Latent physical defects in animals sold are problematic for both parties to the contract. This situation implies a legal reaction and increases the seller’s civil liability. One of the types of such ...liability is the Germanic model of warranty, which is, or was, in force throughout Europe. The characteristics of this model and the conditions which shaped the current statutory acts are demonstrated based on contemporary (Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Switzerland) and historical (Germany and Poland) examples. The analysis shows factors influencing these legal rules. Local habits of animal trade and law are shown to be decisive factors for the Germanic model. The subject of the analysis is the Germanic model of liability for the physical defects of animals examined through examples in Europe. Methods of legal analysis and interpretation are used. Contemporary (Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Switzerland) and historical examples (Germany and Poland) are examined and described. The characteristics of this model and the historical conditions which shaped the current legal state are demonstrated. It is shown where particular civil law systems in Europe have maintained the Germanic model of warranty to this day, where other systems have replaced it with another model and what factors have influenced this. The analysis is comparative in regard to legal systems and oriented toward veterinary science.
Veterinary professional practice can be performed in many forms, including expert activity. The importance of veterinary expertise is, however, often underrated and limited to only one of its areas. ...Nonetheless, veterinary expert opinions have significant social, legal, and economic impacts. This study investigates veterinary expertise from an interdisciplinary, comparative perspective. Ethical and legal analysis and interpretation are performed. Essential concepts and relevant aspects of veterinary expertise are analysed. Legally relevant factors of an expert opinion are identified. The relationship between the law, the language, and the understanding of the role and duties of a veterinary proficient is demonstrated. A variety of possible expert opinions and the multiplicity of veterinary scopes of such activity is presented. It is argued that the ranges of forensic veterinary medicine and of veterinary expertise are broader than is predominantly assumed. Veterinary forensic medicine is a crucial part of veterinary specialisation. Ethical and legal basics, and the scope of veterinary expert's liability, are revealed and discussed. The conclusion is that the duties and responsibilities of expert veterinarians are particularly great due to the exercise of the public trust profession, with large importance for the whole society. Their observance is, however, crucial to ensure the highest quality of expert opinions issued by veterinarians.
Animal experiments, despite their controversial nature, play an indispensable role in scientific advancement and led to numerous significant discoveries. The supervision of veterinarians in the realm ...of in vivo research holds immense importance. However, this particular aspect of veterinary medicine, distinct from their other activities, can pose ethical challenges. Veterinarians are entrusted with the prevention of diseases, healing, and pain elimination, yet in the case of animal experiments, they witness intentional suffering and death. This article evaluates the ethical and professional deontological aspects of this issue. It explores the historical evolution of human-animal (including experimental) relationships and discusses how deontology stems from the definition of ethics. The article also examines codes of ethics for veterinarians, providing illustrative examples. It highlights that the actions of veterinarians in this domain align with their deontology and emphasises the role of veterinarians in in vivo research as viewed within current legal frameworks. In conclusion, the veterinarian's participation in animal research is both ethically and deontologically justified, and it is also a legal requirement.
Prions cause infectious and fatal neurodegenerative diseases in mammals. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) affects wild and farmed cervids. The increasing number of cases in Europe, the resistance of ...prions to external conditions, and the persistence period threaten not only wild cervid populations but also the economy. The possible zoonotic potential of CWD is of growing concern. CWD is a relevant issue as far as the idea of “one health” is concerned, which is a fundamental principle of European veterinary law. Methods of legal text analysis and interpretation are used for this comparative legal study. Research reveals that countries struggling to tackle CWD employ different normative approaches to the problem and use different control and eradication schemes. The results of this study indicate that it is reasonable to issue uniform regulations in the European Union at the common, rather than national, level. The European legislation should creatively draw on the experience of North American countries that have been struggling with the discussed disease for a long time.
In Poland, bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is most often detected in cattle, although some cases have also been reported in pigs and in other non-domestic species. BTB is believed to be mainly present in ...the Bieszczady region, in the south-eastern part of the country. The present study analyses the practical applications of the law regarding the eradication of tuberculosis among European bison in Poland, as well as the influence of legal rules in species conservation effects. Its aim is to present and evaluate the effectiveness of legal provisions in selected cases of BTB detected in European bison. The analysis highlights key “critical points” in the management of cases of BTB in European bison, which resulted from the problematic interpretation and application of the existing legal provisions. Findings indicate that before the Animal Health Law, the eradication of BTB in European bison in Poland was not regulated clearly enough by the applicable laws in force prior to 2021. This posed a threat to an effective reintroduction strategy for bison based on creating larger metapopulations and maintaining small, isolated reservoir herds (breading centers) for fallback in the case of infectious disease. It should be emphasized that in the current legal system, there is no doubt that a District Veterinary Officer has the competence to prevent and control tuberculosis in European bison.
Analizie i interpretacji poddane zostały źródła prawa dotyczące odpowiedzialności za wady fizyczne zwierząt w prawie francuskim przedrewolucyjnym i XIX-wiecznym – w tym lokalne prawa zwyczajowe, ...droit commun oraz późniejsze akty normatywne – jak również piśmiennictwo z zakresu nauk weterynaryjnych. Wykazano, że lokalne prawa zwyczajowe dotyczące rękojmi za wady główne wybranych gatunków zwierząt (przede wszystkim koni, a także innych zwierząt koniowatych, bydła, owiec) istniały na obszarze całej Francji i były uwzględniane też w ramach tzw. pays de droit écrit. Uprawnienia kupujących były nieproporcjonalnie ograniczone, przede wszystkim przez istnienie katalogu wad, krótkich terminów, wyłączenie możliwości obniżenia ceny i limitowanie redhibicji. Wyróżniano jedynie kilka wad ukrytych, których nazwy i zakres, a także reguły temporalne były nieracjonalne, anachroniczne i niezgodne ze stanem wiedzy lekarsko-weterynaryjnej. Regulacje te były stosowane (contra legem) w praktyce sądowniczej po wejściu w życie kodeksu Napoleona, a następnie zostały – niemalże bez zmiany – przejęte przez późniejsze ustawodawstwo.
Sources of law concerning liability for physical defects of animals in pre-revolutionary and 19th French law – including local customary laws, droit commun, and subsequent normative acts – as well as ...the literature in the field of veterinary sciences were analyzed and interpreted. It was ascertained that the local customary laws which pertained to the warranty for major defects of selected animal species (primarily horses as well as other equidae, cattle, sheep) had existed throughout France and had also been included in the so-called pays de droit écrit. Buyers’ rights were disproportionately limited, primarily by the existence of a closed catalogue of defects, short deadlines, exclusion of the possibility of price reduction, and the limitation of redhibition. Only a few latent defects were distinguished whose numerous names and scope, as well as the temporal rules, were irrational, anachronistic, and incompatible with the veterinary knowledge. These regulations were applied (contra legem) in judicial practice after the Napoleonic Code came into force, and they were subsequently adopted, virtually unchanged, by later legislation.
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