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English tort law
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
| English Tort law |
|---|
| Part of the common law series |
| Negligence |
| Duty of care |
| Standard of care |
| Bolam Test |
| Breach of duty |
| Causation |
| Breaking the chain |
| Acts of the claimant |
| Remoteness |
| Professional negligence |
| Loss of chance |
| Loss of right |
| Res ipsa loquitur |
| Eggshell skull |
| Defences to negligence |
| Trespass to property |
| Defamation |
| Strict liability |
| Vicarious liability |
| Rylands v. Fletcher |
| Nuisance |
| Other areas of the common law |
| Contract law · Property law |
| Wills and trusts |
| Criminal law · Evidence |
Contents |
A tort is a civil wrong, as distinguished from a criminal wrong.
"The province of tort is to allocate responsibility for injurious conduct" - Lord Denning
The term "tort" comes from the Latin tortus, meaning crooked. Some wrongs are the concern of the state, and so the police can enforce the law on the wrongdoers in court - in a criminal case. A tort is not enforced by the police, and it is a civil action taken by one citizen against another, and tried in a court in front of a judge (only rarely, in certain cases of defamation, with a jury). The most common tort is trespass.
A trespass is an (direct) injury to a person, his property or land, committed directly by the defendant. For example, walking on someone's land or cutting a gate into pieces with a saw. However, this rule did not cater for anything injured indirectly by a person, for example if a farmer sets fire to a field, and someones home is subsequently damaged. Trespass by the case did, however, provide a legal writ for injury caused indirectly by an action.
Tort is concerned with the allocation of responsibility for losses.
In England and Wales, there are various types of torts. These are:
Trespass against goods
Trespass against the person
Defamation (i.e. libel and slander)
Law Made Simple - David Barker and Colin Padfield ISBN 0-7506-5405-8