The Law of Torts

Description

General principles of civil liability. The law as to the various kinds of torts. The law relating to compensation for personal injury by accident in New Zealand.

The law of torts potentially concerns the entire range of misfortunes, injuries and losses which human beings can blame on one another. It determines whether or in what circumstances a person who has caused harm to another is liable to compensate that other for the harm. The course will provide a thorough grounding in the core principles of this key area of law.

The first part of the course will concentrate on the law of negligence. It will deal with general principles and will focus in particular on such important issues as liability for nervous shock, for economic loss and for failing to act, and will also consider issues of breach of duty, complex problems of proving causation and remoteness of damage.

Tort claims in New Zealand are not much concerned with claims for personal injury, as these generally are barred by the Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Compensation Act 2001. The second part of the course will consider the ambit of the accident compensation scheme and the statutory benefits which are available in replacement of the common law action.

The third part of the course will look at other torts. These include trespass to land, nuisance, the rule in Rylands v Fletcher and defamation. In light of recent developments the law of privacy is covered as well.