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Lecture 1 - Introduction to Tort Law
law of tort and legal reasoning (Nottingham Trent University)
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Tort Law – Introduction – Lecture 1
What is ‘Tort’?
‘Tort’ is a civil wrong – from the old Norman French word for ‘wrong’. It can also be
described as a breach of an obligation prescribed by law.
Rogers, Winfield & Jolowicz describe it as “the breach of a duty primarily fixed by law.” In
other words, this is a responsibility imposed by law. If not met, liability may follow.
Note: the law here is mainly common law not statute.
- The law is therefore generally found in the cases – decisions of the House of
Lords/Supreme Court and of the Court of Appeal, together with some decisions of
the High Court. Tort is the last bastion of the traditional common law in this respect.
- Statute has intervened in a number of areas such as Occupiers Liability (for example,
if you are on someone else’s property with permission, then the occupier of that
property owes you a duty by law that you are safe on the property) and Defamation
(this regards your reputation where for example, if someone says something that
harms your reputation, you have been defamed and sue them in the law of tort), but
rarely in a way which completely replaces the common law.
- There is also some involvement of EU law, for example, product liability – most
notably in relation to the Consumer Protection Act, which creates a statutory tort of
strict liability in relation to defective products and which is based on the EU
Consumer Protection Directive.
Examples:
- Negligence (neglecting someone, not looking after someone as you are supposed to)
- Trespass (protecting your bodily integrity, nobody is allowed to touch you without
permission)
- Defamation (damage to someone’s reputation, whether spoken or written)
- Nuisance (causing disturbance to someone’s land, this is private nuisance e.g. making
noise, or public nuisance when it affects a group of people)
All are focused on interference with or harm to rights.
The Objectives of Tort
Downloaded by olinder seth ()
Lecture 1 - Introduction to Tort Law
law of tort and legal reasoning (Nottingham Trent University)
Scan to open on Studocu
Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university
Downloaded by olinder seth ()
, lOMoARcPSD|59658805
Tort Law – Introduction – Lecture 1
What is ‘Tort’?
‘Tort’ is a civil wrong – from the old Norman French word for ‘wrong’. It can also be
described as a breach of an obligation prescribed by law.
Rogers, Winfield & Jolowicz describe it as “the breach of a duty primarily fixed by law.” In
other words, this is a responsibility imposed by law. If not met, liability may follow.
Note: the law here is mainly common law not statute.
- The law is therefore generally found in the cases – decisions of the House of
Lords/Supreme Court and of the Court of Appeal, together with some decisions of
the High Court. Tort is the last bastion of the traditional common law in this respect.
- Statute has intervened in a number of areas such as Occupiers Liability (for example,
if you are on someone else’s property with permission, then the occupier of that
property owes you a duty by law that you are safe on the property) and Defamation
(this regards your reputation where for example, if someone says something that
harms your reputation, you have been defamed and sue them in the law of tort), but
rarely in a way which completely replaces the common law.
- There is also some involvement of EU law, for example, product liability – most
notably in relation to the Consumer Protection Act, which creates a statutory tort of
strict liability in relation to defective products and which is based on the EU
Consumer Protection Directive.
Examples:
- Negligence (neglecting someone, not looking after someone as you are supposed to)
- Trespass (protecting your bodily integrity, nobody is allowed to touch you without
permission)
- Defamation (damage to someone’s reputation, whether spoken or written)
- Nuisance (causing disturbance to someone’s land, this is private nuisance e.g. making
noise, or public nuisance when it affects a group of people)
All are focused on interference with or harm to rights.
The Objectives of Tort
Downloaded by olinder seth ()
