This chapter explores the parameters of the study of the crime victim, and the history and scope of the academic subdiscipline within criminology known as victimology. It discusses victimological perspectives; researching victims of crime; and the extent, nature of, and risks to criminal victimization. The final section examines public policy and practice, considering how and why ‘victim’ is a problematic concept in the context of compensation. It problematizes a number of taken-for-granted victimological concepts, such as victimization and crime victim. This section also shows that key concepts, such as victim precipitation, culpability, provocation, and ideal victim connect to particular ways of constructing the crime victim and understanding victimization.
Chapter
22. Victims
Pamela Davies
Chapter
8. Breach and Termination of the Contract
This chapter addresses the breach and termination of the contract. Since the terms represent obligations of the parties, where such an obligation is not followed, we say there has been a breach of the contract. The chapter examines the law relating to breach of contract and how breach can end a contract. When a term is breached, it does not end the contract automatically. Instead, the breach will entitle the innocent party to compensation for losses caused by the breach. In addition, the breach might allow the innocent party to choose to end the contract. Such an option is often determined by the type of term breached or the seriousness of the breach. This means that a typical dispute following an obvious breach will be about whether the innocent party can end the contract. Before one can explore when a breach can result in the contract ending, however, one needs to briefly look at how a party can breach an obligation. That is based on whether the obligation is due to be performed; the type of obligation; and the standard of performance that it requires.
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17. Damages
Jack Beatson, Andrew Burrows, and John Cartwright
This Chapter discusses damages and other remedies for breach of contract. It covers the compensatory nature of damages, basis of assessment of damages, causation, remoteness, mitigation, assessment of damages in contracts for the sale of goods, claimants’ contributory negligence, the tax element in damages, interest, and agreed damages clauses (contrasting penalty clauses).
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20. Vicarious liability
This chapter examines the principle of vicarious liability, a form of secondary liability through which employers may, in certain circumstances, be liable for the torts of their employees, even though the employer themselves may be entirely blameless. The imposition of vicarious liability is one of the most important exceptions to the general approach of the common law whereby liability for any wrongdoing is imposed on, and only on, the wrongdoer(s). A defendant will not be vicariously liable unless the following conditions are met: (a) there is an employer–employee relationship (or one akin to this) between the defendant and the person for whose actions they are being held liable; and (b) a close connection between this relationship and the tortious wrongdoing of the employee
Chapter
19. Breach of statutory duty
This chapter examines how statutory obligations occasionally give rise to private actions in tort. It explains that a breach of a statutory duty will not automatically confer a right of action on anyone adversely affected by it (and that it does not necessarily ground an action for negligence either). The chapter sets out the relevant elements of the statute-based tort, noting that the claimant must prove both that he was intended by Parliament to be protected as an individual and that the protection was aimed at preventing the kind of loss he suffered. If these elements are fulfilled, he will be entitled to compensation for loss. Defences specific to this area of law are considered also.
Chapter
20. Vicarious liability
This chapter examines the principle of vicarious liability, a form of secondary liability through which employers may, in certain circumstances, be liable for the torts of their employees, even though the employer themselves may be entirely blameless. The imposition of vicarious liability is one of the most important exceptions to the general approach of the common law whereby liability for any wrongdoing is imposed on, and only on, the wrongdoer(s). A defendant will not be vicariously liable unless the following conditions are met: (a) there is an employer–employee relationship between the defendant and the person for whose actions they are being held liable; (b) the employee committed the tortious act while acting in the course of their employment.
Chapter
14. Damages
Celebrated for their conceptual clarity, titles in the Clarendon Law Series offer concise, accessible overviews of major fields of law and legal thought. This chapter focuses on damages. Most victims of torts want money, often, as much as they can. However, a claimant may also be awarded damages when what he really wants is an injunction to put an end to a continuing wrong: here the damages are not compensatory at all, but just a sop, and not one which the complainant would regard as ‘just satisfaction’. The chapter discusses damages for economic harm and human harm, payment of damages, fatal accident claims, property damage, aggravated damages, and punitive damages.
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Tang Man Sit v Capacious Investments [1996] AC 514, Privy Council
Essential Cases: Equity & Trusts provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in Tang Man Sit v Capacious Investments [1996] AC 514, Privy Council. The document also includes supporting commentary from author Derek Whayman.
Chapter
Tang Man Sit v Capacious Investments [1996] AC 514, Privy Council
Essential Cases: Equity & Trusts provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in Tang Man Sit v Capacious Investments [1996] AC 514, Privy Council. The document also includes supporting commentary from author Derek Whayman.
Chapter
1. Introduction
This introductory chapter begins by providing examples of torts. It then discusses the aims of the law of torts, the most significant being compensation and deterrence. Part of the justification for a tort is that it identifies what actions should be avoided and deters people from engaging in them. It is essential to know that action is wrongful, but a tort action may over-deter or under-deter. It may over-deter where the perception of the chance of liability is exaggerated. It may under-deter where either the chances of somebody suing to enforce their rights are small, or where the consequences to the individual tortfeasor may be slight. Originally tort was about ‘shifting’ or ‘transferring’ the loss from the victim to the defendant (corrective justice). The defendant themselves paid compensation to the victim. However, those days are gone and we are now in an era of ‘loss distribution’. In other words, it is not the defendant himself who pays, but it will be their, or their employer’s, insurer. The chapter then considers the study of torts. Tort law is almost wholly a case-driven subject and therefore a good knowledge of the cases and what they stand for is essential. The chapter presents three steps to studying cases.
