Duty to Prevent Harm

Prevention of damage is better than having to compensate for damage. Nevertheless, the law of delict tends to focus its attention on the claims of the victims, whereas a focus on the duties of the potential wrongdoers would be more efficacious. Such a perspective would pave the way towards ex ante regulation and a better enforcement of the (substantive rules of the) law of delict. This much is clear: one should do no harm to others. If the harm has already occurred then one should do everything in one’s power to diminish the damage. This duty to limit the damage should by its very nature take priority over the duty to compensate for damage. The latter duty should not be more than a final stop on the path of liability law. The law of delict should also play a role in averting wrongs, crises and losses. Towards this end, this contribution presents the duty to prevent harm (in Dutch, schadevoorkomingsplicht) as a legal basis to cast legal action.