Vicarious Liability In The Common Law World

This book is the one place to find unprecedented access to case-law, doctrinal debates and comparative reflections on vicarious liability from across the common law world. The doctrine of vicarious liability, that is strict liability for the torts of others, represents one of the most controversial areas of tort law. Unsurprisingly it is a doctrine that has been discussed in the highest courts of common law jurisdictions. This collection responds to uncertainties as to the operation of vicarious liability in twenty-first century tort law by looking at key common law jurisdictions and asking expert scholars to set out and critically analyse the law, identifying factors influencing change and the extent to which case-law from other common law jurisdictions has been influential. The jurisdictions covered include Canada, England and Wales, Australia, Singapore, Ireland, Hong Kong and New Zealand. In providing critical analysis of this important topic, it will be essential and compelling reading for all scholars of tort law and practitioners working in this field.

This book is the one place to find unprecedented access to case-law, doctrinal debates and comparative reflections on vicarious liability from across the common law world. The doctrine of vicarious liability, that is strict liability for the torts of others, represents one of the most controversial areas of tort law. Unsurprisingly it is a doctrine that has been discussed in the highest courts of common law jurisdictions. This collection responds to uncertainties as to the operation of vicarious liability in twenty-first century tort law by looking at key common law jurisdictions and asking expert scholars to set out and critically analyse the law, identifying factors influencing change and the extent to which case-law from other common law jurisdictions has been influential. The jurisdictions covered include Canada, England and Wales, Australia, Singapore, Ireland, Hong Kong and New Zealand. In providing critical analysis of this important topic, it will be essential and compelling reading for all scholars of tort law and practitioners working in this field. ...

The scope of vicarious liability has significantly expanded since its original conception. Today employers are being found liable for actions of employees that they did not authorise, and never would have authorised if asked. They are being held liable for an employee's criminal activity. In the related strict liability field of non-delegable duties, they are being held liable for wrongdoing of independent contractors. Notions of strict liability have grown increasingly isolated in the law of tort, given the exponential growth in the tort of negligence. They require intellectual justification. Such a justification has proven to be elusive and largely unsatisfactory in relation to vicarious liability and to concepts of non-delegable duty. The law of three jurisdictions studied has now apparently embraced the 'enterprise risk' theory to rationalise the imposition of vicarious liability. This book subjects this theory to strong critique by arguing that it has many weaknesses, which the courts should acknowledge. It suggests that a rationalisation of the liability of an employer for the actions of an employee lies in more traditional legal doctrine which would serve to narrow the circumstances in which an employer is legally liable for a wrong committed by an employee.

The development of the law of obligations across the common law world has been, and continues to be, a story of unity and divergence. Its common origins continue to exert a powerful stabilising influence, carried forward by a methodology that places heavy weight on the historical foundations of legal principles. Divergence is, however, produced by numerous factors, including national and international human rights instruments, local statutory regimes, civil law influences, regional harmonisation, local circumstances and values and different political and legal cultures. The essays in this collection explore the forces that produce divergence, the countervailing forces that generate cohesion and consistency in the common law of obligations, and the influence that the major common law jurisdictions continue to exert over one another in this area of law. The chapters in this book were originally presented at the Seventh Biennial Conference on the Law of Obligations held in Hong Kong in July 2014. A second collection, entitled Divergences in Private Law (ISBN: 9781782256601), will focus on particular departures from the common law mainstream and the causes and effects of those deviations.

Vicarious liability is controversial: a principle of strict liability in an area dominated by fault-based liability. By making an innocent party pay compensation for the torts of another, it can also appear unjust. Yet it is a principle found in all Western legal systems, be they civil law or common law. Despite uncertainty as to its justifications, it is accepted as necessary. In our modern global economy, we are unlikely to understand its meaning and rationale through study of one legal system alone. Using her considerable experience as a comparative tort lawyer, Paula Giliker examines the principle of vicarious liability (or, to a civil lawyer, liability for the acts of others) in England and Wales, Australia, Canada, France and Germany, and with reference to legal systems in countries such as the United States, New Zealand and Spain.

In this book leading scholars from the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia challenge established common law rules and suggest new approaches to both old and emerging problems in tort law. Some of the chapters consider broad issues such as the importance of flexibility over certainty in tort law, connections between tort law and human flourishing and the indirect effects of changes in tort law. Other chapters engage more specific topics including the role of vindication in tort law, the relationship between criminal law and tort law, the use of epidemiological evidence in analysing causation, accessory liability in tort law, the role of malice in intentional torts and the role of statutes in tort law. They propose new approaches to contributory negligence, emotional distress, loss of a chance, damages for nuisance, the tort of conspiracy and vicarious liability. The chapters in this book were originally presented at the Sixth Biennial Conference on the Law of Obligations at Western University in London, Ontario in July 2012. They will be highly useful to lawyers, judges and scholars across the common law world.

In this book, articles by leading tort scholars from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States deal with important theoretical and practical issues that are emerging in the law of torts. The articles analyse recent leading developments in areas such as economic negligence, causation, vicarious liability, non-delegable duty, breach of statutory duty, intentional torts, damages, and tort law in the family. They provide a foretaste of the issues that will face tort law in the near future and offer critical viewpoints that should not go unheeded. With its rich breadth of contributors and topics, Emerging Issues in Tort Law will be highly useful to lawyers, judges and academics across the common law world. Contributors: Elizabeth Adjin-Tettey, Kumaralingam Amirthalingam, Peter Benson, Vaughan Black, Peter Cane, Erika Chamberlain, Israel Gilead, Paula Giliker, Rick Glofcheski, Lewis N Klar QC, Michael A Jones, Richard Lewis, John Murphy, Jason W Neyers, Ken Oliphant, David F Partlett, Stephen GA Pitel, Denise Reaume, Robert H Stevens, Andrew Tettenborn, Stephen Todd, Shauna van Praagh, Stephen Waddams, David R Wingfield, Richard W Wright.