On Linkage and Revaluation
The breach of contract or commission of a civil wrong gives rise to a right of the injured party to compensation for damage caused by the violation of his right. In principle, the amount of money to be received as compensation is determined in two stages: the first stage is the establishment of the real scope of the compensable damage, i.e. the definition of the loss or detriment with respect to which the victim is entitled to compensation; the second stage is the monetary assessment of the compensable damage—translating the loss or detriment into monetary units which will reflect the financial value of such loss or damage. The whole process is governed by the higher principle ofrestitutio in integrum, i.e. restoring the victim to his former position, which in the field of tort law means restoration of the victim to his position prior to the commission of the tort, and, in the field of contracts, means bringing him to the situation in which he would have been had the agreement been honoured.