The Relevance of Apologies in Non-Pecuniary Damages: Between Remedies and Incentives

Legal systems and their sources have significantly evolved during globalization, bringing out new ways of conceiving regulation and remedies. We can recall several examples in which certain social phenomena are treated beyond a pure ‘command and control’ approach.Think about the growing impact of self-regulation in several areas, the increasing relevance of corporate codes of conduct, the use of reputational sanctions in social networks, the emergence of public apologies in tort law. In the latter example, we may focus on many legal implications such as the opportunity to provide a safe harbour legislation in order to facilitate the settlement of disputes, the acknowledgment of mitigating effects on non-material damages, the idea of judge-ordered apologies. According to Law and Economics thought, apologies can be deemed to fall within the category of “merit goods”. They allow people to reach the difficult goal of nonmaterial compensation giving voice to personal feelings without having to translate them into money. The article shows how behavioral incentives and mediation proceedings might be more appropriate than authoritative measures in order to gain benefits from apologies.