프랑스법상 신체손해에 대한 책임 – 불법행위책임에 관한 프랑스 민법개정안을 중심으로 –

French tort liability law is based on five articles (Articles 1240 to 1244) of Chapter 1 (General Extra-Contractual Liability) of Part Ⅱ (Extra-Contractual Liability) of Title Ⅲ of Book Ⅲ of the French Civil Code. While these provisions have remained largely unchanged since their enactment in 1804, case law has changed the tort liability system in favor of greater compensation for victims, and as the codification gradually ceased to reflect the realities of tort liability, calls for revisions to the Tort Liability Act have emerged. In 2005, the avant-projet Catala was submitted, in 2008, the avant-projet Terré was submitted, and in 2010, Professor Laurent Béteille's amendment was submitted, but the Ministry of Justice did not submit an amendment to the Law of Tort Liability until March 17, 2017, after completing the revision of the Contract law in 2016, and the Senate bill was finally submitted on July 29, 2020. While the Catala projet sought to unify contractual and tort liability while retaining the three general provisions on non-contractual tort liability, the Terré projet distinguished between contractual and tort liability, defined bodily injury as a non-contractual liability, and created a list of major special torts. The above 2017 Ministry of Justice amendments were inspired by Catala projet and Terré projet. The subject of body injury occupies the most prominent place in these amendments. The protection of body integrity is a fundamental ethic in a civilized society. In the 21st century, the development of science and technology has increased the threats to human body integrity, making the right to body injury even more relevant. Contrary to the main principles of tort liability law stipulated by the French Civil Code, a practice has gradually been established that broadly recognizes the right to body injury in favor of victims. The 2017 Ministry of Justice amendments clarify the rules for compensation for body injury. It eliminates the duty of care, which was previously a special means of compensating for body injury. The rules on extra-contractual liability were made applicable to body injury. In addition, the bill seeks to facilitate compensation for body injury by making it possible to exempt a portion of liability for body injury only due to gross negligence of the victim. While the 2020 Senate bill is a step backward in terms of innovation compared to the 2017 amendment above, it still expresses a desire to broadly recognize body injury, protect victims, and establish a uniform standard for assessing body injury. The 2020 Senate bill represents a significant step forward in that it directly defines the concept of body injury, strengthens equality among victims, and provides for improvements in restitution.