Illustrations of Modern Problems

Thalidomide (1960): In countries such as the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom, pregnant women were prescribed a drug called Thalidomide. It had side-effects that produced deformities in the children that were subsequently born.

Colza Oil (1984): Spanish authorities limited the import of colza (rape-seed) oil to industrial purposes and added a chemical that made it unfit for human consumption. Some businessmen imported this oil and then subjected it to a process to remove the chemical, and then sold it as oil to be distributed for human consumption. The process did not remove all the toxic chemical from the oil, and 30,000 people were poisoned, some fatally.

In both cases, consumers could not know whether the product was safe. Actions in private law against those responsible was long –winded (the Colza case was only decided in 1997), and it was difficult for the consumers to prove fault. Further, the manufacturer might be in one country, the distributor in a second and the consumer in a third, so whose law applied?