Premium Essay

“a Satisfactory Justification for Strict Liability in Tort Law Has Yet to Be Found.”

In:

Submitted By fvck
Words 3156
Pages 13
“A satisfactory justification for strict liability in tort law has yet to be found.”
It is generally recognised that being responsible at law or in ordinary life are very different concepts: one is based on blame while the other focuses on fault. This imbalance is embedded in the tension between the two bases of liability recognised in the law of torts. On the one hand, as stressed in Hoffman v Jones, ‘the most equitable result that can ever be reached by a court is the equation of liability with fault’. Courts have energetically defended the view that fault is crucial in establishing responsibility. On the other hand, the same jurisdictions have operated a shift since Rylands v Fletcher from this doctrinal claim to adopt a strict liability standard in particular circumstances. Despite its appearance in statutes, many claim that a satisfactory justification for strict liability in tort law has yet to be found.
This essay will nevertheless argue that this stand is unsupported and untrue: it is nonsensical to call for one unique explanation for this area of the law. The law on strict liability responds to a social demand which should not be reduced to one ‘metatheory’. The first two parts of this essay will be dedicated to the analysis the ‘social and economic benefits’ of strict liability mentioned in Chavez v Southern Pacific Transportation Co. We shall then argue that these justifications are best understood when interrelated with a broader moral justification.

I] Social justifications: distributive justice and social harmony
The main aim of the law of torts is to compensate victims for the damage they suffer. Strict liability plays a very key role in respect of this. It is important to note that strict liability is generally imposed upon dangerous activities, such as nuclear power production, which society is reluctant to accept.
According to the ‘deterrence

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Rawlsian Arguments

...1857 (2004) RAWLSIAN FAIRNESS AND REGIME CHOICE IN THE LAW OF ACCIDENTS Gregory C. Keating* The political philosophy of John Rawls is pregnant with implications for the tort theory. Our law of intentional and accidental physical injury is rich with the rhetoric of reasonableness and fairness, and these ideals lie at the heart of Rawls’s political philosophy. The figure of the reasonable person is central both to the law of negligence—where it serves as the master criterion of justified risk imposition—and to the law of intentional torts—where it helps to define the contours of permissible self-defense, the sensibility by which the offensiveness of contact in battery is measured, and the content of the consent given in connection with matters as diverse as The concept of contact sports and medical operations.1 reasonableness figures prominently in strict liability as well. The intentional infliction of unreasonable harm triggers liability for damages in the law of nuisance, and strict liability in general can be fruitfully understood as a form of liability applicable when the conduct which leads to accidental injury is reasonable, but the failure to make reparation for the harm done is unreasonable.2 Principles of fairness figure more prominently in the judicial rhetoric of strict products liability than economic ideas of efficient precaution and efficient insurance do.3 * William T. Dalessi Professor of Law, USC Law School. For instruction and advice, I am grateful to Ken...

Words: 32629 - Pages: 131

Premium Essay

Wrongfu Life

...Legal Theory, 5 (1999), 117–148. Printed in the United States of America Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1352–3252/99 $9.50 SEANA VALENTINE SHIFFRIN Wrongful Life WRONGFUL LIFE, PROCREATIVE RESPONSIBILITY, AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HARM Seana Valentine Shiffrin University of California at Los Angeles I. A wrongful life suit is an unusual civil suit brought by a child (typically a congenitally disabled child)1 who seeks damages for burdens he suffers that result from his creation. Typically, the child charges that he has been born into an unwanted or miserable life.2 These suits offer the prospect of financial relief for some disabled or neglected children and have some theoretical advantages over alternative causes of action.3 But they have had 1. In these cases, the disability is not usually caused by events after conception, such as prenatal damage. Rather, the disability, the underlying genetic condition, or the relevant circumstances of conception are essentially linked to the child’s identity or existence. So, he must claim that his life was wrongfully caused, not only his disability. Jeff McMahan argues that some significant prenatal damage, occurring early in pregnancy, may affect the identity of the child. If he is correct, then such cases should be classified with the cases typically associated with wrongful life litigation. Jeff McMahan, Wrongful Life: Paradoxes in the Morality of Causing People to Exist, in RATIONAL COMMITMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: ESSAYS...

