English Law of Torts

A tort is the breach of a civil obligation which has not arisen under a contract. The word “tort” comes from Law French meaning wrong. For a tort to arise there must be a duty at law to members of the society, which is breached (by the tortfeasor), causing harm to a specific person. The injured person may then sue the tortfeasor in damages. This is an area where most of the law is judge made. As such the law developed incrementally over several hundred years as the courts recognised various involuntary duties of individuals to other members of the society. It follows that there is no system in tort law. Rather the law recognises duties in various situations, which, if breached, results in claims for damages. The situations under which duties arise are distinct. Each tort is also distinct so that the law applicable to each tort may not be applied by analogy to different torts. Some of the most notable torts in English law are negligence, trespass to the person, trespass to land, deceit, nuisance, defamation, product liability, liability for land and premises, employer’s liability. In this course we will explore the most important areas or tort law, reading and discussing the leading cases.