This volume presents to the international world of learning the first fruits of a project launched by the European Science Foundation (ESF) in 1977. Tribute should be paid to the late Professor Aleck Chloros, Judge in the Court of the Euro- pean Community, whose belief in the European ideal and enthusiasm for European co9peration and the comparative study oflegal problems made him an eloquent ad- vocate of a large-scale ESF venture into the field of comparative law. Judge Chloros had envisaged the creation of a permanent, sizable and well-equipped European in- stitute for comparative legal studies. The successive working parties convoked by the Executive Council of the ESF, which I had the honour of heading from the be- ginning, came to the conclusion that this ambitious vision could not be realized im- mediately; the financial situation of the member organizations of the ESF also de- teriorated, making a cautious approach a necessary virtue. The solution ultimately adopted by the last of the working parties - the Ad Hoc Committee for Compara- tive Law - and submitted to the General Assembly of the ESF in 1979 called for the launching of four pilot projects.
In November 1980, the Assembly approved de- tailed plans for two of these projects, the first of which concerned medical respon- sibility - the subject of this volume. A Steering Committee was set up to monitor the projects. The organisation of the study was entrusted to Professor Dr.

Contributions by: J. Blackie, J. Santos Briz, F. Busnelli, R.O. Dalcq, E. Deutsch, J. de Figueiredo Dias, N.S. Fotakis, H. Hausheer, J. Hellner, I. Kennedy, H.J.J. Leenen, P. Lodrup, J. Sinde Monteiro, J. Penneau, J. Radisic, H.-L. Schreiber, J.W. Steiner, M. Zana