Is There a Duty to Mitigate Damages in Civil Law? Should We Introduce Such a Duty? The Case of Qatar

Abstract

In common law, the non-breaching party of a contract should mitigate damages or risk a reduction in recovery for the breach. The party must take measures to reduce the loss arising from the breach by making a cover purchase, reselling the goods, or taking other actions. The breaching party may claim a reduction in the damages that would be awarded to the injured party up to the amount in which reasonable mitigation measures would have reduced the loss or injury to the injured party. Unlike in common law countries, some civil law countries do not contain a general duty to mitigate damages upon the non-breaching party. However, the concept of damage mitigation has gradually expanded beyond its original sphere of influence. The questions to be answered in this article are as follows: Why is there no duty to mitigate damages in civil law? Should we introduce such a duty?