This thesis takes a global approach to analyzing, discussing and critiquing the effectiveness of product liability law in Europe. The thesis approaches the study of European product liability law beyond the main product liability instruments themselves. It first offers a purely legal analysis, based on the content, effects and judicial interpretation of the European product liability directive and on the procedural context in which it is framed. Second, it analyzes the directive's effects on accident deterrence, examining the interaction between Europe's ex post liability laws and ex ante safety regulations from theoretical as well as practical perspectives. Third, the thesis analyzes the effectiveness of ex post liability as a mechanism for compensating the victims of product-related accidents in Europe. This last issue of victim compensation reaches beyond tort law to include alternative sources of compensation, such as public and private insurance. Social insurance systems, in particular, arise as the major mechanism of compensation in Europe, and for this reason the compensation of product-related accident victims proves to be one of the issues that differentiates the role, development and effectiveness of product liability law in Europe from the U.S. experience. Using the European product liability directive as the starting point and focus of analysis, this thesis contributes to the literature by shifting the analysis from the product liability directive itself to the more general question of product regulation in Europe.