L’utilizzo del diritto romano come fonte persuasiva nella giurisprudenza inglese: una decisione della House of Lords in materia di responsabilità civile e nesso di causalità

This essay aims at examining the opinions published in 2002 by the judges of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords related to the decision granting three appeals riunited into a single file Fairchild v. Glenhaven Funeral Services [2002] UKHL 22 on the subject of civil liability due to a “breach of duty” performed by some companies which three different workers were employed by at different times for different periods. These workers died of mesothelioma after carrying out tasks in contact with asbestos dust without any measures of protection provided by their employers. The analysis of these reasons will help to identify the main legal problems underlying the three appeals gathered together. Among these opinions the one formulated by Lord Rodger, who mentions and analyzes some passages taken from Justinian’s Digest concerning loss wrongfully caused, stands out in particular. In this case the aim will be to understand how and within which limits the reference to these texts may have influenced the process of formation of the final sentence.