Tort Law

Mark Lunney is associate professor of law at the University of New England. Ken Oliphant is Lecturer in Law at University of Cardiff. He has written several articles in the area of tort and contributed to the IOLIS CD Rom on the law of tort. He is currently working on chapters for the volume on tort law in the new Common Law Series published by Butterworths.

1. General Introduction; Historical Development of Tort Law; Theories of Tort; Tort Law in the Human Rights Era; 2. Intentional Interference with the Person; Introduction; Assault; Battery; False Imprisonment; Intentional Infliction of Physical or Emotional Harm; Defences; 3. Negligence - Introduction; Formulation of a General Duty of Care; The Duty of Care in the Modern Law; Negligence in the Human Rights Era; 4. Breach of Duty; Introduction; Reasonable Care: Relevant Considerations; Negligence Judged from the Defendant's Standpoint; The Objective Standard of Care; Common Practice; Res Ipsa Loquitur; 5. Causation and Remoteness; Factual Causation; Intervening Acts; Remoteness; 6. Defences to Negligence; Introduction; Volenti Non Fit Injuria; Contributory Negligence; Exclusion of Liability; Illegality (Ex Turpi Causa Non Oritur Actio); 7. Negligence: Duty of Care - Psychiatric Illness; Introduction; Witness; Participants; Stress; Evaluation and Reform; 8. Negligence: Duty of Care - Economic Loss; The Basic Exclusionary Rule; Defective Product Economic Loss; The Hedley Byrne Exception; The Development of Hedley Byrne Liability; Evaluation of Hedley Bryne Principles; 9. Negligence: Duty of Care - Omissions and Acts of Third Parties; Acts and Omissions; Liability for Omissions; Liability for Acts of a Third Party; 10. Negligence: Duty of Care - Public Bodies; Introduction; The Public Law Dimension; The Private Law Dimension (i); The Private Law Dimension (ii); 11. Special Liability Regimes; Employer's Liability; Occupier's Liability; Product Liability; Breach of Statutory Duty; Euro-Torts; 12. Nuisance and the Rule in Rylands and Fletcher; Public and Private Nuisance; Private Nuisance; The Rule in Rylands and Fletcher; 13. Defamation and Privacy; Introduction; Libel and Slander; Defamation: Elements of the Cause of Action; Defamation: Defences; Remedies; Defamation, Free Speech, and the Press; Privacy; 14. Vicarious Liability; Development of and Justification for Vicarious Liability; The Employer-Employee Relationship; The Course of Employment; Primary Liability and Liability for Agents and Non-Employees; 15. Damages for Personal Injury; Introduction; Different Types of Damages; Damages Awarded Once-And-For-All in a Lump Sum; Damages for Personal Injury; 16. Death and Damages; The Effect of Death on Existing Causes of Action; Death as a Cause of Action; Current Legislation; 17. How Tort Works; Tort Law in Operation; Tort and the Fault Principle Evaluated