Law of Torts
Evolution of Law of Torts, Common Law developments
Last Updated: 8 November 20251. Meaning and Definition of Tort The term “Tort” is derived from the Latin word tortum, meaning “twisted” or “crooked” — something not straight or lawful.In law, a tort means a civil wrong for which the remedy is an action for unliquidated damages and which is not exclusively a breach of contract, breach of trust,...
Principles of Justice ,Equity and Good Conscience
Last Updated: 9 November 2025The Doctrine of Justice, Equity, and Good Conscience: A Foundational Analysis for Jurisprudence and Tort Law The maxim “Justice, Equity, and Good Conscience” represents a composite legal doctrine that serves as a residual juristic principle guiding judicial decision-making. It is invoked when statutory or common law rules are silent, ambiguous, or when their rigid application...
Nature, Scope, Characteristics and Objects of Law of Torts
Last Updated: 9 November 2025An Analysis of the Nature, Scope, Characteristics, and Objects of the Law of Torts Introduction: Definition and Conceptual Framework The Law of Torts, derived from the Latin tortum (meaning ‘twisted’ or ‘wrong’), constitutes a body of civil law concerned with remedying civil wrongs that are not exclusively breaches of contract or trust. A tort can...
Distinction between Tort and Contract, Tort and Crime
Last Updated: 12 November 2025Foundational Distinctions in Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence: Tort, Contract, and Crime For a comprehensive understanding of the Law of Torts, it is jurisprudentially essential to delineate its boundaries against other core areas of law, namely Contract Law and Criminal Law. I. Distinction Between Tort and Breach of Contract Both Tort and Breach of Contract fall...
Essential elements of Torts
Last Updated: 9 November 2025Essential Elements Constituting Tortious Liability The Law of Torts is structured around a set of indispensable elements, all of which must be demonstrably present for a civil wrong to crystalise into an actionable tort. The determination of liability hinges upon satisfying three core requirements: the commission of a wrongful act or omission, the resultant legal...
Principles of Liability: Fault & No-fault Liability
Last Updated: 9 November 2025Principles of Liability in Tort Law: An Analysis of Fault and No-Fault Systems The imposition of tortious liability is determined by a choice between two fundamental paradigms: Fault-based Liability (the traditional approach) and No-Fault or Strict Liability (an approach driven by public policy and risk distribution). This conceptual dichotomy is central to modern jurisprudence, defining...
Malfeasance, Misfeasance & Non-feasance
Last Updated: 9 November 2025Malfeasance, Misfeasance, and Non-feasance: Classifications of Wrongful Conduct in Tort Law In the jurisprudence of the Law of Torts, the defendant’s actionable conduct can be classified into three distinct categories: malfeasance, misfeasance, and non-feasance. These distinctions are crucial as they govern the scope of the defendant’s legal duty and, consequently, the imposition of liability. I....
Motive, Intention, and Malice (Rea) in Tort Law
Last Updated: 9 November 2025Motive, Intention, and Malice (Rea) in Tort Law: A Jurisprudential Analysis The determination of tortious liability requires a precise analysis of the defendant’s mental state, which is often mistakenly conflated with the concepts of motive and malice. While the Law of Torts primarily adopts an objective approach focused on the act and its consequence, the...
Justifications & General Defences In Tort
Last Updated: 9 November 2025General Defences (Justifications) in the Law of Torts: Principles, Statutes, and Indian Jurisprudence The Law of Torts establishes actionable civil wrongs. However, a defendant who has prima facie committed a tort may successfully rebut liability by pleading a General Defence or Justification. These defences operate to negate the wrongfulness of the defendant’s act, proving that...
Extinguishment of Liability in the Law of Torts (Mechanisms of Discharge)
Last Updated: 9 November 2025Extinguishment of Liability in the Law of Torts: Mechanisms of Discharge The Law of Torts governs the creation of civil liability (or a “right in personam”) for wrongful acts. Correspondingly, there exist several legal mechanisms by which an otherwise valid tortious liability can be discharged, terminated, or extinguished. These mechanisms, rooted in common law maxims...
