The law of products liability : its impact in an era of increasing technology

Abstract

The idea of product liability can be traced as far back as 1800 B.C. when Hammurabi, the king of Babylon, compiled his great code of laws. This code provided for stringent measures against a craftman guilty of making a faulty product. The penalties were so severe that the offence was considered more of a criminal than a civil nature. The injured party, however, received no compensation other than the satisfaction derived, from knowing of the severe punishment of the offender. As new products began to be developed throughout the ages, the general rule of "caveat emptar" - persisting from Roman law - prevailed. The philosophy of "let the buyer beware" was generally accepted by buyer and seller alike as a fair basis ffor transaction. Of course, products were simpler and their operation more easily understood in those days. Also, scarcity of product discouraged imposing penalties on manufacturers whose wares, even if unsafe, were sorely needed.