Compensation funds: their nature, function and legality

Compensation funds provide compensation to victim of accidents regardless of whether their damage is the result of anyone else's fault. They are created because of perceived gaps of cover in or shortfalls in the compensation offered by the three other, traditional sources of compensation, i.e. tort law, private insurance and social security. It is hard not to see the many advantages of compensation funds: they offer compensation to victims who do not bear a heavy burden of proof, in an easy, fast and more administrative way and are nog obliged to go to court. Compensation funds seem to be a kind of deus ex machina, as the number of compensation funds is growing rapidly in Belgium.In view of their success, it is surprising till now compensation funds have not been the subject of any overall, critical analysis. This research project will investigate the accordance of compensation funds in the light of human rights, i.e. the right of access to court (given that some funds restrict this access) and of non-discrimination (given the difference in treatment between victims that can rely on a fund and those who can't). Moreover, it will be investigated whether compensation funds fulfill their objectives, i.e. reasonable compensation, easy access, coherent and transparent.Last but not least the project will analyze who should pay these funds: the government or the private sector.

Keywords:BELGIAN LAW

Disciplines:Law