The Uses of Tort
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Lord Bingham
Abstract
The author, formerly the UK's Senior Law Lord, addresses the purposes of the law of tort through an analysis focused on the tortious liability of the police to victims of crime in respect of investigative failures. He revisits the decision of the House of Lords in Smith v Chief Constable of Sussex [2008] UKHL 50 in which a majority of the House ruled that, for reasons of public policy, the police owe no duty of care to potential victims of crime in the conduct of their investigations. Lord Bingham dissented. In this article, he subjects the policy arguments of the majority to detailed criticism, and, through a comparative analysis of similar claims in other countries, argues that English law in this area is out of step with most of the world's major jurisdictions.
Articles in the same Issue
- Preface
- The Uses of Tort
- The Concept of Non-Contractual Obligations: Rethinking the Divisions of Tort, Unjustified Enrichment, and Contract Law
- Towards a Better Assessment of Pain and Suffering Damages
- Fees for Claim Settlement in the Field of Personal Injury: Empirical Evidence from the Netherlands
- Why is US Tort Law so Different?
Articles in the same Issue
- Preface
- The Uses of Tort
- The Concept of Non-Contractual Obligations: Rethinking the Divisions of Tort, Unjustified Enrichment, and Contract Law
- Towards a Better Assessment of Pain and Suffering Damages
- Fees for Claim Settlement in the Field of Personal Injury: Empirical Evidence from the Netherlands
- Why is US Tort Law so Different?
