4.4.0 Introductie

In French private law there is no special prospectus liability regime. Private parties need to claim rescission of their contract or claim damages on the basis of the general tort regime. Section 1382 FCC provides for the general tort regime. French private law adheres to the principle that the claimant may not proceed on the basis of tort if he has a contractual claim against the person that committed the tort (principe de non option).1 As already mentioned in the previous paragraph, there is one exception: if the claimant joins the public prosecutor's criminal court proceedings, the defendant's liability is determined on the basis of tort liability principles even if there is a contractual relationship between the litigants.2