Words: 17686 - Pages: 71

Free Essay

Review of Law in Context

...NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION: USE ONLY IN COMPLIANCE WITH COPYRIGHT: DAVID RISSTROM AN INTERPRETATION OF LAW IN CONTEXT Bottomley, S., Gunningham, N. and Parker, S., 1991, Law in Context, The Federation Press, Leichhardt. { } = additional material from lectures. ( ) = my comments. (See ‘x’) refers to book page number. A short (somewhat boring) message from the summary executioner before you dive in; These notes are an interpretation of the book Law in Context and the lectures given as part of the 1991 Course. They are not a satisfactory substitution for reading the text. You are only likely to get the maximum value out of this summary by reading it in conjunction with the text. The question of ‘the law in whose context’ may be worth keeping in mind as you read. This is an interpretation seen through my eyes, not yours. My comments are not unbiased, as it is as equally unlikely that yours may be. So my ‘advice’ is consider what is said here and in the book considering the need to understand the ‘mechanics’ that help make sense of the more involved themes that develop in the book as you progress through Law in Context. The observations, important in their own right, may be particularly useful for seeing how their often ubiquitous expression is taken as ‘normal’ in the areas of wider society, such as in discussions of economics and power. It is unlikely that you will find any ‘right answers’ from this summary, but I do hope it helps you in synthesising...

Words: 51747 - Pages: 207

Premium Essay

Legal Frame Work

...Performance of the Contract 9. Remedies of the Seller 10. Remedies of the Buyer 11. Articles on Sale of Goods and Contract issues 12. Drafting Sale Contracts and specimen sale contract Sponsors Student Subscription Subscribe to the 2009 Weekly Law Reports & Receive All Parts for 2008 Free! That's just £90 (£96 overseas) for two years' worth of parts (standard UK subscription cost for 2009: £450). Contact: 0207 242 6471 Recent Case Law Cases on Sale of Goods and Contract 2009 - 2000 Statutes Sale of Goods Act 1979 Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994 The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 Unfair Contract terms Act 1977 Factors Act 1889 Part III Hire Purchase Act 1964: ss.27 - 29. Companion Volume The Law of Contract Monday August 19th 2013 6. Terms of the Contract There are few formalities in terms of the formation of simple contracts. A contract may be made under deed, in writing, The old requirement of a seal has been abolished. Land Law requires, for example, that leases for more than three years must be made by deed. S 52 Law of Property Act 1925. Company Law requires that contracts be in writing for the transfer of certain shares and the Consumer Credit lays down quite...

Words: 29335 - Pages: 118

Premium Essay

Laws1001 Notes

...Summary Australian law is based on the culture of English law. The following characteristics derive from the English background of our law: * A system of representative democracy, using parliaments to make laws. See chapters 7 & 8. * A legal profession divided formally or informally into solicitors and barristers. See chapter 3. * A ‘common law’ system: * The system of law derived from the English legal system. Uses judicially decided cases as the basic form of law. See chapter 10. * The way that the law is made: Judges make law based on decided cases (precedents) and develop sets of legal principles which emerge from the judgments in decided cases.’ See chapter 12, 13, and 14. * The category of laws which grew from the medieval royal courts (‘the courts of common law’) and other areas of law, which came from the medieval Lord Chancellor’s role (‘equity’). See chapter 10. * Decision making in courts after an adversarial trial: derived from historical ‘trial by battle’ introduced by Normans. The battle has since then become a verbal one. See chapter 2. * A court system for dispute resolution: See chapter 11. However, Australian law has developed distinct characteristics of its own: * A federal system made up of a Commonwealth and States and Territories: separates out the powers of different bodies of government. See chapter 8. * A limited recognition of indigenous customary law: Mabo (No 2) held that native title to land could...

