In most legal systems the law of tort is basically founded on the principie that the only sufficient reason for shifting a victim's loss to the person who caused it is if the latter was guilty of careless or reprehensible conduct in causing it. This principie of «No liability without fault» —thc Yérschuldensprinzip of German law— has its historical roots in the liberal individualism of a century ago: An individual's freedom of movement should only be limited by the imposition of liability in damages if he failed to conduct himself in accordancewith thc general duty to act carefully.