Capacity and Parties in Tort Law: Who May Sue and Who May Not Be Sued
Last Updated: 9 November 2025The question of capacity in the Law of Torts determines the legal competency of an entity, whether natural or artificial, to either bring an action as a claimant (who may sue) or to be held liable as a defendant (who may be sued). Capacity is governed by the general principle that all persons capable of...
The Tort of Defamation: Principles, Elements, and Defences
Last Updated: 9 November 2025The Law of Defamation is a tort designed to protect an individual’s right to reputation, balancing it against the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression (Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India). Defamation is the publication of a statement which tends to lower the claimant in the estimation of right-thinking members of society...
Trespass to Land and Trespass to Person: Principles, Elements, and Advanced Concepts
Last Updated: 9 November 2025The torts of Trespass to Land and Trespass to Person are foundational common law civil wrongs that protect an individual’s right to the exclusive enjoyment of property and personal integrity, respectively. They belong to the class of torts that are actionable per se, meaning the claimant is not required to prove actual damage to establish...
Negligence, Doctrine of Contributory Negligence, and Res Ipsa Loquitur
Last Updated: 9 November 2025The tort of Negligence is the most pervasive form of civil liability in modern jurisprudence. It is defined as the breach of a legal duty to take care, which results in damage, undesired by the defendant, to the claimant. This doctrine is complemented by the procedural rule of Res Ipsa Loquitur and the liability-modifying defence...
Nuisance: Public and Private: Principles, Elements, and Defences
Last Updated: 9 November 2025The Law of Nuisance governs the wrongful interference with a person’s use or enjoyment of land or the exercise of a right common to the public. It serves to balance competing land use rights between neighbours and protect collective community interests. I. Classification and Distinction Nuisance is fundamentally divided into two distinct torts: Private Nuisance...
State’s Liability and The Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity
Last Updated: 9 November 2025State’s Liability and The Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity I. Introduction and Genesis The Doctrine of State Liability, a crucial area of Public Law, deals with the extent to which a State or Government is answerable in tort or contract for the actions of its servants. Historically, this concept has been governed by the Doctrine of...
Vicarious Liability
Last Updated: 9 November 2025I. Introduction and Fundamental Principles Vicarious Liability (VL) is a doctrine in the law of torts under which one person is held legally responsible for the wrongful acts (torts) committed by another person, even though the former did not commit the act. The liability is imputed by law, not directly created by the wrongdoer’s actions....
Strict Liability and Absolute Liability
Last Updated: 9 November 2025Strict Liability and Absolute Liability: A Comparative Analysis of No-Fault Liability I. The Principle of No-Fault Liability The Law of Torts generally requires proof of fault (negligence or intention) to establish liability. However, the doctrines of Strict Liability and Absolute Liability belong to the category of “No-Fault Liability,” where a defendant is held responsible for...
The Doctrine of Causation
Last Updated: 9 November 2025The Doctrine of Causation: Nexus between Action and Injury The Doctrine of Causation is a foundational principle in both the Law of Torts and Criminal Law, serving to establish the necessary legal link between the defendant’s wrongful act (or omission) and the resulting harm suffered by the plaintiff or victim. Without establishing this causal nexus,...
Remoteness of Damages
Last Updated: 9 November 2025The Doctrine of Remoteness of Damages, or Legal Causation, is a crucial policy mechanism in the Law of Torts. While Factual Causation (the ‘But-For’ test) determines the physical link between the defendant’s breach and the plaintiff’s injury, Remoteness places a reasonable and justifiable limit on the scope of liability. It is a safeguard against limitless...
Judicial and Extra-Judicial Remedies in the Law of Torts
Last Updated: 9 November 2025The availability of an effective remedy is fundamental to the existence of a tort, encapsulated by the maxim ubi jus ibi remedium (where there is a right, there is a remedy). Remedies are classified based on the authority granting them: Judicial (granted by courts) and Extra-Judicial (self-help measures available to the injured party). I. Judicial...