Words: 29591 - Pages: 119

Free Essay

Torts Cases

...[G.R. No. 132266. December 21, 1999] CASTILEX INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION, petitioner, vs. VICENTE VASQUEZ, JR. and LUISA SO VASQUEZ, and CEBU DOCTORS HOSPITAL, INC., respondents. The pivotal issue in this petition is whether an employer may be held vicariously liable for the death resulting from the negligent operation by a managerial employee of a company-issued vehicle. The antecedents, as succinctly summarized by the Court of Appeals, are as follows: On 28 August 1988, at around 1:30 to 2:00 in the morning, Romeo So Vasquez, was driving a Honda motorcycle around Fuente Osmea Rotunda. He was traveling counter-clockwise, (the normal flow of traffic in a rotunda) but without any protective helmet or goggles. He was also only carrying a Students Permit to Drive at the time. Upon the other hand, Benjamin Abad [was a] manager of Appellant Castilex Industrial Corporation, registered owner [of] a Toyota Hi-Lux Pick-up with plate no. GBW-794. On the same date and time, Abad drove the said company car out of a parking lot but instead of going around the Osmea rotunda he made a short cut against [the] flow of the traffic in proceeding to his route to General Maxilom St. or to Belvic St. In the process, the motorcycle of Vasquez and the pick-up of Abad collided with each other causing severe injuries to the former. Abad stopped his vehicle and brought Vasquez to the Southern Islands Hospital and later to the Cebu Doctors Hospital. On September 5, 1988, Vasquez died at the Cebu Doctors...

Words: 82604 - Pages: 331

Premium Essay

Bussines

...INTRODUCTION TO THE LAW OF CONTRACT DEFINITION  A contract may be defined as a legally binding agreement or, in the words of Sir Frederick Pollock: “A promise or set of promises which the law will enforce”. The agreement will create rights and obligations that may be enforced in the courts. The normal method of enforcement is an action for damages for breach of contract, though in some cases the court may order performance by the party in default.  CLASSIFICATION  Contracts may be divided into two broad classes:   1.    Contracts by deed A deed is a formal legal document signed, witnessed and delivered to effect a conveyance or transfer of property or to create a legal obligation or contract. 2. Simple contracts Contracts which are not deeds are known as simple contracts. They are informal contracts and may be made in any way – in writing, orally or they may be implied from conduct.   Another way of classifying contracts is according to whether they are “bilateral” or “unilateral”. 1. Bilateral contracts A bilateral contract is one where a promise by one party is exchanged for a promise by the other. The exchange of promises is enough to render them both enforceable. Thus in a contract for the sale of goods, the buyer promises to pay the price and the seller promises to deliver the goods. 2. Unilateral contracts A unilateral contract is one where one party promises to do something in return for an act of the other party, as opposed to a promise, eg, where X promises...

Words: 54083 - Pages: 217

Premium Essay

Contract of Law

...INTRODUCTION TO THE LAW OF CONTRACT DEFINITION  A contract may be defined as a legally binding agreement or, in the words of Sir Frederick Pollock: “A promise or set of promises which the law will enforce”. The agreement will create rights and obligations that may be enforced in the courts. The normal method of enforcement is an action for damages for breach of contract, though in some cases the court may order performance by the party in default.  CLASSIFICATION  Contracts may be divided into two broad classes:   1.    Contracts by deed A deed is a formal legal document signed, witnessed and delivered to effect a conveyance or transfer of property or to create a legal obligation or contract. 2. Simple contracts Contracts which are not deeds are known as simple contracts. They are informal contracts and may be made in any way – in writing, orally or they may be implied from conduct.   Another way of classifying contracts is according to whether they are “bilateral” or “unilateral”. 1. Bilateral contracts A bilateral contract is one where a promise by one party is exchanged for a promise by the other. The exchange of promises is enough to render them both enforceable. Thus in a contract for the sale of goods, the buyer promises to pay the price and the seller promises to deliver the goods. 2. Unilateral contracts A unilateral contract is one where one party promises to do something in return for an act of the other party, as opposed to a promise, eg, where...