Chapter
7. Impact on victims and offenders
This chapter begins by examining the increased policy focus on victims of crime and their more recent involvement in the sentencing process via victim impact statements. It reviews changes in sentencing law which have aimed to ensure the offender does not profit from crime—such as confiscation orders—and that the offender pays financial compensation to the victim. Secondly, it discusses conflicting approaches to a focus on the impact of a sentence on the offender or the offender’s family, covering justifications from penology and evidence—from research and appellate cases—of practice in the courts. This includes discussion of the role of personal mitigation in retributivist and utilitarian sentencing and the influence it may have on the outcome for less serious cases.
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21. Damages for death and personal injuries
This chapter examines various issues in relation to damages in tort, beginning by looking at the principles that lie behind damages awards. The primary object of the law is to compensate those who have been harmed by another’s wrongdoing by making an award that seeks to put the claimant into the position that they would have been in had the harm not occurred. The chapter discusses the calculation and forms of damage payments, and special and general damages; independent, joint and several concurrent liabilities; time limitations on claims; the problem with damages; and debunking the compensation culture myth.
Chapter
16. Ownership of patents
This chapter assesses the ownership of patents. Teams of researchers often work together towards a common goal. This means that there are sometimes disputes about who actually invented the product or process covered by a patent. Resolving these disputes is of significance because under patent law the owner possesses the right to grant licences to make use of the patented invention in exchange for a fee or royalties, and the right to sue for infringement. Before deciding who is entitled to the ownership of an invention it is first necessary to examine what is meant in law by the word ‘inventor’. Having examined the criteria used by the courts to identify an inventor, one must now consider the special statutory rules concerning employee–inventors. Once it has been decided who owns an invention, there is a scheme of compensation for employee–inventors.
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16. Damages for Personal Injury
The tortious infliction of injury to another person is remedied through the award of damages. This chapter discusses the different types of damages (compensatory damages, restitutionary damages, exemplary or punitive damages, aggravated damages, nominal damages, and contemptuous damages); lump sums and periodical payments; and damages for personal injury (non-pecuniary losses, loss of earnings, medical care, and deductions).
Chapter
1. Tort and the tort system
General overview
Tort is the area of civil law which provides a remedy for a party who has suffered the breach of a protected interest. Different torts deal with different types of harm or wrongful conduct and the ‘ingredients’ for each of these torts are different; each with its own particular characteristics. This chapter discusses the types of loss or harm covered; competing interests; remedies; comparison of tort with contract law, criminal law, and human rights law; the aims of the law of tort (compensation and deterrence); and alternative routes to compensation. The influence of insurance and of the Compensation Act 2006 is included.
Chapter
17. Damages Actions and Money Claims
All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. Article 340 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) governs compensation against the EU. It leaves the Court of Justice of the European Union with considerable room for interpretation, and directs it to consider the general principles common to the laws of the Member States. The key issue is the test for liability where losses are caused by EU acts that are illegal. The Court has fashioned different tests for cases where the challenged act is of a discretionary nature and for those where it is not. This chapter discusses the application of Article 340 in relation to discretionary and non-discretionary EU acts, official acts of Union servants, valid legislative acts, causation and damage, joint liability for the EU and Member States, contractual liability, and restitution. The UK version contains a further section analysing the relevance of Article 340 in relation to the UK post-Brexit.
Chapter
17. Damages Actions and Money Claims
All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. Article 340 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) governs compensation against the EU. It leaves the Court of Justice of the European Union with considerable room for interpretation, and directs it to consider the general principles common to the laws of the Member States. The key issue is the test for liability where losses are caused by EU acts that are illegal. The Court has fashioned different tests for cases where the challenged act is of a discretionary nature and for those where it is not. This chapter discusses the application of Article 340 in relation to discretionary and non-discretionary EU acts, official acts of Union servants, valid legislative acts, causation and damage, joint liability for the EU and Member States, contractual liability, and restitution. The UK version contains a further section analysing the relevance of Article 340 in relation to the UK post-Brexit.
Chapter
21. Damages for death and personal injuries
This chapter examines various issues in relation to damages in tort, beginning by looking at the principles that lie behind damages awards. The primary object of the law is to compensate those who have been harmed by another’s wrongdoing by making an award that seeks to put the claimant into the position that they would have been in had the harm not occurred. The chapter discusses the calculation and forms of damage payments, and special and general damages; independent, joint and several concurrent liabilities; time limitations on claims; the problem with damages; and debunking the compensation culture myth.
Chapter
17. Damages Actions and Money Claims
All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. Article 340 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) governs compensation against the EU. It leaves the Court of Justice of the European Union with considerable room for interpretation, and directs it to consider the general principles common to the laws of the Member States. The key issue is the test for liability where losses are caused by EU acts that are illegal. The Court has fashioned different tests for cases where the challenged act is of a discretionary nature and for those where it is not. This chapter discusses the application of Article 340 in relation to discretionary and non-discretionary EU acts, official acts of Union servants, valid legislative acts, causation and damage, joint liability for the EU and Member States, contractual liability, and restitution. The UK version contains a further section analysing the relevance of Article 340 in relation to the UK post-Brexit.
Chapter
1. Tort and the tort system
General overview
Tort is the area of civil law which provides a remedy for a party who has suffered the breach of a protected interest. Different torts deal with different types of harm or wrongful conduct and the ‘ingredients’ for each of these torts are different; each with its own particular characteristics. This chapter discusses the types of loss or harm covered; competing interests; remedies; comparison of tort with contract law, criminal law, and human rights law; the aims of the law of tort (compensation and deterrence); and alternative routes to compensation. The influence of insurance and of the Compensation Act 2006 is included.
