Law Remarks

A comparison reveals significant differences in English and French law. Whereas French administrative law would seem to be marginally more generous in respect of bereavement payments, it is clear that the English courts are markedly more liberal regarding the more significant head of financial loss.

Bereavement damages in English law are more limited than the French equivalent of damages for douleur morale. The category of people who can potentially sue is wider in French administrative law, though the English law quantum of £10,000 is comparable to the figures given for douleur morale in French law.⁴²⁹

For financial loss, the category of people who can potentially sue is also wider in French administrative law.⁴³⁰ But there are a number of factors indicating that damages payments to English dependants will be significantly higher. First, the percentage of the deceased's salary which is attributed to dependants is generally greater in English law.⁴³¹ The surviving member of a childless couple receives a larger percentage of the deceased's income under English law.⁴³² This similarly applies where the (p.234) deceased leaves a widow and one or two children: between 50 per cent⁴³³ and 65 per cent⁴³⁴ of the annual salary is awarded in French administrative law, in contrast to a corresponding figure of 75 per cent in English law.⁴³⁵

Secondly, the English courts will grant damages for the loss of gratuitous services, for instance in relation to the work of a housewife.⁴³⁶ In French administrative law, recovery of damages for préjudice matériel depends upon proof of financial loss,⁴³⁷ such as evidence of lost revenue.⁴³⁸ So, unpaid services, such as the running of a household and the bringing up of children, will not warrant reparation for préjudice matériel.⁴³⁹

Thirdly, it would seem that the English courts use a more liberal criterion to determine which loss is recoverable. It has been shown above that a reasonable expectation of pecuniary benefit suffices.⁴⁴⁰ In French law, however, a mere expectation of benefit would be unlikely to constitute the necessary certainty of loss.⁴⁴¹

Fourthly, the English courts will base the projected income of the deceased on his or her prospects of advancement. In French law, this has constituted only an ancillary factor in the calculation of dependency loss.⁴⁴²

Finally, it has been shown that the provisions of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 are generous in respect of financial benefits that accrue on the death of the deceased. So, damages are granted to the dependants regardless of the existence of pension rights.⁴⁴³ We have seen that the law regarding collateral benefits is very different in French administrative law.⁴⁴⁴ The over-compensation of victims is avoided by a system of either deductible collateral benefits or subrogation rights accruing to the collateral benefits provider. This procedure can have a significant effect on damages awards for dependency loss.⁴⁴⁵

(p.235) These factors place dependants in a more favourable position under English law. It is difficult to make direct statistical comparisons of the awards given by the courts. Nonetheless, a survey of the damages awarded by French administrative courts over the last ten years for dependency loss sustained by women on the death of their husbands indicates surprisingly low awards, ranging from 300,000 to 700,000 Francs,⁴⁴⁶ with few exceptions.⁴⁴⁷ These are dwarfed by typical damages awards in English law.⁴⁴⁸