Words: 54394 - Pages: 218

Premium Essay

Cima 05

...7/1/06 11:08 AM Page i CIMA’S Official Learning System CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting, 2006 Syllabus Certificate Level Fundamentals of Ethics, Corporate Governance and Business law David Sagar Larry Mead Philippa Foster Back H8032-Prelims.QXD 7/1/06 11:08 AM Page ii CIMA Publishing is an imprint of Elsevier Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA First edition 2006 Copyright © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone (ϩ44) (0) 1865 843830; fax (ϩ44) (0) 1865 853333; e-mail: permissions@elsevier.com. Alternatively you can submit your request online by visiting the Elsevier web site at http://elsevier.com/locate/permissions, and selecting Obtaining Permission to use Elsevier material Notice No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record...

Words: 249182 - Pages: 997

Premium Essay

None

...Race Discrimination Chapter Outline * Opening Scenarios * Statutory Basis * Surprised? * Background * General Considerations * Recognizing Race Discrimination * Racial Harassment * A Word about Color * The Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts * 42 U.S.C. Section 1981 * 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 * 42 U.S.C. Section 1985 * Management Tips * Summary * Chapter-End Questions Opening Scenarios SCENARIO 1 An employer has a “no-beard” policy, which applies across the board to all employees. A black employee tells the employer he cannot shave without getting severe facial bumps from ingrown hairs. The employer replies that the policy is without exception and the employee must comply. The employee refuses and is later terminated. The employee brings suit under Title VII on the basis of race discrimination. Does he win? Why? Why not? SCENARIO 2 Two truck driver employees are found to have stolen goods from the cargo they were carrying. The black employee is retained and reprimanded. The white employee is terminated. The white employee sues the employer for race discrimination under Title VII. Who wins and why? SCENARIO 3 A black female employee is terminated during a downsizing at her place of employment. The decision was made to terminate the two worst employees, and she was one of them. The employer had not told the employee of her poor performance nor given her any negative feedback during evaluations...

Words: 20506 - Pages: 83

Premium Essay

Q&a Jurisprudence

...R outledge Revision: Questions & Answers  Jurisprudence 2011–2012 Each Routledge Q&A contains approximately 50 questions on topics commonly found on exam papers, with answer plans and comprehensive suggested answers. Each book also offers valuable advice as to how to approach and tackle exam questions and how to focus your revision effectively. New Aim Higher and Common  Pitfalls boxes will also help you to identify how to go that little bit further in order to get the very best marks and highlight areas of confusion. And now there are further opportunities to hone and perfect your exam technique online. New editions publishing in 2011: Civil Liberties & Human Rights Commercial Law Company Law Constitutional & Administrative Law Contract Law Criminal Law Employment Law English Legal System Routledge Q&A series Equity & Trusts European Union Law Evidence Family Law Jurisprudence Land Law Medical Law Torts For a full listing, visit http://www.routledge.com/textbooks/revision R outledge Revision: Questions & Answers Jurisprudence 2011–2012 David Brooke Senior Lecturer in Law and Module Leader in Jurisprudence at Leeds Metropolitan University Fifth edition published 2011 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the U S A and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011...

Words: 105136 - Pages: 421

Premium Essay

Business

...CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN POLICY STUDIES REGULATING E-COMMERCE IN FINANCIAL SERVICES REPORT OF A JOINT CEPS/ECRI WORKING PARTY C H A I R M A N: TI M J O N E S C H I E F E X E C U T I V E, P U R S E U S R A P P O R T E U R: NURIA DI E Z GU A R D I A FORMER R ESEARCH FE L L O W , CEPS OCTOBER 2001 This report contains the conclusions and policy recommendations that follow from the discussion and analytical presentations that took place at the meetings of the joint CEPS/ECRI Working Party. The members of the Working Party participated in extensive debate and submitted comments on earlier drafts of the report. Its contents contain the general tone and direction of the discussion, but its recommendations do not necessarily reflect a full common position reached among all members of the Working Party, nor do they necessarily represent the views of the institutions to which the members belong. A list of participants and invited guests and speakers appears at the end of the report. This Working Party was chaired by Tim Jones, Chief Executive at Purseus and former Chief Executive of Retail Banking at NatWest, London. Nuria Diez Guardia served as Rapporteur for the Working Party while a Research Fellow at CEPS. Amparo San José and Alfredo Sousa greatly contributed to the drafting of Parts I and II of the final report, respectively. ISBN 92-9079-349-X © Copyright 2001, Centre for European Policy Studies. All rights reserved. No part of this publication...

