Key points

• This article examines the extent to which the civil courts are bound under EU law by the EU prospectus rules when judging issues of liability. The following questions are discussed: (i) May civil courts be more flexible than the EU prospectus rules?; (ii) May civil courts be stricter than the EU prospectus rules?; (iii) How do the EU prospectus rules influence the requirement of relativity in the Member States where this is a condition for liability in tort?; (iv) How do the EU prospectus rules influence the proof of causal link?; (v) How do the EU prospectus rules influence determination of the extent of the loss or damage?; (vi) How do the EU prospectus rules influence a limitation or exclusion of liability?; (vii) Should civil courts apply the EU prospectus rules of their own motion? (viii) How do the EU prospectus rules influence the liability of the financial regulator which must approve the prospectus?
• The article concludes that the influence of the EU prospectus rules on private law is potentially considerable, but that the subject is unfortunately surrounded by much uncertainty. EU legislation on prospectus liability would be the best solution, not only for reasons of legal certainty but also for the sake of uniform investor protection and a truly level playing field in Europe. However, in the current political climate (less rather than more Europe), that is likely to be a non-starter for the time being. Our hopes must therefore be pinned on the CJEU, which will hopefully provide more clarity in the years ahead.

中文翻译：

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欧盟招股说明书规则对私法的影响

关键点

• 本文探讨了在裁定赔偿责任问题时，欧盟招股说明书规则对民事法院在欧盟法律中的约束程度。讨论了以下问题：（i）民事法院是否可以比欧盟的招股说明书规则更具灵活性？（ii）民事法院可能比欧盟的招股说明书规则更严格吗？（iii）如果这是侵权责任的条件，那么欧盟的招股章程规则如何影响成员国的相对性要求？（iv）欧盟的招股说明书规则如何影响因果关系的证据？（v）欧盟的招股说明书规则如何影响对损失或损害程度的确定？（vi）欧盟的招股说明书规则如何影响责任的限制或排除？（vii）民事法院是否应按照自己的动议来适用欧盟的招股说明书规则？（viii）欧盟的招股说明书规则如何影响必须批准招股说明书的金融监管机构的责任？
• 文章得出的结论是，欧盟招股说明书规则对私法的影响可能很大，但不幸的是，该主题还存在很多不确定性。欧盟关于招股说明书责任的立法将是最好的解决方案，这不仅是出于法律确定性的原因，也是为了统一的投资者保护和欧洲真正公平的竞争环境。但是，在当前的政治气氛中（欧洲减少而不是欧洲增加），暂时可能还没有开始。因此，我们的希望必须寄托在CJEU上，希望它将在今后的几年中提供更多的清晰度。