Words: 15349 - Pages: 62

Free Essay

Crime and Philosophy

...started It is a matter of some interest that logic and the law should share so many of their foundational concepts – concepts such as proof, evidence, truth, inference, probability, plausibility, presumption and reasonableness – and yet should have had very little to say to one another within living memory. It is not especially surprising that logic and the law should have suffered (I use the word in its Latin sense) this alienation. With regard to its foundational concepts – for example, the concept of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the concept of the balance of probabilities, the concept of the reasonable person – the law embeds am implied epistemology of implicity. There exists among practitioners, especially judges, the view that definitions and formalizations of such notions are both unnecessary and is liable to conceptual distortion. But definitions and formalizations are mother’s milk to logicians. Where the law favours approximation and contextually sensitive nuance, logicians thrive on exactitude and rigour. So why wouldn’t the lawyers and logicians go about their business without the regard of the one for the other? It would be wrong to leave the impression that there is no analytical exactitude in the law. It would also be a mistake to suggest that there has been no contact with the formal disciplines. Trials are often complex and judgements often embed exhaustive and detailed analyses of relevant points of law. In recent years probability theorists have sought to model...

Words: 14399 - Pages: 58

Premium Essay

Software Engineer

...to 8 Discuss the role of ethics in discipline and how to investigate a disciplinary problem. two approaches to disciplinary action. alternative dispute resolution procedures. the management of human resources. organizational rules. PART 5 Enhancing Employee-Management Relations Managing Human Resources, 14e, Bohlander/Snell - © 2007 Thomson South-Western 549 550 PART 5 Enhancing Employee-Management Relations n this chapter we discuss employee rights, workplace privacy, and employee discipline. Managers note that these topics have a major influence on the activities of both employees and supervisors. Robert J. Deeny, an employment attorney, has stated that employee rights and workplace privacy will “continue to be the hottest employment law topics into the twenty-first century.”1 For example, while drug testing, e-mail privileges, and employee monitoring are routinely debated, employers are now using location awareness technology, global positioning systems (GPSs), and companyprovided cell phones to track and locate...

Words: 20644 - Pages: 83

Premium Essay

Engineering

...ENGINEERING ETHICS Concepts and Cases This page intentionally left blank F O U R T H ENGINEERING ETHICS Concepts and Cases g E D I T I O N CHARLES E. HARRIS Texas A&M University MICHAEL S. PRITCHARD Western Michigan University MICHAEL J. RABINS Texas A&M University Australia • Brazil • Japan • Korea • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases, Fourth Edition Charles E. Harris, Michael S. Pritchard, and Michael J. Rabins Acquisitions Editor: Worth Hawes Assistant Editor: Sarah Perkins Editorial Assistant: Daniel Vivacqua Technology Project Manager: Diane Akerman Marketing Manager: Christina Shea Marketing Assistant: Mary Anne Payumo Marketing Communications Manager: Tami Strang Project Manager, Editorial Production: Matt Ballantyne Creative Director: Rob Hugel Art Director: Cate Barr Print Buyer: Paula Vang Permissions Editor: Mardell Glinski-Schultz Production Service: Aaron Downey, Matrix Productions Inc. Copy Editor: Dan Hays Cover Designer: RHDG/Tim Heraldo Cover Image: SuperStock/Henry Beeker Compositor: International Typesetting and Composition  c 2009, 2005 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced, transmitted, stored, or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, scanning, digitizing, taping, Web distribution,...

Words: 48169 - Pages: 193